Part I: Getting Started 6 What Do I Need to Learn? Because graphics are a big part of web design, even hobbyist web designers will need to know how to use some image-editing software, at minimum. If you don’t have visual design experience, you may want to do some personal research on the fundamentals of graphic design. The following books will give you a good start on rounding out your design skills. The Non-Designer’s Design Book, Second Edition by Robin Williams (Peachpit Press, 2003) The Non-Designer’s Web Book, Third Edition by Robin Williams and John Tollett (Peachpit Press, 2005) Design Basics, Sixth Edition by David Lauer and Stephen Pentak (Harcourt College Publishers, 2004) Graphic Design Solutions, Third Edition by Robin Landa (Thomson Delmar Learning, 2005). Information design One easily overlooked aspect of web design is information design, the orga- nization of content and how you get to it. Information designers (also called “information architects”) deal with flow charts and diagrams and may never touch a graphic or text file; however, they are a crucial part of the creation of the site. It is possible to find courses specifically about information design, although they are likely to be at the graduate level. Again, some personal research and experience working on a team will go a long way toward rounding out this skill. If you think you may be interested in this aspect of web development, check out these books: Information Architecture for the World Wide Web: Designing Large-Scale Web Sites, Third Edition by Lou Rosenfeld and Peter Morville (O’Reilly, 2006) for a good overview. Information Architecture: Blueprints for the Web, by Christina Wodtke (New Riders, 2002) Interface design If graphic design is concerned with how the page looks, interface design focuses on how the page works. The concept of usability, how easily visitors can accomplish their goals on the site, as well as the general experience of using the site, is a function of the interface design. The interface of a web site Frontend Versus Backend You may hear web designers and developers say that they specialize in either the frontend or backend of web site creation. Frontend design “Frontend” refers to any aspect of the design process that appears in or relates directly to the browser. This book focuses primarily on frontend web design. The following tasks are commonly considered to be frontend disciplines: Graphic design Interface design Information design as it pertains to the user’s experience of the site Site production, including HTML documents, style sheets and JavaScript Backend development “Backend” refers to the programs and scripts that work on the server behind the scenes to make web pages dynamic and interactive. In general, backend web development falls in the hands of experienced programmers, but it is good for all web designers to be familiar with backend functionality. The following tasks take place on the backend: Information design as it pertains to how the information is organized on the server Forms processing Database programming Content management systems Other server-side web applications using Perl/CGI, PHP, ASP, JSP, Ruby on Rails, Java and other programming languages. What Do I Need to Learn? Chapter 1, Where Do I Start 7 includes the methods for doing things on a site: buttons, links, navigation devices, etc., as well as the functional organization of the page. In most cases, the interface, information archictecture, and visual design of a site are tightly entwined. Often, the interface design falls into the hands of a graphic designer by default; in other cases, it is handled by an interface design specialist or the information designer. Some interface designers have backgrounds in software design. It is possible to find courses on interface design; however, this is an area that you can build expertise in by a combination of personal research, experience in the field, and common sense. You may also find these popular books on web usability helpful: Don’t Make Me Think, A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, Second Edition, by Steve Krug (New Riders, 2005) The Elements of User Experience: User-Centered Design for the Web, by Jesse James Garrett (New Riders, 2002) Document production A fair amount of the web design process involves the creation and trouble- shooting of the documents, style sheets, scripting, and images that make up a site. The process of writing HTML and style sheet documents is commonly referred to as authoring. The people who handle production need to have an intricate knowledge of HTML (the markup language used to make web documents) and style sheets, and often additional scripting or programming skills. At large web design firms, the team that handles the creation of the files that make up the web site may be called the “development” or “production” department. In some cases, the tasks may be separated out into specialized positions for CSS designer, HTML author/coder, and client-side programmer. This book will teach you the basics of web authoring, including how to write HTML documents, create style sheets, and produce web graphics. Fortunately, it’s not difficult to learn. Once you’ve gotten the fundamentals under your belt, the trick is to practice by creating pages and learning from your mistakes. There are also authoring tools that speed up the production process, as we’ll discuss later in this chapter. In addition to the HTML document and style sheets, each of the images that appear on the page need to be produced in a way that is appropriate and optimized for web delivery. Graphics production techniques are covered in Part IV. The topics of information and interface design are covered in more detail in my article “Building Usable Web Sites”, available as a PDF download at www. learningwebdesign.com . O n l I n e R e S O U R