New Member - Is it worth learning HTML?

I basically have an online business idea which i wish to pursue in the near future. my only concern is that i have to learn HTML and Javascript from scratch if i am to achieve this which i dont mind, but its very important that a professional job is done, and i dont have the money really to pay an expert £400 a day to do it for me. My fear is how long would it take to get to that level? i am prepared to put in the hours of work to make it happen (i can be quite intense when i want to be) as this is a venture that could prove to big within i reckon the next 4-6 years although i cannot say what it is for obvious reasons.

I have background knowledge in programming as ive used java for two years in my computer science degree (im nearly 20), but i am aware that html and javascript are the languages i need to familiarize myself with in order to build websites efficiently.

My question is how long could it take to cover every angle and become well equipped to design an impressionable and aesthetically pleasing website?

thankyou

To make websites successfully you have more than just HTML and Javascript to learn you will need a server side language such as PHP aswell.

In answer to your question "Is it work learning HTML" this really depends on if you really want the project to happen, as you said you cannot afford to pay anyone.

I would say learn but try not rush straight into a massive project, learn at a good pace as this will help when you come to your project to keep it professional and clean rather than the code being full of beginner mistakes that we all make.

I hope this helps,

Tom

If you are already proficient with Java you'll have no problem learning HTML. You could sit down some Saturday and after a long afternoon of playing around with it you'll know pretty much all there is to know about it.

Where it gets tricky is when you add CSS to the mix. The concept and syntax are simple, even more straight forward than HTML, the confusing part is knowing how to position HTML elements to get the design you're after and how to deal with cross browser incompatibilities and quirks. That's something that really only comes naturally after you've been doing it for quite a while.

Java is a more structured language than JavaScript, and also has a radically different object model. Like CSS, knowing JavaScript really well goes far beyond knowing how to use it syntactically. There are cross browser differences with JavaScript just as there are with CSS, and there are lot of things to learn with regards to how you can use JavaScript to interact with HTML.

Web development is a mash up of literally at least half a dozen technologies and languages, as a result becoming a proficient web developer is a process that usually takes a couple years.

As a web designer in Sunshine Coast myself I can say quite casually that you will have to learn more platforms than just HTML and PHP. You might even have to find a tool or two like Dreamweaver and this is just the tip of the iceberg. So go with the flow and start off and go on building to your knowledge.

Learning HTML is really worth it because it is desirable to learn the basic web programming language. It's a good point if you're trying to learn beyond of it. HTML coding will give you practice while, as it's an easy language, will introduce you to the programming world.

Learning HTML imo is the very basic step to learning web development.
I started out with HTML for basic designing, and proceeded to PHP as a server-side language.

These two go very well and are not hard to understand. I've developed a couple of simple websites using them (with the help of CSS - I suggest you study this too).

There's no need to rush in learning web development as it is continuous.

I must say, learning HTML is really worth it.

Yes, HTML is definitely worth learning especially with the rise of web applications, but to make web applications HTML needs to come natural to provide a good workflow.

If you're a CS major, I highly suggest you look into learning:
- HTML and CSS
- JavaScript and major libraries like jQuery and maybe Backbone
- PHP or ASP.NET

As a CS major myself, I absolutely love doing ASP.NET (especially MVC) since it combines C#, which will be pretty easy to learn for you since you know Java, along with client side stuff like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.