Webpage Building Guides for the Uninitiated?

smilingbandit2 asks: "For the past several months, I've wanted to dive into the world of webpage design. I'm not looking to creative anything cutting edge or even terribly useful, just hobby pages and weblogs that look professionally made. Unfortunately, my knowledge of website design consists of one basic HTML class I took in highschool, about 8 years ago. I feel comfortable enough coding in HTML, but it doesn't give me the results I want, and I know nothing about any other coding languages. Now, I'm not scared of learning new software or languages - in fact, I'm eager to expand my skillsets - but I don't know what to study. XML, Perl, AJAX - nothing but alphabet soup to me. I don't about anything beyond HTML. I'm completely uninitiated in advanced web design. Now, I turn to Slashdot for help. Where should I begin on the path to design enlightenment? What're the languages, programs, or whatever that are worth knowing? Are there good guidebooks, useful websites, or insightful forums? Are formal classes worth a damn? What do you frequently use on your websites? Any helpful advice, generally?"

Comments

Mmmm, XHTML is tasty

[Southpaw018]

Good news, friend. XHTML, CSS, and PHP are the three major languages of the web today, and you already know one. XHTML is very, very similar to HTML. One change, for example, is the
tag being replaced with />. The reason is that all tags must have a closing tag, like <a> </a> does. Lots of other stuff is mostly the same. The one big change you'll need to make is that all style tags have been dropped from XHTML. No more <b>! You use CSS now. Grab a book on moving from HTML to XHTML. There are lots out there!
As for programming languages, you'll probably be more comfortable with PHP than Perl. Again, I'd grab a getting started with PHP book and work your way in.
As for programs...I do everything by hand in Notepad. It makes for very sleek webpages, and there's no other way to get full control over your page's code.
Stick with it. I was in your shoes about 3 years ago, and now I do this for a living :)