I taught myself HTML back in the mid-nineties and was proud of the fact that I was able to accomplish the design of fairly complex web pages with nothing more than a starter HTML book, an HTML reference book, and the knowledge I had stored in my head. But back in those days, we web designers had what looking back was a fairly limited amount of tools with which to work, and the quality (or lack thereof) of sites on the web was lackluster at best.
Fast-forward to today: The hand-coder has more powerful and intuitive software packages available that will still allow us "to get our hands dirty", which brings us to the purpose of this article. With the standardization of the much anticipated Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) in the late-nineties, the web design community has become familiar with a much more powerful and precise method of web page layout.
"But how is an old-time web coder supposed to learn CSS the easy way?!" Well, I say you should learn it the way I, and countless others, have:
1. Download the Firefox browser
2. Install the Web Developer extension
3. Open one of your "old" HTML files
4. View the source, click the "Cleanup the page" button
5. Check the "replace FONT.....tags by CSS" box, then Refresh
Now you have a very neat and tidy piece of code, with all the CSS dirty work done for you! At this point you can copy & paste the resulting code and use it in your project and start figuring out what it's doing. I was amazed at how easily I was able to pick it up and start making changes on my own. When I wanted more information on a certain style it was a just a Google search away to many excellent CSS resources on the web. I find it much easier to learn CSS if I get to apply the modifications to the existing code that I've been working on, and I think you will too.
I hope you find this article helpful and if you follow these steps you should be able to add CSS to your web site design toolbox in no time!
Written by Erich Bihlman, of Bihlman Consulting - PC and Internet Tutoring and Website Design in Prescott, Arizona. http://www.bihlman.com For additional helpful articles visit http://www.bihlman.com
[You may reprint this article provided it is not changed in any way, and my author information stays intact including the links.]
express cleaning service Arlington Heights ..I hate to imagine that in your web development project... Read More
Building a website that is exactly what you want and... Read More
Argh, where's the contact button?! Believe it or not, some... Read More
You know that I'm always extolling the virtues of an... Read More
Chris, a new consulting client, asked me to help him... Read More
10 Basic Things Your Website Should Have ...__ all short... Read More
When designing your website, remember to avoid useless and confusing... Read More
They may look cutting edge, but if you want a... Read More
(Making Your Graphics Work For You)It's no secret that a... Read More
You've come up with a great product. You've got the... Read More
The internet is filled with sites and they are good... Read More
This article is the result of a conversation I had... Read More
Are you a student of graphic design? If you have... Read More
Hello, how is your website doing?Are sales flowing in?If you... Read More
The Basics You have a flourishing business ? everything is... Read More
Web site design has certainly, in the past decade, evolved... Read More
Getting traffic to your website is not the only factor... Read More
Are you using the best colors for your web site?... Read More
Whenever singer John Mayer sings his romantic song, "Your Body... Read More
There is no doubt that reprint articles can serve lots... Read More
Square buttons, round buttons, flashy buttons ? will they match... Read More
A search for "web design" on Google returns more than... Read More
No, that's not the real question. The real question is... Read More
Where does a person start when setting up a website?... Read More
Website design is a very competitive area and there is... Read More
tidy up service Arlington Heights ..Colors convey emotions and emotions heavily influence the decision-making process.... Read More
Making your site accessible means making it available to be... Read More
Creating your own website is actually easy in today's world... Read More
Effective navigation stands out. It's clear, obvious, and highly visible.You'll... Read More
If you've a website but not making a lot of... Read More
A question we frequently get asked is, "how do we... Read More
Usability isn't only for Web design. It's also applicable in... Read More
The question that I most frequently hear from people is... Read More
I ask myself that question about once a month.My website... Read More
I've written about META tags in the past, and I... Read More
You have created your custom error page so now all... Read More
Many Internet sites that try to sell you something have... Read More
Ever wonder how HTML color codes are put together? For... Read More
Surfing the internet is basically an information-fest! From intellectual discussions... Read More
This is a two-part article about creating a web site... Read More
Website design is a very competitive area and there is... Read More
Internet Explorer, created by microsoft has been the most popular... Read More
If you were like me and you have just started... Read More
If you need a web designer, but have no clue... Read More
Most of us at times need advice on different aspects... Read More
In this era of ultra-sophisticated internet marketing and web design,... Read More
Due to the large number of people offering web design... Read More
This article may come as a surprise to you.Especially since... Read More
While few companies can boast as we do that our... Read More
The solution lies in creating a 'Database driven website', through... Read More
Web Design |