I have justed started playing around with webpage design and I am really horrible. Does anyone know of a great place to get started for a newbie?

Also, I don't own photoshop, flash, etc.

I have already downloaded the trials....

flash has got an inbuilt tutorial, that should get you going and busy for a while, those were my first steps as well and it's pretty cool to start that way

besides, inside flash under Help menu you have got some links

I have already used the tutorial, and I can't afford to but it so i need other ideas.

If your trials have finished, and you are not able to buy the "standard" programs for design, have you considered "free" alternatives?

As in....?

http://download.com.com/3150-2192-0.html?tag=dir ??

Good luck ;)

chris, I have read from many sources that http://www.gimp.org/ is your best bet for a free alternative to photoshop.

my advice is to get photoshop and learn how to make graphics first...then build coding into them.

htmlgoodies.com

but you don't have to have photoshop for webdesign. There ARE other graphics programs just as good, contrary to popular belief...

start off with basic html, Ive been doing design for a few years now, i started off using only html, never made a page to nice at first but now i use dreamweaver, as it saves time and is highly reliable, tho I alway have to skim my code to fix errors, so it was a must I learned it before and realy helped me, nothing I can suggest for php cgi etc, just time heh

try spoono.com for some nice tuts. also I have an older version of photoshop, 6 to be exact, i bought a new version (7.1) so I dont need both licenses, if you wana make a low offer for it id take it, its legit and if i can find it i will throw in the manual. note theres realy no difference between the 2

I have no idea how much I would pay for it....I relaly don't have a lot of money considering I am school full time.

i would say learn basic html ... Learn how to use frontpage. then move on to photoshop.. but make sure you learn the basic html before you try adding to many images.. if you dont have frontpage.. you can always try netscape composer... and if you dont have photoshop.. you can try ms paint. and if you dont have pain.. just copy images already made and place them in your html tables and cells and try to make a basic design... if you understand this I hope it helps

Hi ichris,
Here are a couple of pointers:
1. Read these tutorials for learning html
Links: http://www.cs.tut.fi/~jkorpela/html-primer.html
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/primers/basics.html

2. Learn to code html by hand, so search for a free texteditor and test what you have learned from the above tutorials by making a simple page to display text for starters.
3. Download gimp at www.gimp.org and read their online book that is available at http://gimp-savvy.com/BOOK/index.html

After you have an idea of what you are doing experiment a bit.

Then I would recommend learning design techniques such as color schemes and layouts.

Don't spend a dime for what can be found for free on the internet . All you need is reading material, a text editor, an image editor, some inspiration and a lot of motivation.

Let us know how you do. Good Luck! :)

Bones

have you considered Linux? it has got many more free stuff than Wins,

do keep in mind that while there is some free software for windows, it is usually only free whilst you use it for fun, trying to sell any output is considered commercial and you ought to gain a license by paying for software

however, there is an option you could always turn to, use some software to do your first job and get a license when you get paid, I don't think anybody normal is going to bug you for that

by the way, one of the best places to start with is

http://www.w3schools.com

I trust their material will do you a lot of good, it did to me

their basic html manual will get you started just fine

good luck

Airnine

have u considered educational discounts, you could get many of these programs for like 1/3 of the retail price... I know Macromedia(R) does educational discounts, I'm not sure about Adobe... I would recommend purchasing Macromedia Studio MX w/ an educational discount... it has Fireworks (picture editor), Freehand (drawing program), Flash (of course), and Dreamweaver (liek frontpage, only better)

Where could I purchase an educational discount?

Hi ichris,
In order to receive an educational discount you would need to purchase the software through your school if they have such a program or maybe even an elective on web design or something similar. This however is based on your location as not all school districts have the same funding and\or programs available.
If you parents are rich and are willing to support you then spend a few hundred dollars USD on macromedia products, and get a few books as well then by all means go that route. However you shouldn't ever hide behind an IDE (Integrated Development Environment) because you will be selling yourself short. As I have mentioned earlier it is better to learn the fundamentals of making a web page and begin to develop a foundation upon which you can build and enhcance your design skillset. Dreamweaver,Front-Page HotMetal Pro,Photoshop will not increase your design skills if you cannot even code by hand a simple html skeleton, or even know how to layer images or create a decent layout.
The information available on the internet is plentiful and the good fruit is always at the top, so reach for the stars ichris and learn :)
-Bones

You do not need to purchase it through the school. Check out Journey Education (www . journeyed . com). $200 I think.

ichris you did not mention if you have a budget at all for this, but the site that jml3188 seems to look promising. $99.98 for Dreamweaver is not bad at all, but if you have $0.00 funds for this it may seem daunting to saty the least.
What kind of budget do you have for this?
bones

Not a lot, for I am only 13. I could start a "Buy chris Macromedia Studio 2004 fund"... :)

Well then ichris read up on the tutorials provided, download a texteditor, and you are well on your way :)
bones