Skip to main content

Best way to learn CSS? 6464 Responses

Last post: 1 year, 10 months ago | Thread started: Nov 26, 09, 10:07 a.m.

RespondNew TopicDisable Images

  • Projectile

    an o'reilly book?

    online tutorials?

    w3schools?

    Getting evening tuition from another designer?

    I'm having serious trouble getting off the ground. Everything I try simply doesn't work, even though pasted directly from the tutorial! >_<

    I'm trying the most basic tutorials, but hell I don't even know what software to pop it into! I've got Visual Studio and Dreamweaver, but have been advised to stay away from Dreamweaver (but that's by an uber-guru.. am I trying learn in the deep end?)

    Any advice and links to specific tutorials would be great. Video tutorials are even better, as I can see things that they don't mention just by looking..

    Nov 26, 09, 10:07 a.m. – Permalink
  • acescence

    if you're learning to do things by hand, dreamweaver is just fine. just keep it in code view and don't bother with design view.

    • Design view CAN be helpful to visualize things when you're learning.– ETM1/3
      i find browsers more useful, design view always looks a bit different– acescence2/3
      I've always done both.– CyBrain3/3
    next note >+ add note

    You must be logged in to add a note. Login now or register for an account.

    Cancel
    Dog-earNov 26, 09, 10:15 a.m. – Permalink
  • vaxorcist

    argh!

    cssedit or notepad++
    (any text-editor that checks beginnings and ends of brackets and divs can save your sanity)

    eric meyer

    zen garden

    try not to let IE hacks ruin your mind

    read good code, don't try to always assume CSS rules actually work as they should in most browsers........ while it's shitty that CSS should be something you can just write according to specs, it sometimes isn't.... and that's a learning curve, but also some job security once you learn it....

    • I disagree- these are dated associations with css (meyer + zengarden) = not the best way to learn today.– Mojo1/2
      you may be right... I learned years ago, what do you suggest now?– vaxorcist2/2
    next note >+ add note

    You must be logged in to add a note. Login now or register for an account.

    Cancel
    Dog-earNov 26, 09, 10:27 a.m. – Permalink
  • ESKEMA

    I learned a lot since I started using CSSEdit. Preview + Code + Visual editing all at the same time and seeing every change real time.

    next note >add note

    You must be logged in to add a note. Login now or register for an account.

    Cancel
    Dog-earNov 26, 09, 10:28 a.m. – Permalink
  • sseo

    This is just the way I learned it...

    I had a crash course in college and I think it helped me understand CSS generally, but not much more. Once you have an idea of how it works, you can learn specifics by looking at other people's code in combination with w3schools. Also just do some reading on web standards because learning it right the first time saves you a lot of time later.

    It's tough at first because it's all seems so foreign, but stick to it and don't try to do too much at once. Try to solve each problem and make sure you understand all of the hows and whys.

    Just so you know, I wouldn't consider myself knowledgeable on the subject, but I had to teach myself and make it work. I never really had the patience for tutorials or books, but if that works for you it's probably a good way to go as well.

    This method kind of sucks because it's hard to explain to name a single really helpful resource, but I did learn a lot just by picking at this guy's code:

    http://csswizardry.com/typogridp…

    • cool, yeah I think once i've gathered some momentum I'll be ready for that– Projectile
    + add note

    You must be logged in to add a note. Login now or register for an account.

    Cancel
    Dog-earNov 26, 09, 10:30 a.m. – Permalink
  • sseo

    and as vaxorcist mentioned, be aware that different browsers do different things with the same code, so maybe it's best to stick to one while learning. You can learn hacks for different browsers later (welcome to hell.)

    • yeah already run into so many damn problems!!– Projectile1/2
      don't waste your time with browser incompatibilities yet. it sucks.– sseo2/2
    next note >+ add note

    You must be logged in to add a note. Login now or register for an account.

    Cancel
    Dog-earNov 26, 09, 10:33 a.m. – Permalink
  • Projectile

    hang on.. one more thing, I'm just trying to up my skills base in order to have more options available to me. (most job posts these days say HTML/CSS skills needed)

    Am I learning the best thing here? in fact they usually just say HTML but I'm assuming that means CSS too.
    or as a designer should I just be learning how to use Dreamweaver or something? The messy code does bother me a bit, though

    • dont learn dreamweaver - handcode then choose a decent editor to hand code into...– ckentish
    + add note

    You must be logged in to add a note. Login now or register for an account.

