“Starting a Website” n00b Style!

Please Read: The below article is solely based on my thoughts and opinions. With that in mind, while I do not mind if you comment your thoughts about it, please do not childishly complain about what I think or don’t think. These are my opinions and I’m entitled to say what I like, thank you.

I was inspired to write this article after viewing the many “newbie” websites popping up on the hit website, Rev.iew.me. I noticed that a lot of the tween bloggers who’s sites were still being created and fairly new, were already giving out advice on “how to” create a website and become a great web designer.

I can understand the need to help others, but why help others with something that you yourself do not fully understand yet? Sadly most of the “advice” or “tips and tricks” were not entirely helpful in the least. Some consisted of telling viewers to start off “building” their websites on free-servers like Piczo or Myspace. Where in the world do they get the idea that these websites are ideal for starting out a webpage? Myspace for one, is an online SOCIAL NETWORKING site, that sure you can edit with DIV coding, but it’s a profile page, and a few DIV hacks are not equivalent to a full out website!

Before you start to try and “educate” others, make sure that you yourself are educated in what you are preaching. If you know that you’re own website is not 100% up to par with website standards, do not think for a second you are ready to help others get to where you are! You want to help people, direct them in the RIGHT direction, not the wrong.

I am by no means an expert, but I like to think I know a thing or too, since I started web designing back in 98-99 (I was about 10-11). Then, websites looked pretty horrible and free-servers such as Geocities, Homestead, and Tripod were the “IT” hosts. Table coding was all the rage for the ideal website layout and if you had a copy of Photoshop, you were God! Of course, I tried to learn as much as I could about HTML and CSS and in the summer of 2006, I even took a technical course in Web Design, earning me certification, NOT that, that says much, but still. I currently work as a Web Designer for a local Design and Marketing Firm. I’m in no way bragging, but just want people reading to know that I’m in no way BS-ing about what I know and do not know.

So in conclusion to my short article/rant, please, before you decide to teach others on how to create a website, which hosts to use, “why using HTML is important”, make sure you YOURSELF know the correct answers. If not, then why do it?