Back in the late 80s, when I first learned how to use computers, the program I used most often was WordPerfect. Remember WordPerfect, when it was still owned by a company called WordPerfect? Well, WP had the ability, when you were typing, of displaying it's hidden codes in a window on the bottom of the monitor. Those codes, which I used for intensive visual editing of the page layout, are very similar to the code structure used in HTML today. And I guess you could say that provided me with my real foundation in HTML, and gave me a 4 year head start over most coders (or at least those who didn't use WP).

In the Middle
During my formulative years in designing web pages (which would be last year!) I used the very thing I was designing for - the web - to help me learn. I viewed the source of many a page (you can view the source of this page right now, just click on the menu item VIEW, and look for Document Source), and I used a lot of online resources. Because I preferred using certain isms over strict HTML 2.0 standard code, my main source of information early one was Netscape's own site.

I should pause here for a second and explain what an ism is, at least in the web world. An ism is any tag you use that is not part of the last officially approved and recommended specification for HTML: 2.0 Every new version of Netscape Navigator (NN)or Microsoft Internet Explorer (MSIE) introduces new, non-standard tags. Some of them work only in one browser, some of them work in both. For instance, The <FONT FACE> tag is not part of the 2.0 spec, or even the 3.2 proposed spec, but I use it extensively, because it is supported reliably by both NN 3.xx and MSIE 2 and 3 versions. And using cross platform isms, like the <FONT FACE> and <TABLE> tags is perfectly fine for most web pages in order to get the kind of look you want. But beware. There are hardcore 2.0 fanatics out there, especially in the alt.html and comp.infosystems.www.authoring.html newsgroups who tell you you're an idiot if you use these tags. Don't listen to them - to these guys, the web is just an information tool geared for displaying term papers. For the rest of us, the web is a visual feast, and many of the effects and styles you might want are only possible if you use common ism tags.

Okay, the rant mode is off. Getting back to the resources I've used, well, unfortunately I can't remember many of them any more, but if you visit Yahoo! or any search engine, like Infoseek or AltaVista, you can type in the keywords HTML, author, design, and you'll come back with thousands of links. There's a lot on the web these days to help out aspiring html coders.

What about Today?
Today, like any good designer, I am still learning. You never really stop, because if you do, you get left behind. Today, my favourite help sites include, believe it or not, Microsoft's SiteBuilder Network (though their increasingly annoying MSIE only format is bugging me) and the SiteBuilder Workshop, which features a ton of free images, scripts and other goodies for the net. One catch-all links page I visit often is the Web Design Resource Center, and if you only visit one of the sites listed here, visit this one. For Java and JavaScripts, nothing beats Gamelan, though sometimes it's confusing which scripts and applets are free, and which ones you need to pay for. And finally, to see the coolest designs on the Net, visit Project Cool. I do, just about every day.

Tools I Use

Paint Shop Pro
Paint Shop Pro is one of the pioneers in shareware. I remember using PSP back in my pre-internet days, when I fetched it off a local BBS. It's a bit expensive at around $70 US, but it does many jobs that PhotoShop does, and it does them a heck of a lot faster. The latest release, 4.12, has excellent web-related tools and abilities, such as gif transparencies, new jpg capabilities, and a few web-centric automations, such as drop shadows and cutouts and buttons. I use PSP for about 65% of my web graphics editing.

Adobe PhotoShop
For some reason, I absolutely suck at PhotoShop. I've owned the damn thing for over 3 years, and I recently upgraded to 4.0, but the program continues to mystify me. Simple tasks that PSP can't handle, I use PS for, but for all those gee whiz graphic effects you see on the web, I can't manage them. I am seriously PhotoShop challenged. But, this is the tool of choice for most web and graphic designers.

Corel Draw
I've been a Corel Draw user since version 2, which, going by Corel's rate of upgrades, should be about 6 months - just kidding. I'm a long time Corel beta tester, like most Corel users, since everyone knows that the firs x.0 release of a new Corel product is a beta product still... you have to wait for the second or third patch update to have the full release product. But, I love the program, I know it inside and out, and for vector images, effects and the like, nothing can really beat it, except maybe...

Corel Xara
This is quite possibly the best product out there for creating and managing web images. It's beauty lies in it's ability to work concurrently with both vector and bitmap images, something no other product, until Corel Draw 7 came out, could do. And the best part is, Xara does it F A S T . Xara was designed originally by a British software company, and was scooped up by Corel last year. I highly recommend this product for working on web images. I use Xara for at least 30% or more of all my web images.

Microsoft Word 95
When you're working on a content rich site, like I often do, it really pays to type your content first in a word processing program,. I use Word 95, which, IMO, is a hell of a lot better than the extremely bloated Word 97. I absolutely hate Word 97, and the bad part is, you can't buy Word 95 anymore, at least not new.

Friends Who've Helped

But lately, that's changed. I've been making friends with some very savvy web wizards, and they in turn have either helped me or inspired me to do things better, neater, and much more visual. Following are my netwebwizard friends, and their contributions. I hope I don't leave anyone out.

Shit, I hope I haven't forgotten anyone. If I have, sorry - I'll remedy it if I remember. And you can count on this section growing - I'm constantly learning, constantly meeting new and intelligent webmaestros.

I do have a tiny rant to spew: I've seen a lot of web pages on the net that shamelessly steal both code and design from other sites, without a word of thanks or credit - even worse, I've seen hypocrites who speak out of both sides of their mouth when talking about who inspired them and so forth. Well, I try to make my pages as original as possible, but when someone helps me, someone inspires me, some "provides" code to me, I let them know how much I appreciate it. I hope all of you reading this do the same, because after all, it was the person you lifted code from, copied a style from, or got inspired by who did all the hard work.