Anyone ever take an online course/Best way to learn how to make websites?

[jilla82]

I want to be able to make my own websites (e-commerce & blogs).
I was cruising the website for my local community college and saw they have a bunch of continuing education courses available.

Im looking at the CSS/XHtml one
Harold Washington College: Introduction to CSS and XHTML - Product Det

Has anyone done any courses like this? I figure $99 isnt much.


If not...what is a good way to learn?

 

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[RDudek]

Sounds basic. If you go to lynda.com, you can get a lot more content for less if you want well made video and learn. Otherwise, there is tons of free information that you can scout around for and just practice upon it. CSS and HTML is pretty easy. You could spend a few days practicing and get a full grasp of it. It's once you start hitting things like MySQL and PHP is when things start getting complicated =]

 

[jilla82]

Thanks.
I havent made a web page sine the 90's, so I barely know what knowledge is needed to make a decent page now.
Ill check out lynda.com

 

[RDudek]

Also note that there are free and paid solutions that you can use for both blogging and eCommerce. Wordpress is pretty much now standard for blogging and for the most part is pretty easy to setup. I'm not too familiar with what the most current and popular eCommerce solutions are available so someone else might be able to shine some wisdom with that.

 

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[magoo69]

w3schools.com learn at your own pace

 

[oddball]

I agree with w3 schools. There is really so much free info out there, you are better off teaching yourself. Youtube has some stuff as well. $99 isn't a lot but when you can get the info for free, its not worth it.

 

[The-J]

I remember teaching myself basic HTML when I was 10 just by building Web sites and looking at what works and what doesn't. I learned from a guide that I can't remember for the name of me. So you can learn by yourself using w3schools pretty simply.

Now I don't bother. Wordpress can do almost everything. Learning how to build a Web site or hiring a programmer is obsolete for most. Unless you need to build a proprietary application (which, you probably don't), just use Wordpress. Buy Thesis (think it's like $50?) and learn that instead. You'll learn it quicker and your sites will be easier to optimize.

 

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[AndrewNC]

As someone who spent months learning to program and thought programming everything yourself was the best solution: For e-commerce and blogging, there are a lot of good products out there such as Wordpress that make it a lot easier. Learning how to do new things (such as coding) is always good though! I enjoy doing it.

 

[Felix II]

I'd recommend the book "Head First HTML and CSS", followed by "Head First PHP and MySQL".

They are tutorial based and much more complete than what you'd find online for free.

You can get through the first book in a week and the second book in two or three weeks. Then you'll know enough to do 99% of what you'll need on the web.

 

[healthstatus]

You can get through the first book in a week and the second book in two or three weeks. Then you'll know enough to do 99% of what you'll need on the web.

:smilielol: :Lies:

 

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[RDudek]

:smilielol: :Lies:

The first bit is probably true hehe.

 

[mayana]

I agree with what everyone has said about Wordpress, but learning coding (and I'm still learning) is great for making modifications to existing applications.

 

[FastNAwesome]

w3schools.com learn at your own pace

I agree with w3 schools.

I don't...not anymore.:tdown:

true:
W3Fools

free:
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs

 

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[tm33]

thenewboston.org Bucky is the man!

 

[jilla82]

Glad I made this thread.
I will go through options laid out in here and get to work.

 

[tincho1492]

Teamtreehouse.com has basic classes of html/css plus design and coding.

 

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[jcfavela]

thenewboston.org Bucky is the man!

Yup. I've been glued to his videos ALL DAY.

 

[jaywolf]

w3schools.com learn at your own pace

I agree. W3schools is a good place to start, although I find their content a bit "lacking". Another great little idea that I love telling people about is codeacademy, you can google search them. They offer free interactive lessons on a lot of programming languages. I found out about the site a few months ago and it is a very cool idea, the little program window they give you lets you APPLY what you've just learned into their compiler which is built into the page you're learning from. Definitely check it out!

 

[Felix II]

:smilielol: :Lies:

Dude, you have issues.
You seem to think it is impossible for an average person to learn web development in a reasonable amount of time.

It is not rocket science. It is far from it. I've spent less than 6 weeks in total time learning web development (back end), and can now do virtually anything I want.

