How To Code Your Own Website
Taking a website design and converting it to code is a challenging task. When you get the basics down, though, it becomes easier and a lot of fun. Getting started requires knowledge of two coding languages. HTML and CSS. Each can be learned in a few hours and both are used to structure and style the pieces of a website.
1. Build the Structure
HTML is the language used for the structure of a website. If you took a design and divided each of the different sections of that design into blocks of different areas and content, this would be what you would be accomplishing with HTML. You would use this language to structure the page with a header, a menu bar, a main content area, a sidebar, a footer and any other area.
2. Create the Style
Once the structure is in place you use the CSS coding language to style the page to look exactly like it does in the design. With it you define what fonts to use in each of the different areas, what colors and images to show in the background, how wide and tall each of the HTML blocks should be. Everything that goes into making the page visually appealing is done with CSS.
3. Test Everything
When the structure is sound and the styling is awesome it’s time to test your page in as many different web browsers that you can get your hands on. Why? Because your website will not always show up exactly how you see it on your computer. Not all people use the same browser, nor do they use the same type of computer. Some like to use Internet Explorer and some prefer Firefox. Some like to use the Windows operating system and others use Macs.
As you start testing your site in different browsers, you may start noticing some slight differences in the way it originally looked on your computer. The reason this happens is because each web browser has a different way of interpreting HTML and CSS. It’s just like what happens when you speak English with someone from out of the country. You may understand each other, but some words will be a little off or misunderstood.
There are ways to get your website to look the same in all of the browsers and on every operating system. It just takes some time and a little creative coding.
Summary
In order to code your own website it’s important to learn the HTML and CSS coding languages. The HTML language will help build the structure of your website and the CSS language will bring some style to your page and make it look like more than just blocks of text. Once the code is in place it’s time to test your site in different web browsers and on different operating systems. Use creative coding to get it looking good everywhere.
