noo-be needs help!

[garmp]

I have been in the graphic business for a number of years and now want to learn web design. Got a Dreamweaver8 and am having a devil of a time doing things. I'm use to Photoshop or Illustrator, InDesign, Quark, etc. Anyway I was just told to try KompoZer as an alternative.

My question is: I have seen a web site that displays its portfolio by showing several small images to one side of the screen and as you scroll across an image an enlarged version is displayed in a large box on the other side of the screen, showing itn enlarged and more detail, and text containing the client-job information and even a testimonial. And where I would like to add a link to the clients site.

I know nothing about html, css nor much of anything web orientated. (I'm a print guy) How difficult is this to produce this effect and what is your opinion of DW8 vs KompoZer?

Thank you for your time and understanding.

 

[AusQB]

Something like that should be easy to achieve using some JavaScript. I'll see if I can make a rough concept later (if only for my own practice).

If you want to learn web design, the best place to start is W3Schools.

I've never heard of KompoZer, but anyone will tell you to go with Dreamweaver.

 

[garmp]

Thank you for the reply.

This whole thing is getting way complicated. First I bought DW for dummies, then a cd training course. Read 3/4 of the book and watched the entire video. Was then told to learn HTML and CSS, and am starting into the HTML learning process.

CSS are style sheets used to make "batch" changes easier, are they not? I can handle changing every header on every page by hand if I want a change (at this point anyway, cause I'll only have 3-4 pages). Do I need to learn this at this early stage to produce a website that looks and acts like it belongs to a graphic designer?

So JavaScript is also on the slate to be understood? I am totally confused as to how HTML, CSS and JavaScript co-exist on a website and which take precedence over the other.

Give me a simple multiple page full color catalog for print and I can do it. This I MUST learn to do. So thank you for your patience, advice and input.

 

[PixelPusher]

Yep I would stick with DM8, hands down.
Don't know about Kompozer but I have used DM for years. It is a great program and features a design view for newbies. The design view allows you to build a web project on a more visual basis.

Granted, some of the code used in the prebuilt stuff could be written better (ixnay on the ables ta) but I would tackle that when you have a stronger knowledge of web development.

I think javascript would be one of the best ways to create your image thumbnail bar. Plus, with libraries like jquery.com you can add some cool animation effects. If you are not concerned about SEO, that image bar could be built with Flash?

Keep in mind, javascript is more difficult to understand than html and css, so be prepared to be little confused, lol. Like AusQB stated, W3Schools is a great learning source.

Any questions, just ask. Good luck

 

[PixelPusher]

Thank you for the reply.

...Do I need to learn this at this early stage to produce a website that looks and acts like it belongs to a graphic designer?

I think you should try to implement CSS from the start, but remember keep it simple. CSS will allows for much easier web corrections/adjustments/styling. Also, read up on building web sites with divs and try to not build with tables. The tabless structure is a much cleaner method of coding, and is becoming an industry standard, so you want to keep up with that you know?

Leave the jscript alone for right now. Tackle html and css first. Small steps will make it much easier, and will keep your sanity

 

[AusQB]

Yeah, it might seem easy enough to edit each individual head element, but sooner or later you will realize that you want to make changes to a single element that requires you to go and change all instances of that style.

Creating a separate CSS file and linking it is by far the better approach and you should always do this no matter how small the site is.

 

[max22]

check out http://www.dynamicdrive.com/dynamicindex4/index.html. they always have great scripts that would help you with this.

 

[wetgravy]

What you are looking for is a simple image replacement javascript. There are multiple ways to do this and for a while i used it for thumbnails that would replace the main image. Sadly this creates large load times with not so nice coding. I now almost solely use a flash app called simpleviewer which is completely customizable or i use a javascript lightbox for all my image needs.

As for dreamweaver ... it's all i use since it normally seems to be the most up to date for code standards in css.

Also, don't concentrate on just html, learn some css and some standards for CMS design ... I am in the process of converting my current site from straight css to a content management system.