Getting Started With Web Development and Design

Question

I am a Java/C# developer and have written enterprise applications in J2EE. But, i have never written a web application. Out of interest, i learnt Ruby on Rails and i like it.

Now, i want to create a personal website and am wondering how to go about it. I could use Ruby on Rails, but i found the hosting costs higher for Rails apps than they are for java/php/.net based ones (are there exceptions?)

I have read the Opera Web Development Curriculum. However, it does not cover frameworks. So, how do i get started on web development and web design? Should i take the easy road and use Google Web Toolkit (since i don't have to learn a lot of new things) or should i learn a new framework? Since i know Java, would it make sense to learn something like Stripes, Grails or Lift or are other frameworks like RoR or Django worth the effort in learning a new language?

In addition, web development is as much about web design as it is about the functionality itself. Any resources in this area that would help me get started?

Some previous questions on this include 750064 and 12669, but they don't seem to answer my questions.

Answer 1

For Web design

Look at many pages as you can and get inspiration from them! I've always liked this Einstein quote:

The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources

I don't mean the designers steal work all from each other but they have always a reference or a style based in the work of...

I share you some sites that have helped me out so much:

Train your eyes

Caroline Guevin has a good repository of good designing work in her site netdiver.net

Webby Awards have a good listing of cool websites. There are other sites focused in flash work in the FWA, not telling you should learn flash but the flash-designs there are awesome.

Share with the community

This is what we programmers do all the time right? Having a community makes every member stronger so I recommend you to get a Deviantart account and upload as much work as you can.

Do it well

The CSS Zen Garden is a good reference for you to learn and/or train you knowledge about CSS and table-less web designs.

Answer 2

Here are some resources that I use

• CSS http://www.mezzoblue.com/zengarden/resources/ or use a framework like jQuery UI
• Web Environments - Since you have experience with JVM type languages why not try host your site on Google App Engine since its free
• JavaScript Frameworks to give it a good look and feel and make it work on any browser like jQuery,MooTools,extjs
• I would have a look at all your favourite websites and just view the source for the look and feel

Answer 3

Book wise, I'd take a look at Web Design for Developers.

If you stick with Rails for your site look at cheaper hosting alternatives that use virtual machines like Linode or Slicehost.

Answer 4

You might also consider using ASP.NET MVC. This will let you take advantage of relatively cheaper web hosting. There are several different examples of MVC development including nerddinner.com and Rob Conery's StoreFront (now known as Kona). I think you'll find this very similar to RoR.

On the other hand, as a learning exercise, there's a lot of stuff going on in the Ruby/Rails community -- especially with regards to natural language testing. It may be worth it to stick with RoR for your personal site just for the knowledge you can pick up. If you do stick with RoR, I'd suggest buying Agile Web Development with Rails. Awesome book to get started with.

Answer 5

Web development and web design are each a huge beast to tackle in their own right. I'm assuming your focus is back-end development, and I think you would do well starting there. The resources suggested above are good. If you're looking into Django, I recommend The Django Book

Answer 6

I'd recommand you the reading of Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug, which is a excellent book about designing web sites for maximum usability. While some parts of the book are more suitable for seasoned designers, it's not a bad idea to get the picture about usability early in your training.

Answer 7

I am in a similar situation as I too decided to venture out into the world of web development. Along with the great answers above, I've decided to share the resources I found useful.

Basics:

MIT OpenCourseWare had a class in 2003 (6.171 Software Engineering for Web Applications) that had a really useful e-book that covers the really basic considerations you will make during web development. Check out Software Engineering for Internet Applications. It will set up a path for you that is pretty language/framework agnostic.

If you're looking to explore different web technologies, I think the tutorials at W3Schools are great. They cover all the basics from server/client side scripting to frameworks and more. While it may not be an exhaustive list of web technologies, it will definitely put you on the right track.

Examples:

To become more familiar with the development process in general I found the Stackoverflow's process to be absolutely perfect. They have a great site dedicated to the development Meta Stackoverflow where you can find all kinds of information on important design decisions and the technologies used to develop this site such as ASP.NET MVC, C#, JQUERY, LINQ to SQL and so forth.