What's Next?

Introduction
You've conquered HTML, but that's just the first baby step in learning web development!

More Web Based Programming Languages
HTML is the base language in Web Development. Now that you've learned it, it's time to move on to other languages and scripts.

XHTML
Much like you can have a "Windows 95, 98, NT, etc." different standards (or versions) of HTML are released every now and then. The latest version of HTML is called "XHTML 1.0". This doesn't mean that HTML will drastically change every few years, that just means that when new standards are released (by the W3C) little rules will be added.

But, the good news is, the W3C makes the standards for HTML, they do not, however, make the web browsers (like Internet Explorer). So, just because a new standard is released does not mean that your web pages will suddenly explode and become incompatible with all browsers across the world. It just means that you should get in the habit of practicing new ways of codeing, so you will be compatible with browsers that come out later on down the road. Most new web browsers that come out will recognize all of the old standards, and usually all of the new ones, however.

Here is the difference between older HTML standards (mostly HTML 4.02), and the new XHTML standards:

  1. Older standards state that it does not matter if your tags are uppercase, lowercase, or a combination of both. But, with XHTML all tags must be lowercase.
  2. Sometimes closing tags are not required in old standards, but XHTML states that all tags must be closed. This means that you now have to close all <p>, <li>, and <td> tags.
  3. Tags that do not enclose any content, and therefore do not require a closeing tag, must now be formatted differently. XHTML states that all tags not enclosing content must now contain a slash to close them. This mean that the <br> tag, <hr> tag, and <img> tag must now be written: <br />, <hr /<, and <img />; respectively. This tell XHTML interpreters to not expect a closing tag.
  4. XHTML requires all values to be enclosed in quotations, unlike older standards that did not require quotations.
  5. All attributes must now have values. Originally, you could type certain attributes with just a single word, now you have to specify an attribute and then a value. However, this is one rule that could be a problem with older browsers. To get around this, type the attribute the old way, and the new way. A bit redundant, but this will help keep things compatible for older browsers.
  6. Anchor links must now use the id attribute in replace of the name attribute. I'm not sure why this was changed, but I doubt any browser will be made that does not recognize the name attribute, so don't sweat this one too hard. Also, following this rule can also be a problem with older browsers, once again to get around this you will need to type the id attribute and the name attribute, to be compatible with all browsers.
  7. Correct DOCTYPE declaration is required.
  8. xmlns attribute must be placed in <html> tag.
  9. The <title> ... </title> tags must come first in the <head> ... </head> section.
  10. XHTML is much more strict with special characters. The characters you should avoid completely, and what you should replace them with are this:
Avoid: Replace With:
& - ampersand &amp;
" - quotation / inch mark &quot;
< - open angle-bracket / less then &lt;
> - close angle-bracket / greater then &gt;
[ - open square bracket &#91;
] - closed square bracket &#93;
' - apostrophe &#39;

CSS
With CSS you can have more control over the design of your website. The tutorials on CSS provided here are fairly basic, I would recommend purchasing a few CSS books for yourself, or searching for online tutorials. (You'll learn faster from a book, I feel).

JavaScript
A scripting language originally developed by Netscape. Learning this language will be well worth your time. You can use it to create pop up windows, roll over images, and other great effects that add "spice" to your web pages.

I have a few basic "cut and paste" codes on the JavaScript page, but no full-blown tutorials.

Perl and CGI
A must if you want to do anything truly interactive with your website. Perl is a language that works best with HTML forms, and is used to activate them, and arrange the information provided by the form to be used in other ways. You can use Perl to make guest books, keep stats on your web page, or even allow others to add information to your web site!

You need to check with your server to see if they allow Perl, because reading Perl requires a Perl Interpreter. (Tripod allows Perl!)

PHP
PHP is another great language that can allow you do all sorts of things. PHP can be used to make maintaing your website, even large ones easy. For example, with regular programming languages, updating your website's design means editing multiple pages, one at a time. This can be a redundant task if you are trying to maintain a large website, with pages upon pages of information.

With PHP, you can simply specify where you want certain information to be placed, and then change the complete look of your website on just one document, saving hours, potentially days for some.

