There are a lot of programs and tools that let you create Web pages without having to know HTML or CSS.
Is there a point to learning how to write code from scratch?
Yes! Because these programs don’t always build things the way you want:
Most give you access to the underlying HTML code: if you know what to look for, you can manually tweak things “under the hood” to get exactly what you’re after.
While there’s a wealth of pre-configured templates to choose from, you may have something very specific in mind, in which case it’s nice to be able to handcraft your own design.
Especially if those templates portray your site as stamped from the same cookie cutter as everyone else’s.
You can find out a lot about HTML coding through free, online tutorials, but if you learn better with someone there to explain how it works, with ready answers for your specific questions, let’s talk.
In addition to HTML, we can also cover CSS, the language that controls the styling of what you see and makes it possible to manage the appearance of vast numbers of Web pages.
I’ll have a text editor and a browser open right next to each other so, as you try out changes in the code, you can immediately see the effect on the Web page in the browser window. Like in the movie at the top of this page.
As we work through the class material, we’ll save the work in digital files and also print it out and mark it up with notes so you can study it later.
I’m keen on sketching things out on paper—it helps build a mental image of what’s going on, and the relationship of files to each other.
I was producing printed magazines for Forbes back in the 1980s when it became fashionable for printed magazines to have accompanying Web sites.
Much of our magazine content began to be published on Forbes.com and I enjoyed the role of devising scripts which would help automate the conversion of our QuarkXPress print documents to HTML. Eventually, I moved out of print publishing and into Web publishing exclusively, adding XML and CSS to my skills.
As I began my 10-year stint at Ernst & Young, supporting their Web sites through a massive Content Management System (CMS), I saw how it was still crucial to know HTML, so as to quickly make changes and corrections on the myriad Web pages, changes not always possible in the WYSIWYG* editor.
*What You See Is What You Get
Let’s connect by email to discuss your interest and schedule a first session. If you like the workshop and want to do more, we’ll plan out a schedule for subsequent sessions.
Payments can be made via Zelle in advance, or in cash when we meet. Sessions are $80/hour. Cancellations with three days’ notice are free.