Member Avatar for Proglearner

I set out to learn html4.01 and 5, css, javascript and perhaps php with a view to developing strong technical web design skills that can be applied to designing websites from scratch. My reasoning is that I'm a bit deficient on the visual creativity side and could perhaps compensate by making use of good power and flexibility in text-editor-based design. I even thought that, if I became very strong on the technical side, I could perhaps even attract casual design partners who do have visual creativity, or even a more committed creative sidekick. I'm not looking to launch myself straight into business in the oversaturated freelance web design field, just create a technically solid personal website that has decent visual appeal as a springboard to anything else I might do in the future.

After having an easy time of it getting the basics of html and css down, but struggling with javascript, however, I'm starting to wonder how realistic my aim is. How much more power and flexibility does text-editor-based from-scratch design offer over the graphical design tools easily available to a creative but technically unskilled person through the average bargain-basement webhost? More importantly, to what extent can from-scratch design proficiency really compensate for weak visual creativity?

I welcome opinions on these issues from anyone, whether your strengths are technical or creative, whether you are a veteran millionaire freelance web designer or someone who has programmed only in binary for the last 30 years. Let's hear from you.

Progz

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Short answer for : hand-coding gives you control you cannot get from cheap template builders, but it does not automatically replace a designer’s eye. Technical skill makes unusual layouts, animations and performance tweaks possible, and it makes collaboration with designers easier — but you still need basic visual rules (hierarchy, type, spacing, color) to make a site look good. is right that code removes tool limits; use that freedom deliberately rather than trying to “invent” design on the fly.

Practical, project-first roadmap: 1) solidify semantic HTML and accessible markup; 2) learn modern CSS layout (Flexbox, Grid), responsive techniques and a small typographic system; 3) build one complete site without JavaScript (mobile-first); 4) add JavaScript for progressive enhancement (DOM, events, async) and learn browser devtools for debugging. Ship tiny, focused features (header, responsive grid, accessible form) instead of chasing big, unfished projects.

Ways to compensate for limited visual creativity: reuse and adapt established UI patterns; build a small component library and a strict style guide (3 fonts max, a 4–6 color palette, fixed spacing scale). Prototype visually (paper or a mockup tool) then implement in code so designers can see a working baseline. To attract creative partners, present a clear brief and a working prototype — creatives respond to something they can iterate on, not abstract promises.

When you inspect production sites, look for semantic structure, separation of CSS/JS, responsive meta tag, and how assets are loaded and minified; don’t waste time supporting obsolete browsers unless you have users who need them. If JavaScript is blocking you, isolate problems, console.log values, use breakpoints, and break large scripts into small functions. Actionable next step: pick one small, personal project, timebox it (two weeks), finish and iterate — that is the fastest way to blend technical strength with better visual judgment.

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Member Avatar for James_Smith

Are you new to web design? If you are beginner and wants to learn web design then must visit W3Schools to start from scratch. It is a web developer's portal, with tutorials and references relating to web development subjects, including HTML, JavaScript, PHP, XML, CSS.

Member Avatar for Proglearner

James_Smith, you need to declare any conflict of interest you may have in your incessant promotion of a third-party website through forum posts. What is your association and/or affiliation with that website and how do you stand to benefit personally, including in any pecunairy and/or remunerative way, from constantly plugging that website?

Member Avatar for AleMonteiro

Proglearner, W3Schools is a really nice place to start learning about web. I started there about 6 years ago.

But let's go to the point... Knowing how to code is the only way to do exactly what you/your client wants.

There's a lot of tools, open-source projects, frameworks that you can use to build a website very fast, maybe in a day or two. But all those tools are limited and are going to limit your project.

If you just have good ideas for design/layout but don't know how to code, you'll always be limited by the available tools that you know how to use.

knowing how to code is to be free to create, don't matter if there's something identical out there or if it is all from your head.

Member Avatar for Proglearner

Ale, thanks for bolstering my confidence a bit. Is there a way to make creative people of limited technical skill understand that a guy who can write code from scratch is useful to them?

Member Avatar for AleMonteiro

Just show them a very sofisticated website, like DaniWeb or Google or Facebook, and ask: How would you make this happen? Do you know any good templates for creating something like it?

Member Avatar for Proglearner

So DaniWeb, the Google pages and Facebook are written from scratch using a text editor? Thanks for letting me know that.

I got some motivation from reading the page source at www.bmo.com. How would you evaluate that page source from a technical point of view? I understand most of what's going on there, and the only thing in that page that I disagree with right off is commenting out the IE5, 6, and 7 support.

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