Hi guys

hope this is the right place..

anyway simply put, im extremely new to web site design and was wondering what the BEST software to LEARN on,so many choices out there,dreamweaver,frontpage,flash,..pls shed some light so i can start asap..

thanks guys

how you want to live..its up to you

I consider "web development" and "web site design" as two entirely different things.

I consider web development as the development of dynamic pages and web applications. For this I suggest a development tool such as MS Visual Studio.

I consider web site design as the process of designing how the site looks. Sites that just utilize static pages do not need "development", but all development projects require design. I don't use it myself, but others claim Dreamweaver is good in this respect.

Personally I don't care for any WYSIWIG editors. I prefer to always be working at the code level. But, then again, my design skills suck.

Michael J

First of all, learn basic HTML - see www.w3.org

Second you may learn PHP and MySQL if you want to make dynamic sites. A good environment for PHP and MySQL (including Apache webserver for your local computer) is EasyPHP: www.easyphp.org

Third, you need a good webhosting service. Several good hosting services may be found here: Web Hosting

dreamweaver i believe is the best program to use but if you can't afford the cost, then you may have to look at frontpage or namo web editor (which is what i use) or something like that ... there are lots of web editors, some free and some not

the question about flash depends on if you want a web site that is search engine friendly or not ... if you do want a search engine friendly site, then: no flash, no frames, no iframes, add valuable content to your site, use good navigation links

a search engine friendly site means you will need to learn about seo (search engine optimisation) ... and if you go down that road, be prepared for a steep learning curve

hope this helps

serge

SEO Resources

Target the right Keywords

FREE SEO Report

A good program I've found to use is Netobjects Fusion if you sign up for ms hosting with 1and1 you get version 8 free plus all these

NetObjects Fusion 8
PhotoImpact 11 SE
Hello Engines! 4.0
Ranking Toolbox 4.0
WISE FTP 3.0
Gif Animator 5
1&1 Internet Tuner

If any advice helps, please post back as it might help others.