Big D Webspinner
was born out of my great love of building websites. I have been learning HTML for several years now. I began by writing all the code by hand into MS-Notepad, for a personal website that I built back in 1997.
I continued writing by hand in Dreamweaver, when I took on the job of building my church's website in 2004. As I learned to use the program I began using the toolbar buttons to enter the code, but I continued to use the "code" view in Dreamweaver, rather than the "design" or WYSIWYG view. Looking at the code seemed to make more sense to me than the actual design of the page, and troubleshooting is much easier.
Now I've taken on a new challenge. I am learning XHTML (apparently the next standard of HTML) and CSS. My goal is to use CSS exclusively to build this site. As I learn to use that web standard, I will begin to use it more and more in the design of client's websites. CSS seems to have enough flexibility built in to it to allow for the design of a dynamic website.
For example, typically I would use javascript, and two or more images per button, to construct a rollover navbar. However, the navbar on this site uses no javascript at all--only CSS and only one image. In fact, the style sheet calls the same image for all of the buttons. Therefore, each of the buttons uses the very same image.
This site also has no tables. Most websites use tables for layout of the page. CSS apparently will allow one to lay out a page without the use of tables.
My goal is to learn XHTML and CSS well enough to be able to design a website using only those two standards. I will continue to use all my skills to design a client's website, until I feel confortable using only CSS. As this website is a workshop of sorts for me, if you notice anything that needs attention, please send me an email.
Not all web browsers are created equal. This website looks best when viewed with Mozilla Firefox (it's a free browser, and much more secure than Microsoft IE). One of the most useful features of Mozilla Firefox is tabbed browsing. You can configure Firefox to open links in tabs within the the same window. Tabs can be moved so that simillar sites can be grouped together. All this in one window (and only one taskbar icon!!!). Give it a try.
Finally, if you are a website designer, and you are trying to learn CSS as well, send me an email. I would love to bounce ideas off anyone who is looking for a way to do something that seems to be tricky. I know I've had my share of trials getting this site to look like this (more trials to come, I'm sure). CSS isn't that difficult to pick up, and once you start using it and learn some skill, it starts to come easier (do I sound hopeful?). I've discovered that having others with which to share ideas is always helpful.
You may also want to check out the list of sites under CSS on my Favorites page. This list includes some of the sites that have been of great help to learn what I have learned so far about CSS, as well as to help me solve problems related to CSS. The list isn't complete yet, and may never be (I'll keep adding to it), so keep checking back.