c e Part I: Getting Started 8 Do I Need to Learn Java? Scripting and programming Advanced web functionality (such as forms, dynamic content, and interactiv- ity) requires web scripts and sometimes special programs and applications running behind the scenes. Scripting and programming is handled by web programmers (also called developers). Developers who specialize in the pro- gramming end of things may never touch a graphic file or have input on how the pages look, although they need to communicate well with the informa- tion and interface designers to make sure their scripts meet intended goals and user expectations. Web scripting and programming definitely requires some traditional com- puter programming prowess. While many web programmers have degrees in computer science, it is also common for developers to be self-taught. Developers I know usually start by copying and adapting existing scripts, then gradually add to their programming skills on the job. If you have no experience with programming languages, the initial learning curve may be a bit steep. Teaching web programming is beyond the scope of this book. It is possible to turn out competent, content-rich, well-designed sites without the need for programming, so hobbyist web designers should not be discouraged. However, once you get into collecting information via forms or serving information on demand, it is usually necessary to have a programmer on the team. Multimedia One of the cool things about the Web is that you can add multimedia ele- ments to a site, including sound, video, animation, and Flash movies for interactivity (see sidebar). You may decide to add multimedia skills to your web design toolbelt, or you may decide to become a specialist. If you are not interested in becoming a multimedia developer, you can always hire one. There is a constant call for professional Flash developers and people who know how to produce audio and video files that are appropriate for the Web. Web development companies usually look for people who have mastered the standard multimedia tools, and have a good visual sensibility and an instinct for intuitive and creative multimedia design. Professional Flash developers are also expected to know ActionScript for adding advanced behaviors to Flash movies and interfaces. Do I Need to Learn Java? You’d be surprised at the number of times I’ve heard the following: “I want to get into web design so I went out and bought a book on Java.” I usually respond, “Well, go return it!” Before you spend money on a big Java book, A Little More About Flash Adobe Flash (previously Macromedia Flash, previously FutureSplash) is a multimedia format created especially for the Web. Flash gives you the ability to create full-screen animation, interactive graphics, integrated audio clips, even scriptable games and applications, all at remarkably small file sizes. Some sites use Flash instead of (X)HTML for their entire interface, content, and functionality. Flash has a number of advantages: Because it uses vector graphics, files are small and the movie can be resized without loss of detail. Real-time anti-aliasing keeps the edges smooth. It is a streaming format, so movies start playing quickly and continue to play as they download. You can use ActionScript to add behaviors and advanced interactivity, allowing Flash to be used as the frontend for dynamically generated content or e-commerce functions. The Flash plug-in is well- distributed, so support is reliable. On the downside: The fact that a plugin is required to play Flash media makes some developers squeamish. Content may be lost for nongraphical browsers. However, Flash has many features to improve accessibility. The software required to create Flash content is often expensive, and the learning curve is steep. Flash is not appropriate for all sites and it is not poised to replace (X)HTML. However, when used well, it can create a big impact and a memorable user experience. For more information, look for “Adobe Flash” at Wikipedia.org . Do I Need to Learn Java? Chapter 1, Where Do I Start 9 I’m here to tell you that you don’t need to know Java programming (or any programming, for that matter) to make web sites. The following is a list of technologies associated with web development. They are listed in general order of complexity and in the order that you might want to learn them. Bear in mind, the only requirements are HTML and Cascading Style Sheets. Where you draw the line after that is up to you. HTML/XHTML HTML (HyperText Markup Langage) is the language used to create web page documents. The updated version, XHTML (eXtensible HTML) is essentially the same language with stricter syntax rules. We’ll get to the particulars of what makes them different in Chapter 10, Understanding the Standards. It is common to see HTML and XHTML referred to collectively as (X)HTML, as I will do throughout this book when both apply. (X)HTML is not a programming language; it is a markup language, which means it is a system for identifying and describing the various components of a document such as headings, paragraphs, and lists. You don’t need program- ming skills—only patience and common sense—to write (X)HTML. Everyone involved with the Web needs a basic understanding of how HTML works. The best way to learn is to write out some pages by hand, as we will be doing in the exercises in this book. If you end up working in web production, you’ll live and breathe (X)HTML. Even hobbyists will benefit from knowing what is going on under the hood. The good news is that it’s simple to learn the basics. Web-related programming “languages” in order of increasing complexity: HTML/XHTML Style sheets JavaScript/DOM scripting Server-side scripting XML Java A t A G l A n c e It is common to see HTML and XHTML referred to collectively as (X)HTML. The World Wide Web Consortium The World