Can I do it the best way in all cases? No. But that doesn't matter.


And let me say this again in case you think I'm unqualified on technical matters: I have an advanced degree in electrical engineering. I minored in CS. I develop complex hardware and software in the medical device field. And last but not least, I went from not knowing anything about web development to knowing quite a bit in just a matter of weeks (i.e., been there, done that).

Here is how it breaks down:
1. 2 weeks or so learning HTML/XML and CSS.
2. 2-3 weeks learning the basics of PHP and MySQL
3. 3 weeks studying OOP and design patterns in PHP (I'm already well versed in OOP)
4. 1 week studying AJAX




With that small amount of learning I'm about to finish a complex data driven dynamic web site featuring a CMS that I designed and wrote from scratch. All I need to do now is hire someone for the front end (I have limited creative ability).

My next personal project is Mint.com ripoff with many new features (features that I really want and find mint.com useless without).


So, Healthstatus, just because you feel like you had a hard time learning web development, please don't assume everybody else will too.
Like I said, programming in general, and web development in particular, are not rocket science. There is a lot to learn, but with just the basics you can make awesome WEB 2.0 applications.

 

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[Icy]

Here is how it breaks down:
1. 2 weeks or so learning HTML/XML and CSS.
2. 2-3 weeks learning the basics of PHP and MySQL
3. 3 weeks studying OOP and design patterns in PHP (I'm already well versed in OOP)
4. 1 week studying AJAX




With that small amount of learning I'm about to finish a complex data driven dynamic web site featuring a CMS that I designed and wrote from scratch. All I need to do now is hire someone for the front end (I have limited creative ability).
.
Like I said, programming in general, and web development in particular, are not rocket science. There is a lot to learn, but with just the basics you can make awesome WEB 2.0 applications.

This is what happens when you first learn to program. You spend a month doing it, and feel like you can do anything. Yes you may be able to make some basic programs that seem complicated, but the second this is actual traffic it'll just implode.

It is not as straightforward as it seems when you first dive in. There are lots of concerns that you don't know actually exist. Yes, the general syntax is a piece of cake, I know HealthStatus wouldn't argue against that, but there are a huge amount of concerns that you just don't know are concerns.

 

[craig1928]

Don't pay for it, as others have said there's TONS of free info out there, I'd also start with w3schools.

 

[Felix II]

This is what happens when you first learn to program. You spend a month doing it, and feel like you can do anything. Yes you may be able to make some basic programs that seem complicated, but the second this is actual traffic it'll just implode.

It is not as straightforward as it seems when you first dive in. There are lots of concerns that you don't know actually exist. Yes, the general syntax is a piece of cake, I know HealthStatus wouldn't argue against that, but there are a huge amount of concerns that you just don't know are concerns.

What part of my background don't you understand? I KNOW software development. I manage software projects. Our flagship product sells for over $10,000 per license, and is built to survive legal scrutiny (the results must hold up in court) and regulatory compliance (FDA, IC, etc..). I wrote my first line of code at the age of 10 in 1993. I've studied computer science formally in college. I am an expert in embedded firmware development (which is much more complicated than web development).

My statements are made with an expert understanding of software development (though I'm not claiming to be an expert software developer).

But you are right. It does take more than a month to really understand. I've never argued that.

What I am arguing is that for 90% of the ideas on here (i.e., basic e-commerce and social websites), a basic understanding of web programming will be sufficient to build what they want.

I think programmers feel the need to build up there profession to be something that only a dedicated few can achieve. The truth is, good % of the people on e-lance or rent-a-coder can't program beyond the basics anyway. They have no idea of good coding principles and good software architecture. I see this all the time.

And the whole "website will implode" idea is laughable. If you get that level of traffic and aren't/can't hire developers then you are doing something wrong. But you can never get to that level without first having a website.

 

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[Icy]

What part of my background don't you understand? I KNOW software development. I manage software projects. Our flagship product sells for over $10,000 per license, and is built to survive legal scrutiny (the results must hold up in court) and regulatory compliance (FDA, IC, etc..). I wrote my first line of code at the age of 10 in 1993. I've studied computer science formally in college. I am an expert in embedded firmware development (which is much more complicated than web development).

