Creating a Website Tutorial
HTML & CSS References
Atlas Quest Resources
While not the definitive source for all things HTML and CSS, Atlas Quest is blessed with a developer who knows quite a bit about the subject. ;o)
- A list of themes available on Atlas Quest for examples of what you can do, or even as starting points for creating your own themes.
- A list of mixed colors with their hexadecimal numbers.
- Yes, if you have questions, we've got a message board just for you! Post your questions here and see if a member from the Atlas Quest community can help you out.
Useful Websites
Below are a list of websites with additional information on creating websites—from technical introductions such as this tutorial to design concepts you might want to keep in mind.
- This is a wonderful site explaining good website design by learning from this mistakes of others. Often it's quite funny. Often, the mistakes of others make you want to cry. But either way, it includes excellent advice on what not to do!
- This website provides excellent articles about how to create effective, easy-to-use websites. In fact, it was the inspiration for creating the drop down menus you see on Atlas Quest today!
- Blue Robot has the CSS template I started with when first creating Atlas Quest. You would not recognize it anymore since it has changed so much over the years, but this is a great no-frills starter kit for your own CSS projects.
- This group creates the HTML and CSS standards in use today. The HTML and CSS validators are indispensable for checking that your web pages are up to specs. Unfortunately, it can sometimes be a challenge to find what you're looking for on this site. It's almost certainly there, though! I often resort to Google searches to find specific information on this site.
- Tutorials for HTML, XHTML, and CSS (among others) brought to you by our friends, the W3 Consortium. Far more complete and thorough than the sampling you got here.
- Yes, search engines are your friend. If you're not sure where else to turn, you can find the answer to any HTML or CSS problem somewhere on the web. Atlas Quest wouldn't exist without it!
Useful Books
This is my HTML Bible. It goes everywhere with me and is the single-most used reference book in my library. If you're serious about creating your own website, you need this book. It explains all the intricacies of HTML and CSS and not only is an excellent tutorial, but works phenomenally well as a reference book as well.
You'll see the influence of this book on Atlas Quest. This book assumes you know the basics of CSS, but explains in great detail how to design a website using CSS. It describes advanced uses for CSS such as simulating image rollovers, making print friendly webpages, and drop down menubars. For simple websites and creating letterboxing clues, this book is probably overkill, but for those who really want to go the extra step, it's invaluable.
Useful Software
If you create websites, you're going to need the right tools to get the job done. Here's some software that you may find especially useful:
- As far as I'm concerned, this is the best text editor available for Windows-based systems.
- Use FireFox with the Web Developer and HTML Validator extensions while testing your website. The Web Developer toolbar can allow you to hide images, change CSS pages, highlight deprecated elements and so much more. The HTML Validator will automatically check the syntax of every single HTML page you view and if something is wrong, the browser will show you where the problem is.
- I use this for my FTP needs. It's open source, and free! It's also Windows-based since that's what I develop on. I don't know what options are good for other systems. Sorry!
- For manipulating your favorite photos and images, Paint Shop Pro is an excellent choice—and considerably cheaper than the better known Adobe Photoshop. (Which is a fine product in itself, and if money is no object, certainly an acceptable alternative!)