Wide Web Consortium (called the W3C for short) is the organization that oversees the development of web technologies. The group was founded in 1994 by Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the Web, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In the beginning, the W3C concerned itself mainly with the HTTP protocol and the development of the HTML. Now, the W3C is laying a foundation for the future of the Web by developing dozens of technologies and protocols that must work together in a solid infrastructure. For the definitive answer on any web technology question, the W3C site is the place to go: www.w3.org For more information on the W3C and what they do, see this useful page: www.w3.org/Consortium/ Part I: Getting Started 10 Do I Need to Learn Java? CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) While (X)HTML is used to describe the content in a web page, it is Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) that describe how you want that content to look. In the web design biz, the way the page looks is known as its presentation. CSS is now the official and standard mechanism for formatting text and page lay- outs. CSS also provides methods for controlling how documents will be presented in media other than the traditional browser on a screen, such as in print and on handheld devices. It also has rules for specifying the non-visual presen- tation of documents, such as how they will sound when read by a screen reader. Style sheets are also a great tool for automating production, because you can make changes to all the pages in your site by editing a single style sheet docu- ment. Style sheets are supported to some degree by all modern browsers. Although it is possible to publish web pages using (X)HTML alone, you’ll probably want to take on style sheets so you’re not stuck with the browser’s default styles. If you’re looking into designing web sites professionally, profi- ciency at style sheets is mandatory. Style sheets are discussed further in Part III. JavaScript/DOM scripting Despite its name, JavaScript is not at all related to Java. JavaScript is a script- ing language that is used to add interactivity and behaviors to web pages, including these (just to name a few): Checking form entries for valid entries Swapping out styles for an element or an entire site Making the browser remember information about the user for the next time they visit JavaScript is a language that is commonly used to manipulate the elements on the web page or certain browser window functions. There are other web scripting languages, but JavaScript (also called ECMAScript) is the standard and most ubiquitous. You may also hear the term DOM scripting used in relation to JavaScript. DOM stands for Document Object Model, and it refers to the standard- ized list of web page elements that can be accessed and manipulated using JavaScript (or another scripting language). DOM scripting is an updated term for what used to be referred to as DHTML (Dynamic HTML), now consid- ered an obsolete approach. Writing JavaScript is programming, so it may be time-consuming to learn if you have no prior programming experience. Many people teach themselves • • • The Web Design Layer Cake Contemporary web design is commonly visualized as being made up of three separate “layers.” The content of the document with its (X)HTML markup makes up the Structure Layer . It forms the foundation upon which the other layers may be applied. Once the structure of the document is in place, you can add style sheet information to control how the content should appear. This is called the Presentation Layer . Finally, the Behavior Layer includes the scripts that make the page an interactive experience. N ot e When this book says “style sheets” it is always referring to Cascading Style Sheets, the standard style sheet language for the World Wide Web. Do I Need to Learn Java? Chapter 1, Where Do I Start 11 JavaScript by reading books and following and modifying existing examples. Most web-authoring tools come with standard scripts that you can use right out of the box for common functions. If you want to be a professional web developer, JavaScript is the first scripting language you should learn. However, plenty of designers rely on developers to add JavaScript behaviors to their designs. So while JavaScript is useful, learn- ing to write it is not mandatory for all web designers. Teaching JavaScript is outside the scope of this book; however, Learning JavaScript by Shelley Powers (O’Reilly, 2006) is certainly a good place to start if you want to learn more. Server-side programming Some web sites are collections of static (X)HTML documents and image files, but most commercial sites have more advanced functionality such as forms handling, dynamically generated pages, shopping carts, content management systems, databases, and so on. These functions are handled by special web applications running on the server. There are a number of scripting and pro- gramming languages that are used to create web applications, including: CGI Scripts (written in C+, Perl, Python, or others) Java Server Pages (JSPs) PHP VB.NET ASP.NET Ruby on Rails Developing web applications is programmer territory and is not expected of all web designers. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t offer such functionality to your clients. It is possible to get shopping carts, content management systems, mailing lists, and guestbooks as prepackaged solutions, without the need to program them from scratch. XML If you hang around the web design world at all, you’re sure to hear the acro- nym XML (which stands for eXtensible Markup Language). XML is not a specific language in itself, but rather a robust set of rules for creating other markup languages. To use a simplified example, if you were publishing recipes, you might use XML to create a custom markup language that includes the elements <ingre- dient>, <instructions>, and <servings> that accurately describe the types of information in your recipe documents. Once labeled correctly, that informa- tion can be treated as data. In fact, XML has proven to be a powerful tool for • • • • • • Ajax for Applications The latest web technique to create a big stir is Ajax , which stands for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML . Ajax is a technique for creating interactive web applications. The significant advantage to using Ajax for web applications is that it allows the content on the screen to change instantly, without refreshing the whole page. This makes using the application more like a desktop program than a web page because controls react instantly, without all that pesky waiting for server calls and page redraws. As a beginner, you aren’t likely to be writing Ajax-based applications right off the bat, but it is useful to be familiar with what it is and what it can do. To learn more, I recommend searching for “Ajax” at Wikipedia. org . The Ajax listing provides a solid explanation as well as a list of links to Ajax resources. Part I: Getting Started 12 What Do I Need to Buy? sharing data between applications. Despite the fact that XML was developed with the Web in mind, it has actually had a larger impact outside the web environment because of its data-handling capabilities. There are XML files working behind the scenes in an increasing number of software applications, such as Microsoft Office, Adobe Flash, and Apple iTunes. Still, there are a number of XML languages that are used on the Web. The most prevalent is XHTML, which is HTML rewritten according the the stricter rules of XML. There is also RSS (Really Simple Syndication or RDF Site Summary) that allows your content to be shared as data and read with RSS feed readers, SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) that uses tags to describe geometric shapes, and MathML that is used to describe mathematical notation. As a web designer, your direct experience with XML is likely to be limited to authoring documents in XHTML or perhaps adding an RSS feed to a web site. Developing new XML languages would be the responsibility of program- mers or XML specialists. Java Although Java can be used for creating small applications for the Web (known as “applets”), it is a complete and complex programming language that is typically used for developing large, enterprise-scale applications. Java is considered one of the “big guns” and is overkill for most web site needs. Learn Java only if you want to become a Java programmer. You can live your life as a web designer without knowing a lick of Java (most web designers and developers do). What Do I Need to Buy? It should come as no surprise that professional web designers require a fair amount of gear, both hardware and software. One of the most common questions I’m asked by my students is, “What should I get?” I can’t tell you specifically what to buy, but I will provide an overview of the typical tools of the trade. Bear in mind that while I’ve listed the most popular commercial software tools available, many of them have freeware or shareware equivalents which you can download if you’re on a budget (try CNET’s Download.com). With a little extra effort, you can get a full web site up and running without big cash. What Do I Need to Buy? Chapter 1, Where Do I Start 13 Equipment For a comfortable web site creation environment, I recommend the following equipment: A solid, up-to-date computer. Windows, Linux, or Macintosh is fine. Creative departments in professional web development companies tend to be Mac-based. Although it is nice to have a super-fast machine, the files that make up web pages are very small and tend not to be too taxing on computers. Unless you’re getting into sound and video editing, don’t worry if your current setup is not the latest and greatest. Extra memory. Because you’ll tend to bounce between a number of applica- tions, it’s a good idea to have enough RAM installed on your computer that allows you to leave several memory-intensive programs running at the same time. A large monitor. While not a requirement, a large or high-resolution moni- tor makes life easier. The more monitor real estate you have, the more windows and control panels you can have open at the same time. You can also see more of your page to make design decisions. Just make sure if you’re using a high-resolution monitor (1280 × 1024 or 1600 × 1200), that you design for users with smaller monitors in mind. Most professional web sites these days are designed to fit in an 800 × 600 monitor as the lowest common denominator. Also keep in mind that when working in high resolution, the text and graphics may look smaller to you than to users with lower resolutions or larger pixel size. Be sure to take a look at your pages under a variety of viewing conditions. A second computer. Many web designers find it useful to have a test computer running a different platform than the computer they use for development (i.e., if you design on a Mac, test on a PC). Because browsers work differently on Macs than on Windows machines, it’s critical to test your pages in as many environments as possible, and particularly on the current Windows operating system. If you are a hobbyist web designer working at home, check your pages on a friend’s machine. A scanner and/or digital camera. If you anticipate making your own graph- ics, you’ll need some tools for creating images or textures. I know a designer who has two scanners: one is the “good” scanner, and the other he uses to scan things like dead fish and rusty pans. Because web graph- ics are low resolution, you don’t need a state-of-the-art, mega-pixel digital camera to get decent results. Software There’s no shortage