Forum Moderators: not2easy
I would head over to A List Apart to find some good resources about CSS and little tips and tricks here and there.
Welcome to WebmasterWorld!
DW is one of the better editors if you're starting out, but it has it's own set of rules too. It's often good to start with what you've got, then dissect it to figure out what you want as opposed to what you're given.
It's not bad to admit that you use a WYSIWYG but it will aid your learning if you can tweak your editor to suit you/your learning curve, and you can't so that without some help, no editor is the be all and end all.
ALA is a good resource, but do start at the beginning (2001 or so) it has evolved onto to subjects which are common phrases in some (advanced) CSS circles but lost their original goal?, there is no benefit in reading the end before the beginning IMHO
as for starting off then W3 schools, PIE, here, 456bereastreet,Ingo Chao, Bruno Fassino, SitePoint (the previous are in no particular order but offer nuggets that are all very important)
book are sparse now, but I would recommend reading the earlier ones as there is always something to be gained when reading "history" and CSS is still evolving so history will play its part
good luck
Firstly, it's okay to start with DW. However, make sure you do all of your coding by hand and do NOT rely on any of the features (buttons, etc.) to learn CSS. It's very tempting at times, but if you really want to get a handle on CSS, definitely don't use any of the quick features.
Secondly, you should definitely use DW because of the code hinting! I have found that this can be a tremendous help even once you're quite experienced. Sometimes you just forget the right word or it's on the tip of you tongue. It's times like that when DW's code hinting comes in handy. ;)
Lastly, if you want the best book out there for truly getting a handle on CSS, I would recommend CSS: THE MISSING MANUAL by David S. McFarland if I recall correctly. It's not boring and dry and it's somewhat project orientated if that's your preference. Best of luck to you!
Like any "language", I find its better to master one word at a time. If you speak English, the first words you might have learned were "Mama", "Dada", "Yes" and "no".. (maybe "Bubba" too)...
Take the same approach with CSS.. Learn to use one element of the language at a time. Once you have control of elements like:
margin: 10px;
padding: 20px;
color: red;
border-style:solid;
border-width: 1px;
border-color: black;
etc..
You can start learning about and using class, id, and other ways of incorporating the CSS inot your projects.
I suggest putting all CSS in the <head> of individual HTML files at first. Once you master it somewhat, you can use linked stylesheets. The reason I suggest having it in the HTML file at first is so you can be able to open one file, make a change, save it and see the result of the change -- without worrying that you didn't link the right file, or got the path wrong, etc..
Teach yourself in a "verbose" way, then apply the shortcuts.. for example-
margin-top: 8px;
margin-right: 20px;
margin-bottom: 15px;
margin-left: 0px;
is the same as-
margin: 8px 20px 15px 0px;
But you're more prone to errors (or not being able to spot your own errors) when you use the abbreviated / shortcut methods... (for those who are moving towards shortcuts -- you'll notice that for elements where you are defining margins, borders, padding, etc -- always specify values in the order: TOP, RIGHT, BOTTOM, LEFT).
Most important ---- Have fun! CSS is fun!
:)
