Kirsty
Fri 18 Aug 2006
Ok so now I’ve given a wee bit of background info and a rundown of where I am now I might as well let you all know how much I actually know about the world of websites.
The simple answer is not a lot! I know HTML and can do some semi-tricky things like create forms and tables but nothing that can’t be learned though an online tutorial (Webmonkey is the main one I used) or trial and error. I can upload files using an FTP program and I’m reasonably good with Adobe Photoshop although I know there’s a lot more I could be doing with it if I had an instruction manual!
I don’t know a thing about scripts, coding, Java, PHP, SEO… and all those other fun things. I’m sure putting together a good website would be a lot easier if I did but I think I’ve killed off too many of my brain cells working in a brain dead job and living in London for 4 years and am now incapable of learning new things! Either that, or I’m too lazy. Plus I seem to do everything the hard way including coding all of my sites by hand using only Notepad. Once I get around to learning how to use Dreamweaver I know I’m going to be kicking myself for having wasted so much time in the past but like I said – lazy!
I guess what I’m trying to illustrate is that my web empire (in the making!) is built on some pretty shaky foundations as far as my technical knowledge goes so don’t be scared off if you’re not a super geek who knows everything there is to know about the web. You’ll find yourself learning loads as you keep at it and the more you learn the more you’ll want to keep building sites with your new found knowledge.

August 19th, 2006 at 6:22 pm
Hi Kirsty,
I had to chime in here to say I much prefer coding by hand, rather than using Dreamweaver. I found Dreamweaver to be a memory hog, and I really like to know exactly what my code is doing. By coding pages manually, you get a much better understanding of how your site is built.
Also, you mentioned learning some html tricks, along with photoshop, ftping, etc. If you ever want to take things a step further, I highly recommend reading “Build you own Database Driven Website using PHP & MySQL”. This book is found on sitepoint.com and really kicks ass! The way it is written is very easy to follow and understand. It can teach how to make your sites in such a way that updating them is much faster and easier than manually coding every little thing. Based on the blog entry you just wrote, I think you’d appreciate this book.
August 19th, 2006 at 6:25 pm
Oh, and I meant to mention that you can download the first 4 chapters of that book for free (.pdf format) from sitepoint.com. Cheers!
August 21st, 2006 at 10:49 am
Thanks Mike, I think you’re on the money with that idea… I really think I should learn a bit of PHP and some database stuff and I reckon the book sounds good. I’m going to that site to do a bit of downloading right now!