HTML/CSS useless on it's own?

[daytona]

What's happening people!
I've been learning html/css on the side of my graphic design course to try and give myself 'a wider range of skills' but I'm starting to wonder 'why am i doing this?'

...I just wrote a long garbled post but decided to delete it. I just want to know, what's the point?! :)

[Corrosive]

Perhaps you should have left your longer post. Not sure I know what you are getting at? You need HTML/CSS to build websites so it depends if that is something you want to get into or not?

[daytona]

haha perhaps i should of.
Well I'm studying graphic design but also want to get into web design. But i was looking at setting up and cms and it wanted me to have a decent standard of php...i think not!
I am thinking of learning javascript though. but how would you host a website? just use html and cms on an ftp? but then surely you can only update it on pc's where you can access the ftp (bit of a pain).
hope more confusing questions gives you a bit more to go on.. :P
Tom

[daytona]

sorry got in too slow for the edit...
EDIT: i feel like learning html/css/javascript sort of puts you in position to be a front end developer, but presumably this only really works if you know a back end developer. so what good is it to you on your own?

[Corrosive]

Which CMS did you look at? Not all ask you to have a knowledge of PHP. Granted it helps to have some grounding in PHP when it comes to changing functionality or just not being freaked out when presented with a code challenge but you can get by without it.

Basically we build websites using the ModX CMS which requires a good knowledge of HTML/CSS to create your bespoke template but you can 'plug in' most of the stuff you need. Same is true of Wordpress. They can then be updated through a browser without FTP.

[sthomas]

It's good that you're exploring different aspects of web design but very few graphic designers have HTML / CSS / Javascript and PHP skills as well as a great design portfolio when they leave college.

By trying to learn everything, there's a good chance that you won't be able to do any one thing very well.

Try and get a good understanding of HTML & CSS and concentrate on getting the best out of your design course.

(If you want to learn about CMS, you can set-up a website using WordPress without knowing how to write PHP)

[daytona]

yay! thanks for the replies, good advice form you both!

I was looking at drupal as my cms as i had some experience just working with it on an internship, not setting it up though!

you're totally right sthomas and i only get to work on it in downtime on my degree, but i wouldn't let it impact on it.

I guess i'll keep at it then and maybe look at getting wordpress set up so i can practice making some themes, do you reckon that's a good way to begin putting in to practice what im learning?

[sthomas]

The good thing with WordPress is you can download a free (or paid for) theme and then set about tweaking the CSS and PHP so you can get a site exactly how you'd like it.

The most obvious thing to do would create a portfolio site for yourself. Show off your best work and create a website that you can be proud of. That way, you're learning some web skills and creating a showcase of your design and web skills.

In time, you can progress to properly understanding HTML and CSS but the advantages of using WordPress (or any good CMS) is that it's easy to update and a lot easier to have a web presence than completely starting from scratch.

[daytona]

Yeah at the moment I have a portfolio and blog on squarespace, which i quite like but i feel like it's all done for me, and it's costing me too much, especially as its not generating me any income.

So i might start again with wp. Bit confused though, it there a difference between getting a wordpress blog, and having a website based on wordpress? Does a wordpress website cost/ do you pay wp or just pay for the hosting?

thanks for your time by the way, much appreciated.

[sthomas]

You can pay WP to host the site for you but I think it's more common to download the software and install it on your own webspace (lots of hosting companies offer WP as a free 1-click install).

There's no difference between a WP blog and a WP website (they both use the same admin CMS back-end)