Ask a student or a professor within the Computer Science department of your college or university or another area college or university. Sometimes students can work on sites as class projects. At the very least, they can answer questions or point you to people or resources who can help.

Look at other sites. If you see something you like, take a look at how they did it. That's how many Web professionals got started.

In Microsoft Internet Explorer, from the menu bar: View > Source
In Netscape Navigator, from the menu bar: View > Page Source

Ask colleagues in other organizations or on other campuses for advice. Ask friends or relatives who have Web experience to lend a hand.

Create your own syllabus using a combination of different resources available to you:

On the Internet:
Tutorials:
• W3Schools - free web building tutorials
• HTMLgoodies - primers and tutorials
• PageResource.com - a Web development tutorial and information site

General Reference, HTML, JavaScript, Other Tools:
• WebMonkey - The Web Developer's Resource
• Yahoo!Directory Internet Beginner's Guides
• Webreference - The Webmaster's Reference Library
• ZDnet - articles and reference materials
• World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
• Section 508 Accessibility Guidelines
• VisiBone - A site that sells HTML, JavaScript, and color charts for Web development; some useful free tools are also available
• Jakob Nielsen - A usability guru's site with articles and tips to create a user friendly Web site

Newsgroups:
• Google.com - Offers a search engine for newsgroups; search for your particular interest (e.g., "html" or "web development")
• Yahoo!Groups - Another place to connect with others on a particular topic

Books:
• Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability by Steve Krug
• Designing Web Usability: The Practice of Simplicity by Jakob Nielsen
• Web Design in a Nutshell by Jennifer Niederst
• Information Architecture for the World Wide Web by Louis Rosenfeld, Peter Morville
• Building a Web Site for Dummies by David Crowder, Rhonda Crowder
• Creating Web Pages for Dummies by Bud E. Smith, et al
• Web Design for Dummies by Lisa Lopuck
• HTML for Dummies by Ed Tittel, et al
• Javascript for Dummies by Emily A. Vander Veer

Courses, Seminars:
Check and see if your campus offers courses or seminars on Web technologies. See if you can sit in and observe a few classes. Try local community colleges or smaller universities.

Clubs, Organizations:
Many universities have student run clubs or organizations with a focus on computers and/or the Internet. Read the technology or business section of the newspaper, as meetings of area user groups are often announced in those sections.

Last modified: December 2, 2005