8 Go To Resources To Help You Go Pro With Web Design
Want to go pro? Here are eight resources to help you along your path of learning web design. I’ve included books as well as online links to some great places to learn about topics that will help you with your quest to become better in the field. One of the best things about working with WordPress is that it’s not necessary to be an expert in things like HTML, CSS or JavaScript; however, having a base knowledge of those types of programming will assist you in repairing bugs and customizing your WordPress themes.
WordPress Resources
Web Designer’s Guide to WordPress–Jesse Friedman | Photo courtesy of Amazon
Web Designer’s Guide to WordPress
The first is a book by Jesse Friedman called Web Designer’s Guide to WordPress. This book is beautifully laid out and includes code snippets and a link online to practice what you’re learning in the book. The author covers planning (including wire frame, which is often overlooked), theme design, building with step-by-step instructions and then launching your first WordPress based website. It’s available on Amazon.
WPBEGINNER.COM
This website is stuffed absolutely full of hints and tips to install, run and maintain a WordPress based CMS. The archives have tips and tricks on everything imaginable related to WordPress. Totally worth a visit to their site; expect to spend hours going down the rabbit hole of learning! You can visit them here.
EASYWPGUIDE.COM
If you are looking for a written manual which covers A-Z on what WordPress can do, this is your go-to resource. It’s literally an instruction manual of most everything you’ll need to know in WordPress. Well laid out, plain language instructions, I rank this as a 5 star resource. Best of all, it’s free to download their PDF for personal use. Go see them and take a look here.
HTML Resources
HTML5: The Missing Manual
HTML5 Missing Manual by Matthew MacDonald | Photo Courtesy of Amazon
This book by Matthew MacDonald, called HTML5: The Missing Manual, looks daunting at first glance. At nearly 500 pages, it’s chock-full of screen shots and well written tips and advice. This is another book which walks you through from beginning to end about the language and capabilities of HTML5. Check it out on Amazon.
W3SCHOOLS.COM
This website is AMAZING! It covers tutorials on all kinds of programming and design topics. It has tutorials galore and also includes online tools where you can fool around with the code in editor boxes to see what it will do in real-time. See the results immediately and even copy the code you just created so you can paste it into your own site. Go visit them and learn, learn, learn!
HTML AND CSS: Design and Build Websites by Jon Duckett
HTML and CSS: Design and Build Web Sites by Jon Duckett | Photo Courtesy of Amazon
Although seemingly more complex information is presented, it’s done in such a beautiful way, it is easy to learn from. This book is particularly great for those visual learner types who need photos. This book is beautiful and brilliant, giving the reader tips on every step of building and styling a web page. Another great find on Amazon.
CSS Resources
CSS3: The Missing Manual
CSS3: The Missing Manual by David Sawyer McFarland | Photo Courtesy of Amazon
This book (yes, can you tell I’m an avid reader!?!) in the Missing Manual series is written by David Sawyer McFarland. Cascading Style Sheets are what power the look of your website and this resource is a great go-to reference for anything CSS related. My only wish for future editions of this book is that it had color photos in it. It’s earmarked like crazy in my library with little tags to remind me where subjects like applying color gradients and transition effects are. Add it to your shelf by visiting Amazon.
JavaScript Resources
JavaScript and JQuery: Interactive Front-End Web Development by Jon Duckett
You might be getting to the point where you’re a more advanced knowledge seeker and you’d like to know how JavaScript and JQuery work. This book is a well written reference tool. It contains an online link to the book with practice exercises and is filled with color images which show both the programming code on one side, and the results of the code on the other side of the page. It’s a kind of “cause and effect” layout which is great for visual learners and is not over-burdened with complicated explanations. Digging into this book helps you to understand the “how it works” side of WordPress and web design. This one can be grabbed here.
