Looking for "best of" books for . . .

[Reno]

I have decided that enough is enough. I am and have been tinkering with websites and e-commerce for my business and am constantly running into a knowledge road block - I do not understand code and the nuts and bolts of the website behind the admin controls and simple code tweaking.

I have decided that I am going to start by learning html. Does anyone have recommendations as to the best books for relative beginners on the topic? By best I mean concise, straight forward, simple language and practical in application.

Also interested in titles for PHP, SEO.

Thanks Fastlaners,

Reno

 

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[BeachBoy]

for code, online is better IMO

teamtreehouse.com is nice, as well as Lynda.com

 

[AnthonyKrese]

I see this so much on this forum. What do you want build that hasn't been built before?

Can't you find a script / template / e-commerce template for what you need?

I see some people on here trying to reinvent the wheel or spending hours and hours coding
something they could have bought for like $75. Not to mention it would look and function better
than anything they could make.

I'm not trying to be a jerk or nosey. I'm honestly trying to help. What do you want to make that
hasn't been made before? I know quite a lot about this stuff as I worked as a freelancer building
websites for about 3+ years. Can I help you find something?

If you don't want to give the details about your idea or niche that's fine...pretend it's in a different niche. What do you want to do?

 

[The-J]

LaunchRock - Set up a “Launching Soon” page in minutes

start with this first. i had spent hours and hours thinking about what my launch page should look like, but this tool allowed me to do it within minutes.

 

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[Gary M]

I see this so much on this forum. What do you want build that hasn't been built before?

Can't you find a script / template / e-commerce template for what you need?

I see some people on here trying to reinvent the wheel or spending hours and hours coding
something they could have bought for like $75. Not to mention it would look and function better
than anything they could make.

I'm not trying to be a jerk or nosey. I'm honestly trying to help. What do you want to make that
hasn't been made before? I know quite a lot about this stuff as I worked as a freelancer building
websites for about 3+ years. Can I help you find something?

If you don't want to give the details about your idea or niche that's fine...pretend it's in a different niche. What do you want to do?

I have no idea how to start a website. None at all. My idea is a Groupon website for a certain niche that has yet to be targeted. I would also like to start a website that has a checkout a la amazon. I will have zero inventory for this second site. Where and how do I launch one of these sites? Any help/direction would be great...Thanks!

 

[BeachBoy]

for groupon there are tons of clones. I bought one for $500 from an indian company. It's based on Magento so not too bad although the coding is very bad and requires some skills to tweak.

For amazon-type, ecomemrce solutions are available. The best one IMO is bigcommerce.com

 

[AndrewNC]

Less than a month ago, I knew nothing about code. I tried reading some websites and this and that...and as recommended above- The TeamTreeHouse website is the trick that did it for me. It was the first thing that actually made sense to me. I had the video on the left of my screen and notepad on the right following along. This is where you should start.

In terms of building a website, I suggest teaming up with somebody or paying somebody who knows how to do it. This probably saved me a year off of waiting for my site to get up and running.

 

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[AnthonyKrese]

Great response by @BeachBoy.

When you want to create a website similar to XYZ website, Google the terms like "XYZ clone" , "XYZ script" , "XYZ Template".

 

[Reno]

Thank you all.

Not trying to "reinvent the wheel" =P, just wan to have some specialized knowledge that will benefit me long into the future.

I have tried several sites (Zencart, Opencart, etc.) now using wordpess, but face limitations and problems that come up with all of them and it takes a while to get over the hurdles when your relying on the respective forums for help (little if any).

Thanks again,

-R

 

[Team Entourage]

Hey there,
W3Schools Online Web Tutorials... This is the site which we suggest to people who want to learn how to code really good, you get to know how to code clean and all about standards too.. Go there start from a topic, and try out what you learn next to the explanation in the live preview box.... If you get stuck some place, ping me back... You can also buy such site clones but be sure that you tell them that you want all the validations standards like not tables, css 2.0 validations and full cross broswer test and a proper site documentation for further code changes by other team if required....and also a clean programming anatomy...

