William P. Craft
Dean, Learning Resources and Technology
San Diego Mesa College
Instructor: CBTE 162 Webpage Creation
"I heard that Dreamweaver is a good program. They say it does everything for me.
Why should I bother to learn how to hand code? Isn't that a step backwards?"
Answer: I agree that Dreamweaver is good, in fact, it's very good. But, I hope I can convince you that learning how to code by hand is absolutely worth your effort.
The Web has been around for about 17 years. At first, everything was done by hand. Later, programs were invented to automate webpage creation, including Dreamweaver, FrontPage, and GoLive. All these programs worked fairly well and many people learned how to code totally in the WYSIWYG mode. (What You See Is What You Get--it's pronounced: wizzywig.)
But, as time passed, web design began to change. Today, to make the best sorts of websites—sites that work on browsers, screenreaders, and iPhones—you really need to learn some hand coding.
Why does knowing how to code help? Well, just imagine that I sent you an email to tell you that I "here" that XHTML is fun. The spell checker in the email program doesn’t know that I should have written that I "hear" that XHTML is fun. Automated web design programs like Dreamweaver are very good, but they sometimes make "mistakes" in the web code. They do something that would be right most of the time—but it's not right this time. That can detract from the final look of your web page. If you know the basics of the underlying code, you can quickly fix the problem and make the webpage do what you want it to do.
Don’t let coding scare you. It's really not very hard.
We will start with the absolute basics and work slowly up to a very good level of understanding. After you know how to code by hand, it is very easy to switch to an automated program like Dreamweaver if you care to do so. We also offer that class: CBTE 165.
The book we will be using is “Head First HTML with CSS and XHTML. It is absolutely up-to-date. (I wish it had been on the market when I was learning the basics!.) Moreover, it is very well written and organized.
Here is a book review from an Amazon customer named Ms. O. Khannah-Brown:
This book SHOULD receive 6+ stars.
Are you tired of reading reference manuals? Get ready for some fun with "Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML". This is not your ordinary technical manual. It is funny, interesting, VERY helpful---even for seasoned professionals, great for beginners, and unlike anything you've ever seen before, unless you're familiar with other "Head First" books.
I wish, I wish, I pray, that instructors will read this book and see that learning can be fun, interesting, and enjoyable. If you purchase this book, no matter what your level of HTML familiarity, I guarantee that you will be entertained and informed. Even if you have spent years designing web sites, you won't mind spending $23 to read a prototype of what technical manuals SHOULD be but never are...until now!!
Buy this book....you won't be sorry.
I stayed up until midnight last night reading answers to questions I'd always wanted to ask but never knew who to ask them of...and being fascinated. A true beginner will need to study this book. A professional will laugh and be refreshed and have a lot of fun with it. All should purchase it and support a new way of learning!
Do you still need more reasons to take this course and to learn hand coding? OK, then read this too: Why Learn to Code by Hand?