Chris Coyier posted some really good advice over at CSS Tricks. Although I haven’t gone through this process in a while, there was a time where I built site after site that never saw the light of day. I usually had the deluded notion that each would someday be used, but looking back I can see that there was definitely a value in this as a learning exercise. I believe very strongly that the bulk of web development skills can’t be effectively learned in a classroom. It is just one of those things that you must be willing to roll up your sleeves on day after day. This is especially true if you are wanting to learn the ins-and-outs of CSS. Break it, fix it, repeat….
- Find a web site you really love the design of. Maybe browse a design gallery.
- Open up your design program of choice and try to copy it identically*. Take a full page screenshot of the site for reference and quick overlays.
- During this copying process, there will be many opportunities to put your own spin on the design and make it your own.
- Convert your final design into HTML/CSS. If you get stuck, ask for help.
- Repeat.
If you ever need help finding good, free CSS based templates to start with I highly recommend OSWD and/or Open Designs. OSWD used to be the happening community for this type of development, but hasn’t been active in over a year. They still have a great repository of designs housed there.