My statements are made with an expert understanding of software development (though I'm not claiming to be an expert software developer).

But you are right. It does take more than a month to really understand. I've never argued that.

What I am arguing is that for 90% of the ideas on here (i.e., basic e-commerce and social websites), a basic understanding of web programming will be sufficient to build what they want.

Then you understand that for all these people here it is going to take more than a couple weeks to go through the basics. You obviously have quite the advantage in learning this stuff.

I think programmers feel the need to build up there profession to be something that only a dedicated few can achieve. The truth is, good % of the people on e-lance or rent-a-coder can't program beyond the basics anyway. They have no idea of good coding principles and good software architecture. I see this all the time.

Ok, of course you can make things that "work" with a basic understanding. The issues that arise with using people that can just make things that work have been run through hundreds of times here and not worth restating.

I have a hard time believing that you manage software projects, and disregard the benefits of well written code....

 

[Felix II]

Then you understand that for all these people here it is going to take more than a couple weeks to go through the basics. You obviously have quite the advantage in learning this stuff.



Ok, of course you can make things that "work" with a basic understanding. The issues that arise with using people that can just make things that work have been run through hundreds of times here and not worth restating.

I have a hard time believing that you manage software projects, and disregard the benefits of well written code....

This is going to be the last post I make on this subject, as we all know how useless it is to argue on the internet.

The OP asked WHERE to begin learning to program. He did not ask how to become an expert. He did not ask how to design a web application that must support 1 million users per day.

I advocate good code (better than what I am capable of doing as of right now). That is why I refuse to outsource my main project that I alluded to in another post. Quality code (as well as a quality process) is important for some applications. I'm in the medical field and getting into the regulatory compliance field, so it is especially important (mandatory) for me. However, for most people on here, it is something that is not required. At least not when they first star out.

What I don't advocate is the belief that you must be an expert coder to create a basic dynamic/data driven website. This is my point.

Nowhere do I claim that a person can be an expert coder after 1 month. What I do claim is that 90% of the projects on here can be done with a basic understanding of a few basic languages. If you disagree then that is fine. But may I ask what your software credentials are?

And yes, I do admit that learning web development was easier for me because of my background. However, it is still not difficult to learn if you are moderately smart and know how to learn. Of course, it is impossible to master without dedicating lots of time and effort. But you don't need to be an expert to build a product. Once your product is successful then you can hire experts to make it perfect.

 

[Icy]

This is going to be the last post I make on this subject, as we all know how useless it is to argue on the internet.

The OP asked WHERE to begin learning to program. He did not ask how to become an expert. He did not ask how to design a web application that must support 1 million users per day.

True, and your recommendation of grabbing some books on the topic was a great suggestion, but this stemmed from saying they'd know 99% of what they need to know for web dev in a few weeks. Now, frankly I'm sure it was an exaggeration, but at the same time it'll lead people down a bad road.

What I don't advocate is the belief that you must be an expert coder to create a basic dynamic/data driven website. This is my point.

I agree with that, and perhaps I was trying to read too far into something that wasn't there.

Nowhere do I claim that a person can be an expert coder after 1 month. What I do claim is that 90% of the projects on here can be done with a basic understanding of a few basic languages. If you disagree then that is fine. But may I ask what your software credentials are?

Not going to jump into specifics but, I work on software for a niche industry and we digitalize the industries materials allowing processes that usually involve shipping the material to a few different places to be done digitally. Which obviously has massive benefits to their productivity, and allows the companies at the end of the process to find the perfect materials without the need to ship it around, and buying materials that may just not work perfectly for the final product. I don't know enough to make decisions architectural and what not on the core product (although I do work on it) but I do make the decisions, and work on our web related solutions.

Anyways, I agree it's a waste of time to bother continuing with this. Trivializing programming is one of my pet peeves, and I sometimes jump into essentially what just turns into a timer waster for both sides.

On a lighter note, any chances you have any good books recommendations for starting to learn about embedded systems? It's a topic that I'd love to learn a bit about.

 

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