This page is for the beginners who are fascinated by the Web and wonder ....hey can I design my own Web site all by myself ? Yes, you certainly can. I started dabbling in Web Page Design not so long ago and I want to encourage those who want to make a beginning and share my experience with them.

If you really want to learn Web Page Design, the first thing you should do is dump those readymade webpage development softwares those do everything for you to put up sweet little Home Pages. Instead, get a decent HTML Editor . There are many and a nice one you can download here .

There is only one way you can start to learn Web Page Design and that is by having a solid base in the good old Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML). There, of course, are zillions of HTML tutorials, but for basics I love the one by Joe Barta . In fact, you could say he is the guy that started me off. Thanks Joe!

Once you are somehwhat comfortable with HTML, and I can promise it won't take long, you can look at Cascading Style Sheets (CSS1). CSS helps you to control the way the HTML elements are laid out . You can apply particular styles e.g. font, color, layout etc. to your webpage in a uniform manner. One CSS tutorial is here and when you need to know more you can always consult the W3C Specifications here for reference.

And note that mastering Style Sheet is essential for learning Dynamic HTML - the latest and the mightiest in Web Page Design. So dont neglect the CSS.

But the Web Page designed with simple HTML is static. It shows up excatly the same way everytime you load it and can't do much by itself. The reason is that the HTML elements are loaded in a linear sequence and dont respond to logic.

So the next thing you need to learn is a scripting language and JavaScript is the one that has become almost universal. JavaScript embedded in HTML files can change the way the page behaves depending on events triggered by user actions like movement or click of the mouse or even by external conditions like time of day, day of week etc.

JavaScript is sometimes touted as a programming tool for non-programmers. Someone with scant computer experience can write programs in JavaScript with little effort. Of course, if you have knowledge of some programming language it helps. One basic JavaScript Tutorial is here .

Javasrcipt resources available on the Web is almost unlimited and once you know the basics, you can take many of the free JavaScript snippets(short generic programs) available on the Web and plug them in your program to do useful things.

Once you have had basic knowledge of all the above, dont stop! Take a deep breath and plunge into the fascinating world of Dynamic HTML . The things you can do with DHTML is just limited by your imagination and the space here is too small to sing its praise. If you want to experience what all it can do, dont miss the DHTML Guru Resource Web site. As a starter, a basic DHTML Tutorial is here.

Some sites for Free JavaScripts, Free Graphics and other Resources are included for your convenience. In case these don't whet your appetite there is also a wonder Search Tool here.

And one last word. Don't get discouraged by occassional heart breaks. Unless you have torn some of your hair and haven't spent some sleepless nights, you haven't done serious programming. And if you get hooked like me........God help you! The Agony and Ecstasy of the experience is almost unbearable. But if you haven't tasted it, you are missing something. So jump in and experience it for yourself.

By the way, if this page inspired you to start on this path of roses and thorns, don't forget to let me know. I would love to give you company.