There is a lot more that you can do with PHP then explained here, and like Perl, you will need to find out if your server allows PHP scripts. (Spaceports should still allow them, and they are free, see publishing page)

And then...
That doesn't cover all the different aspects of web based Programming Languages, but it will give you a good start on learning more. I recommend you read up on these subjects using books that can be bought online (using your credit card / debit card), in a popular book store (such as Walden Books), or occasionally in a computer/office supplies store (I bought my first HTML book in an Office Depot), or maybe even your local library. But, these books range from $30 - $60+ so for those with limited bank accounts, surf the web for more tutorials. Typing "JavaScript tutorials", "css tutorials", or "insert-your-language-here tutorials" will provide you with a wealth of information at my favorite search engine; Google.

Learn Design
Design is a completely new art form. Knowing HTML can mean almost nothing without the proper design skills backing you up. And very few people will hire someone who knows HTML, but can't really make a nice design with it.

What do I think the best way to learn design is? Go to college. I mean that, if you want to do anything professionally, you might need that A.A.S, or B.A. backing you up to make it beyond small time freelance.

College cost a lot of money, so don't go just to study web-design, go for a general subject like Computer Graphics Design. This will teach you design in general, all the important software, and in addition to basic web design, you will learn print, 3D animation, video (such as animating with Adobe After Effects), putting together major movies, the art of presentation, a little traditional art, creating a company identity, photo retouch and manipulation, and a never ending variety of subjects allowing you to choose what type of design related job you want. A good school will give you the necessary interviewing / resume skills, the information you will need to make it in the freelance world, and teach you the different ways to present a portfolio to a client/potential employer, such as the traditional method with printed hard copies of your work, on a CD-Rom (using Director), and of course on the internet.

But, if you're just out they're to have some fun, invest in a few graphics programs first, and, no, that does not mean Microsoft Paint, dammit. The best? Adobe Photoshop v. 5.5+. This program will allow you to do virtually anything to an image. It has plenty of features to make your work look its best on the web, and comes with the excellent Program Image Ready. With Image Ready you can make great .gif animations, and it makes image mapping and rollovers super easy, even going so far as to write the necessary HTML/JavaScript for you. However, Photoshop is meant for professional use, and therefore has a very high price. The student version (which I'm fairly sure you have to be a student to purchase) can cost up to $300, and the full version usually cost $600+. Is it worth it? With out a doubt, but for those who simply cannot come up with the funds, try the latest version of Paint Shop Pro, which usually cost $100, give or take a little. It is... okay... for basic manipulation of graphics, and I'm fairly certain it comes with a .gif animation maker, but if you have to get this program, steer clear of Photoshop until you can afford it, it will only depress you. Other (free) programs include the evil "Gimp". Some people like it, but some people probably never used anything else.

Next, learn to use your new graphics software with some online tutorials. Check out the resources section of Coolhomepages.com, or search the net.

Speaking of cool home pages, the next step is to study the work of others. Check out what the professionals do to make the best designs work. And, while your at it, maybe you should check out what the worst of them do at Really Bad Websites.

Search the web for some design related tutorials, and learn a thing or two about color and other web design aspects.

Note that web design is a skill, and like all skills, they take time to develop.

Keep Up To Date
Keep yourself up to date on all the latest HTML standards at W3C. Although new HTML standards do not start to effect on web design and development until sometime after they are released, it's good to stay ahead of the game.

Check Out Some Web Design Software
All you need for HTML is notepad, right? Well, yeah, but what fun is that? Check out these programs that make web development it's best:

Photoshop (v. 5.5+ is best): The best image editor on the market, Photoshop should be the program you get, if you get noting else.
Dreamweaver: This web design editor allows you to easily make a complete website without knowing a single HTML tag (although it helps). And for those that do know HTML have the option to edit the HTML code directly. Dreamweaver usually does a great job in codeing, and keeps up to date with the latest standards, while remaining compliant with the older ones. It also comes with a decent FTP program. Further more, you get a professional web development tool for a cheap price.
Flash: A must have if you want to create cutting edge designs, with fully interactive animations. The best animation editor for the web, Flash allows creation of some of the best web designs not possible with traditional web based programming languages. And despite being a major tool of the trade, it's cheap!
EditPad Classic: It's Notepad times 5. Comes with everything notepad has, plus all the necessary short cut keys to make editing a breeze, the ability to open multiple files at once, a find and replace function that even allows you to edit multiple documents at once, an instant "uppercase to lowercase / lowercase to uppercase" feature, the ability to append multiple files, and a customizable display feature, allowing you to change the background of your window, and color of your text, allowing you to set the display to softer colors making things easier on the eyes. Oh, yeah, and it's free.

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