[this_is_peter]

Having been in the Design for Print industry for almost 15 years, I am now branching out and getting involved in web design projects. Thing is it seems like a minefield. COuld someone point me in the right direction as in what applications to use to design in. Like is it still PhotShop and coding? Also what is the best technology to use. HTML5, CSS3 etc.

Any pointers would be appreciated.

[chris_17]

Photoshop yes.

As for the coding side, I haven't bothered with HTML5 yet, just get to know it and realise its full potential before using it for clients.

CSS3 I use some parts such as rounded corners, drop shadows etc and media queries. Speaking of which have a little look at responsive design, the use of media queries to display different styles for different screen resolutions such as iPhone styling (Its a bit like the conditional statements). Also web fonts which I'm using on my site design which is in development and on my holding page.

[this_is_peter]

Thanks Chris I will be sure to look into all of your comments. I will keep you posted on how I go.

Thanks again :)

[Katedesign]

Depends what you are wanting to offer - I have taught myself XHTML and CSS (Headfirst book - very good to start with) Lots go with Dreamweaver - but I wanted to start by knowing the coding and having had a quick look at Dreamweaver I couldn't even get started!!

[creatabledesign]

I have to admit, it seems tedious to learn however I am in the same boat as Katedesign and in all fairness once you start you just can't stop but as technologies change, you need to change and adapt with it. I agree with Chris, don't start with HTML5 yet because some of the bigger websites don't really care about ie6 etc, your clients will or you will build something stunning and amazing in HTML5 and they turn around and say oh why doesn't it work in this and that browser?

That's the only problem with HTML5 at the minute, it's not currently supported in that many browsers. Learn the basics, I started at w3schools, and feel I am a fairly competent html coder. I started in Dreamweaver but I started in the code view and just work on the basis of try, try and try again until you get it right.

Just my experience though.

[Monkeyweb]

As others have suggested, I would start with CSS2 - that way you will be building sites that the majority of web users will be able to view. Dreamweaver may be useful to start with as it means you won't need to know all of the code off by heart.

[wdltd]

If you are a print designer branching into web design then I would seriously consider understanding the design principles for web before you go learning the code. It may be best to learn how to design for the web and find a freelancer to work on the coding side. It may prove too difficult to understand how to design for the web and also learn how to code, very daunting!

Good luck in whatever you do :)

[robfenech]

I have to agree with Robert McCarthy here; if you are currently a print designer, then making the transition to web coding is quite a tough one.

I would highly recommend farming the code work out to a freelancer who knows their stuff, it will save you the hassle.

By all means, learn html/css in your own time, and on your own projects, but don't learn as you go with a client project.

To help you learn, I would suggest going to:

W3Schools Online Web Tutorials

and

Tizag Tutorials

Good luck :)