Web Design Newb NEEDS help

[EYPUFF]

Well.. first off. I'm using Dreamweaver and it's a very powerful tool. Anyhow, I've been somewhat "designing" websites for some time now. But I do believe that I've been doing it the hard way. I've been using TABLES, now I know I know.. leave me alone. But I'm pretty darn sure that there is an easier way to make a layout.. because everytime I would "split" a table it would split to a previous measurement.. unless I continue to split and find a split that hasn't been split unto before. (sensicle?) anywho, I was wondering if someone could somehow lay down the basics for me. or at least direct me to a site that will. Also I need help w/ making a "slideshow" type thing w/ pictures continuing to scroll. you know, like one picture pops up then dissolves into another and ecetera. and lastly i've been using vBulletin as my forum software.. but I was wondering if there was something more customizable and such. I know that's a lot of questions.. and probably a lot of dumb ones.. but I really need some help. And it's time to start doing things the right way. Thanks in advance.....

EY

 

[Murlyn]

Well until more browsers use CSS correctly, I would stick with tables. And you can put tables within tables, within tables, even though nesting tables will take longer on certain browsers.. it's still a great way of getting precise layouts done in your design. Remember to always have a transparent gif so that you can do some even more precise positioning...

slideshow.. hmm.. you might be able to find a flash slideshow on the web.. or a javascript one..

Vbulletin is pretty nice.. I like it phpBB is pretty good and very widely used.. and free

 

[muso]

I think vBulletin is about as customisable as you get. If you can learn the scripting language it uses you'll be set. I also found Invision was quite easy to modify.

I'd play around with css positioning a bit, maybe you could try and start using some css, but not entirely. Learn the basics such as font formatting, and basic positioning. For positioning, start simple, do something like making 2 boxes and positioning them separately on your screen (don't worry about other people's resolutions). Example:

HTML:
<div class="boxOne">Text and/or image goes here</div>
<div class="boxTwo">Text and/or image goes here</div>

In your CSS file or head:
.boxOne {position: absolute; top: 5px; left 5px; width: 100px; height: 100px;background-color: #000;}
.boxTwo {position: absolute; top: 5px; left: 155px; width: 100px; height: 100px; background-color: #666;}

It's pretty self-explanatory. The 'position' attribute can be either absolute or relative. Play around with each of them and see if you can figure out which each does. I suggest you use only a text editor if you can. If you don't want to spend lots on BBEdit, try HyperEdit - it's decent and it's only $20.

 

[CaptainMack]

i wish i coud learn all this. i tried but it was hard

 

[iSheep]

Baaah! Listen: it's really hard just to learn something but searching around and talking on forums. Buy a book. There are loads! I bought DHTML and CSS Visual Quick Start Guide, it's fantastic, I've learnt loads from it and it's only $20.

Browsers are modern enough and up-to-date to support nearly all of CSS. Screw tables and strange 'spacers'. CSS rocks. You'll fine it much easier to use Dreamweaver MX 2004 for CSS, as there are loads of major advantages over MX.