Designing advice

[scyth]

Hey. Im pretty new to web design so im still learning the basics. I use dreamweaver and fireworks to design the site im working on. At the moment im designing the web pages in fireworks then setting them as the background in dreamweaver then just using tables in dreamweaver to set up links between the pages. I sortof feel im doing it wrong thou.Does anyone else design this way? or should i spend more time figuring out how dreamweaver works? I just find it a lot easier to design using fireworks rather than dw. How does everyone else go about designing their pages?

[jbinbpt]

Hi scyth,
Welcome to Webmasterworld. Enjoy your time here.

Your web work is a never ending process, as you do more you will get better at it and your techniques will evolve. I am certain that a lot of people are doing just what you are doing. You should not get slowed down worrying about technique, concentrate on content. The technique will follow. You have found the best place to learn about web design. Read lots, check out the libraries on each forum. There is a lot here. Enjoy.

[4hero]

Hi scyth,

I go about designing a site by creating a mockup of how I want the site to look using photoshop. This allows me to use the images in the mockup for the final site. If you ever use this method, just remember to save for the web, rather than save as.

Secondly I code the html using a text editor from scratch. Dreamweaver is fine, but if tends to throw in ugly code sometimes, which I dont like. Using a text editor ensures that the code I put in will be exactly what is outputted to the browsers, and all html & css will validate.

Thirdly, and the best bit, I start coding the css. This is generally the longest part of the job but the best fun in my opinion. CSS can be tricky to pick up, but thats why we are here. If you get stuck, just post and we'll be happy to help out :)

[jessejump]

I think more advanced people create their images in FW or PS - save them - close FW, layout the page in DW and insert the images into the page.

FW and PS can really make some convoluted and complex code; they are image editors, not HTML editors. Word and other programs write HTML pages also and they are a nightmare.

[Alioc]

What you do isn't wrong but also there isn't one right way of doing things.

For example, you may want to look into CSS techniques and get rid of tables.

Using the newest tricks requires better validation for cross browser compatibility. So, you may still find using tables more suitable sometimes. Design and test.

The best suggestion I'd make would be using a great CMS(Content Managament System) for your websites. These are suitable for personal sites and large corporate websites alike. The best ones are still the free ones. Check Drupal & WordPress.

Try to evolve your skills with available tools. Don't use the html code generated by a graphics software. Not only because of the ugly code, but the pain you'll feel when you try to update these pages.