Any recommendations for popular web sites where people discuss web design issues? Ones which are geared towards beginners more than towards professionals.
WebDeveloper is a popular one that is geared for the whole gamut of developers beginner through advanced.
StackOverflow is a popular development forum used by many web developers (including me) aimed at anyone beginner->advanced. Once I found it I stopped using the WebDeveloper forums.
If you want help with issues then yes, Stack Overflow is the best choice in my opinion. However for an alternate Bytes.com is also good. I have had many a question answered by the folks over there.
If you just want discussion however then Stack Overflow is probably the best choice.
stackoverflow.com
If the issues are not here currently they should be added. What sort of thing are you looking for?
SO is not meant for professionals only. People learning are a target audience.
Ajaxian is good for user experience.
A List Apart is a good generalist site.
The Adaptive Path blog is good.
Smashing Magazine also.
SitePoint has a huge forum. Web Hosting Talk is another large one with an admin angle.