Anything else and you can bug me anytime

 

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[AnthonyKrese]

Have you tinkered with Woothemes new WooCommerce?

I have a developer subscription with WooThemes. I can tell you these guys are top top top notch
when it comes to support / service. They respond to me almost immediately. They have "Woo Ninjas"
in the forum to help you with anything you need. These guys (Woo Team) are customer service fanatics.

In fact, the WooCommerce platform is free. You've got to pay for themes and plugins, etc. Of course,
you've actually got to buy a theme or plugin to get support and service. Anyway, it's definitely worth a look.

 

[BeachBoy]

You can also buy such site clones but be sure that you tell them that you want all the validations standards like not tables, css 2.0 validations and full cross broswer test

I agree on your reply, excep the "not tables" part.

Table NEED to be used to display data in a table, like in excel.
However, tables should NOT be used in order to place elements on the page / positionning (css should)

doing css tables is bad, they should be done in tables...

 

[Reno]

for code, online is better IMO

teamtreehouse.com is nice, as well as Lynda.com

Definitely liking treehouse. I am decide that I do in fact want to learn web coding so for now I will go with this option as I design my site/business model and can at least create the framework.

Thanks all,

-R

 

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[karakoram]

This covers some of what you are looking for: Tutorials

HTML: List of Videos for HTML5
PHP: List of Videos for PHP

I recommend you also learn CSS List of Videos for XHTML & CSS

Guess I should have called myself Seattle

 

[Reno]

This covers some of what you are looking for: Tutorials

HTML: List of Videos for HTML5
PHP: List of Videos for PHP

I recommend you also learn CSS List of Videos for XHTML & CSS

Guess I should have called myself Seattle

Thanks Scarab, lol! That is actually my name

 

[karakoram]

Thanks Scarab, lol! That is actually my name

OK, WUT? Are you saying you live in Seattle, and that is your name, so your handle is Reno?

I'm so :smx4: confused

 

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[Reno]

Yep

 

[nuwav]

The best guide for beginners is HTMLDog.com, W3C Shools or video tutorials from lynda.com

The quickest way to learn HTML is to practice coding, get a free html template by typing the phrase in Google. Then try to figure out how the template was created.

 

[Reno]

The best guide for beginners is HTMLDog.com, W3C Shools or video tutorials from lynda.com

The quickest way to learn HTML is to practice coding, get a free html template by typing the phrase in Google. Then try to figure out how the template was created.

Thanks man. This sounds like an approach that would for for me - reverse engineering.

Cheers,

Reno

 

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[mmtprofile]

Instead of learning HTML, you should just use wordpress. There is basically a plugin for everything and you don't need to code a lot of things.

I would say jump in by doing some serious marketing.

Hope this helps

 

[Reno]

Instead of learning HTML, you should just use wordpress. There is basically a plugin for everything and you don't need to code a lot of things.

I would say jump in by doing some serious marketing.

Hope this helps

Thanks for the response. I am currently using wordpress and like it for the most part. What I plan to do encompasses much more than much more than a template can offer and I want to have the proficiency to both understand and be able to create and manipulate the entire design and structure of a site. I have nothing to lose and I have a strong desire to learn this and the time and inclanation to do it.

Also, in order for me to create what I am constructing on my minds eye (inventing a web platform based on a brand concept), I need a better understanding of how it all works. In addition I will be able to better seek out and answer the myriad of questions I have about the internet in general.

Cheers,

Reno

 

[mmtprofile]

Thanks for the response. I am currently using wordpress and like it for the most part. What I plan to do encompasses much more than much more than a template can offer and I want to have the proficiency to both understand and be able to create and manipulate the entire design and structure of a site. I have nothing to lose and I have a strong desire to learn this and the time and inclanation to do it.

Also, in order for me to create what I am constructing on my minds eye (inventing a web platform based on a brand concept), I need a better understanding of how it all works. In addition I will be able to better seek out and answer the myriad of questions I have about the internet in general.

Cheers,

Reno

If you've got a desire for it then you go for it!

 

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