Learn the Basics of Web Coding
Web coding is a process of creating, editing and publishing HTML and CSS files to build a website. Websites are an essential part of life in the 21st century and they are important for small businesses, job seekers, artists, freelancers and anyone else looking to promote themselves or their work online.
Coded websites offer more stability and functionality than sites built using site-building tools or pre-set templates. They can also be customized with advanced features such as embedded video, social media integration and ecommerce solutions. However, coding a website can be challenging for beginners and those who want to become web developers.
The best way to learn is by taking a coding course offered at a training company such as Treehouse. It is recommended by many top web developers, and it offers both a comprehensive foundational course in HTML and CSS as well as courses in more complex topics such as JavaScript. You can also learn on your own by tweaking website templates or inspecting the source code of other websites. Many aspiring web developers begin their journey by learning HTML and CSS this way.
A good place to start is by creating a basic skeleton for your website. This can be as simple as a list of pages on your website or it can be more detailed, such as the content you would like to include and how that will be organized on each page. This can be helpful to both you and your developer(s) as it will help them understand the structure of your site and what your vision is for it.
Once you have your skeleton, you can begin to create the actual HTML and CSS files that will make up your website. You can use a text editor to create and edit these files. Avoid using a word processor, which inserts formatting characters that aren’t valid HTML and can interfere with the proper display of your web page on a browser. To create an HTML file, simply type your skeleton into a text editor and save it with the extension “html.”
You will also need to set up an account with a hosting provider to have a server where you can upload your completed html and css files. Most hosts have a drag and drop file uploader that makes this easy, but some may require you to install software such as FTP. Regardless, most hosts provide guides that can walk you through the process.
The final step is to review your site and make any necessary changes to ensure it displays correctly. This includes making sure the file names follow conventions so that the browser can find and read them properly. For example, it is a good idea to use underscores (_) and dashes (-) instead of spaces and to avoid using percent signs (%), slashes (/), question marks (?) or exclamation points (!). This is because these symbols interrupt the search for the file and can cause it to display incorrectly.