of software available for creating web pages. In the early days, we just made do with tools originally designed for print. Today, there are wonderful tools created specifically with web design in mind that make the Run Windows on Your Mac If you have a Macintosh computer with an Intel chip, you don’t need a separate computer to test in a Windows environment. It is now possible to run Windows right on your Mac. Apple offers the free Boot Camp, as part of the Leopard OS X release, that allows you to switch to Windows on reboot. There is also Parallels Desktop for Mac, a commercial program that allows you to toggle between operating systems easily. For more information see www.parallels.com . Both options require that you purchase a copy of Microsoft Windows, but it sure beats buying a whole machine. Part I: Getting Started 14 What Do I Need to Buy? process more efficient. Although I can’t list every available software release (you can find other offerings as well as the current versions of the following programs in software catalogs), I’d like to introduce you to the most common and proven tools for web design. Note that you can download trial versions of many of these programs from the company web sites, as listed in the At a Glance: Popular Web Design Software sidebar later in this chapter. Web page authoring Web-authoring tools are similar to desktop publishing tools, but the end product is a web page (an (X)HTML file and its related style sheet and image files). These tools provide a visual “WYSIWYG” (What You See Is What You Get; pronounced “whizzy-wig”) interface and shortcuts that save you from typing repetitive (X)HTML and CSS. The following are some popular web- authoring programs: Adobe (previously Macromedia) Dreamweaver. This is the industry stan- dard due to its clean code and advanced features. N ot e Since acquiring Dreamweaver, Adobe has discontinued GoLive, its own advanced WYSIWYG editor. As of this writing, the last version, CS2, is still available for pur- chase. Microsoft Expression Web (Windows only). Part of Microsoft’s suite of professional design tools, MS Expression Web boasts standards-compli- ant code and CSS-based layouts. Microsoft no longer offers its previous web editor, FrontPage, which was notorious for proprietary and sloppy code. Nvu (Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X). Don’t want to pay for a WYSIWYG editor? Nvu (pronounced N-view, for “new view”) is an open source tool that matches many of the features in Dreamweaver, yet is downloadable for free at nvu.com. HTML editors HTML editors (as opposed to authoring tools) are designed to speed up the process of writing HTML by hand. They do not allow you edit the page visu- ally as WYSIWYG authoring tools (listed previously) do. Many professional web designers actually prefer to author HTML documents by hand, and they overwhelmingly recommend the following four tools: TextPad (Windows only). TextPad is a simple and inexpensive plain-text code editor for Windows. What Do I Need to Buy? Chapter 1, Where Do I Start 15 Adobe (Macromedia) HomeSite (Windows only). This tool includes short- cuts, templates, and even wizards for more complex web page authoring. BBEdit by Bare Bones Software (Macintosh only). Lots of great shortcut features have made this the leading editor for Mac-based web develop- ers. TextMate by MacroMates (Macintosh only). This advanced text editor fea- tures project management tools and an interface that is integrated with the Mac operating system. It is growing in popularity because it is easy to use, feature-rich, and inexpensive. Graphics software You’ll probably want to add pictures to your pages, so you will need an image- editing program. We’ll look at some of the more popular programs in greater detail in Part IV. In the meantime, you may want to look into the following popular web graphics–creation tools: Adobe Photoshop. Photoshop is undeniably the industry standard for image creation in both the print and web worlds. If you want to be a professional designer, you’ll need to know Photoshop thoroughly. Adobe (Macromedia) Fireworks. This web graphics program combines a drawing program with an image editor and vector tools for creating illus- trations. It also features advanced tools for outputting web graphics. Adobe Photoshop Elements. This lighter version of Photoshop is designed for photo editing and management, but some hobbyists may find that it has all the tools necessary for putting images on web pages. Adobe Illustrator. This vector drawing program is often used to create illus- trations. You can output web graphics directly from Illustrator, or bring them into Photoshop for additional fine-tuning. Corel Paint Shop Pro (Windows only). This full-featured image editor is popular with the Windows crowd, primarily due to its low price (only $99 at the time of this printing). Multimedia tools Because this is a book for beginners, I won’t focus on advanced multimedia elements; however, it is still useful to be aware of the software that is available to you should you choose to follow that specialty: Adobe (Macromedia) Flash. This is the hands-down favorite for adding animation, sound, and interactive effects to web pages due to the small file size of Flash movies. . Publishers, 2004) Graphic Design Solutions, Third Edition by Robin Landa (Thomson Delmar Learning, 2005). Information design One easily overlooked aspect of web design is information design, the orga- nization. design. The following books will give you a good start on rounding out your design skills. The Non-Designer’s Design Book, Second Edition by Robin Williams (Peachpit Press, 2003) The Non-Designer’s. graphics are a big part of web design, even hobbyist web designers will need to know how to use some image-editing software, at minimum. If you don’t have visual design experience, you may