What coding experience does one need to make templates or themes for websites? And how about for a blog using wordpress specifically? And besides coding, is photoshop experience the other thing you need or are there other things to consider learning?

*bump* sorry for the bump x_x I'm planning to go to Barnes and Nobles and buy some books to learn some web design and I would appreciate an answer.

Other then good knowledge of an editor like dreamweaver I would also recommend knowledge of some sort of graphics program like Photoshop as bare minimums. It all depends on how quick you learn and your artistic talent.

You should know xhtml, and css. Pick up the book "the zen of css design" by dave shea. Also pick up one of those photoshop bible books, but don't pay any attention to the coding advice it provides, if it provides any.

Once question, what is HTML and what is XHTML?

HTML - Hypertext Markup Language - is an older Internet coding construct, last updated back in 1999. It is the foundation for XHTML, it's successor, which in many ways, is a simplified version of its elder counterpart.

View source on a Web page. Most of what you see is (X)HTML. Some may be CSS - Cascading Style Sheets - or JavaScript.

you want to design or programme?
it differs....

Well, I think I got what I need out of here. To answer the above poster's question, I've heard that you need to design a template and then have a part where you put some code in it so the template looks the way you want it to be arranged. So the answer would be both I guess.