    Cancel
    Dog-earNov 26, 09, 10:41 a.m. – Permalink
  • acescence

    i think if they say html it would typically also involve css. but yeah, if you've got the time to learn, it's a good skill for a designer to have if for nothing else just to have an understanding of what's involved. i would not bother with doing things visually in dreamweaver, use it as a text editor if at all.

    next note >add note

    You must be logged in to add a note. Login now or register for an account.

    Cancel
    Dog-earNov 26, 09, 11:15 a.m. – Permalink
  • Ravdyk

    Use the slogan of nike

    next note >+ add note

    You must be logged in to add a note. Login now or register for an account.

    Cancel
    Dog-earNov 26, 09, 11:23 a.m. – Permalink
  • jysta

    1) Firebug in Firefox > CSS > edit (see your effects live)
    2) Coda, it's got books for both html and css for reference and you can edit visually instead of typing which starting out helps a lot.
    3) Get a CSS cheatsheet here: http://www.addedbytes.com/cheat-…

    + add note

    You must be logged in to add a note. Login now or register for an account.

    Cancel
    Dog-earNov 27, 09, 6:21 a.m. – Permalink
  • ckentish

    just do it

    • god ha! didnt see Ravdyk's post... very true though– ckentish
    + add note

    You must be logged in to add a note. Login now or register for an account.

    Cancel
    Dog-earNov 27, 09, 6:23 a.m. – Permalink
  • Mojo

    View source.

    next note >add note

    You must be logged in to add a note. Login now or register for an account.

    Cancel
    Dog-earNov 27, 09, 6:25 a.m. – Permalink
  • Mojo

    Learn from people like Dan Cederholm. I went to one of Eric Meyer's workshops - and he basically is a nerd with lots of obscure knowledge, who has had lots of influence into how it all works. His workshop involved him showing us how clever he is, and styling boring tables for 5 hours. Fuuuun.

    Bulletproof CSS.

    + add note

    You must be logged in to add a note. Login now or register for an account.

    Cancel
    Dog-earNov 27, 09, 6:27 a.m. – Permalink
  • jimzyk

    Smultron
    +
    Fetch
    +
    Fap
    =
    Website

    • Fap is key– sseo1/3
      you need to fap
      or your website won't be seo'd      – jimzyk2/3
      be sure to stick to FAP standards...– janne763/3
    next note >+ add note

    You must be logged in to add a note. Login now or register for an account.

    Cancel
    Dog-earNov 27, 09, 6:33 a.m. – Permalink
  • spraycan

    my first experience was with a book then i continued with online stuff

    • My first experience was with a woman... but hey, to each their own.– ETM1/3
      hahah– spraycan2/3
      LOL– Projectile3/3
    next note >+ add note

    You must be logged in to add a note. Login now or register for an account.

    Cancel
    Dog-earNov 27, 09, 6:38 a.m. – Permalink
  • 303

    get firebug for firefox and take a look how other people do their job

    • this method help make sense of the stuff you learn in w3school.
      and always have a book handy.
      lynda great to. I've done a combo. and still cant desing but can upgrade-update sites. CSS is a great way to design once you get it down. start on some Bsh*t site.
      – hiatus
    + add note

    You must be logged in to add a note. Login now or register for an account.

    Cancel
    Dog-earNov 27, 09, 6:55 a.m. – Permalink
  • liveforever

    lynda

    + add note

    You must be logged in to add a note. Login now or register for an account.

    Cancel
    Dog-earNov 27, 09, 6:59 a.m. – Permalink
  • itstimefortea

    developers toolbar is also good for firefox. pretty similar to firebug.

    next note >add note

    You must be logged in to add a note. Login now or register for an account.

    Cancel
    Dog-earNov 27, 09, 7:01 a.m. – Permalink
  • moth

    Use a reset.

    + add note

    You must be logged in to add a note. Login now or register for an account.

    Cancel
    Dog-earNov 27, 09, 7:12 a.m. – Permalink
  • DevinOwens

    Hey what is your email? I have some video's to send you,
    It's what help me get started.

    next note >add note

    You must be logged in to add a note. Login now or register for an account.

    Cancel
    Dog-earNov 27, 09, 8:50 a.m. – Permalink
  • boobs

    Lynda.com

    next note >+ add note

    You must be logged in to add a note. Login now or register for an account.

    Cancel
    Dog-earNov 27, 09, 9:07 a.m. – Permalink

Login or Register to respond to this

Skip to main content