This is a brief update on some website changes that have taken place with regards to:
User Registration - This has been disabled for now, and I apologize for any inconvenience or confusion this has caused. The only reason for having user registration in the first place was to gain membership to the User Forums, but I had second thoughts about maintaining the Forums, and you can read more about that in the next paragraph . For all of you who registered, the collected data has been deleted and everything on the website is publicly accessible . . . for now.
The User Forums - This started out as a good idea, but I soon realized it was going to require a lot more attention and maintenance than I'm prepared to do right now. So, this has been scrapped until such time as it becomes clear I can't do without it, or I win the lotto and no longer have a day job to attend to, thus freeing up more of my time. In the meantime, please use the Tutorial Support Form to submit specific questions you may have about any of the tutorials being presented here.
Premium Tutorials - I've just released some Premium Tutorials that deal with the topic of using PHP to build dynamic pages, but very soon I plan to start releasing segments on the series Getting Started with HTML, CSS, and Dreamweaver, which I know is anticipated by many of you who are beginners and have been emailing me your requests for something along these lines. This will take an indepth look into how you can code your own html and css in a simple text editor, and then goes on to demonstrate why Dreamweaver is such a valuable tool in helping you to create a complete website. This series will also extend to focus on the many different ways to create navigation for your pages using CSS and Javascript.
Currently the Premium Series videos are free to view, with a small fee required if you want to Download the Tutorial Files which can be helpful as a Jumpstart to following along and as further aid in understanding what's being demonstrated.
To all those Grinches on Wall Street ... Thanks for nothing!
In the midst of a global economic Freefall, I'd say now's the time to put away 2008 and prepare for a new, and hopefully prosperous New Year. It is in that spirit that the decision was made to wait until January - February 2009 to begin releasing the Premium Tutorial packages so we can try and pretend like the last couple of months never happened. . .
You can see the list of future Tutorials planned for the Premium Series by going to the Premium Tutorials Link, and if you have any suggestions for Tutorials you'd like to see, please submit your Tutorial Requests on the general Contact Form. These Videos will appeal to people still at a Beginner to Intermediate Level when it comes to HTML, CSS, and DREAMWEAVER, and can best be described as a condensed version of Learning To Build Your Own Website with the emphasis on easier learning through practical methods and solutions. So if you want to learn in a casual, easy-to-follow, non-academic manner and aren't worried about needing a Diploma, than this is for you.
So until next year, here's wishing you and yours all the Best over the Christmas Holidays and impending New Year's Celebrations, and let's hope 2009 paves the way to a better and brighter future for us all . . .
The Web Learning Series has officially launched, which for now means that users can watch the Free Videos here instead of YouTube, providing the viewer with a larger viewing screen and better clarity. There are still lots of things to be done and improvements made before "All Systems Are Go", most important among those being the availability of the Premium Tutorials, but now that the website's up and running the focus will be on producing the Video Tutorials people have been waiting for.
The important consideration here is the thought and planning required so that the Topics covered in these Tutorials appeal to the broad base of people coming to this website in an effort to get a jumpstart on learning Web Design, or simply on how to build their own website.
The first Premier series tutorials will deal with learning the basics in using HTML, CSS and Dreamweaver (aimed primarily at Beginners), as well as a couple of packages on using PHP to implement a Contact Form and Getting Started building some Database-driven dynamic pages for people who are a little farther along.
A quick NOTE regarding Questions submitted to us ... we can only guarantee assistance to questions dealing with specific Premier Series Tutorials, and as for questions that are more directly related to the software used and promoted on this website, you should probably query the Adobe Product Forums.
There's a New Kid in town worth taking a look at ...
If you're someone who still doesn't own a recent version of Dreamweaver, then now might be the time to consider purchasing the New CS4 version, and even if you're already using CS3 you may find the features in the latest offering are enough to put you in the mood for an upgrade while the Introductory Offers are still available through Adobe (the special prices currently offered are scheduled to end February 28th, 2009). And yes, I know it seems they keep coming out with new versions of these programs every 2 years, and unless you're a company or well established Designer/Developer it doesn't seem practical to keep upgrading for every bell and whistle, a decision I struggle with every time which is why I'm still using the CS3 programs from the Web Standard package I upgraded to last year.
However, in this case I realize the change may be warranted. You see, the CS3 release came practically on the heels of Adobe acquiring Macromedia, who if you didn't already know were the original pioneers of the Web programs Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Flash, Contribute, and so on (Adobe of course reknowned as the Kings of the Design Community with their crown jewels Photoshop and Illustrator), and so even though there were some substantial additions with things like the Spry Framework and CSS Starter Pages, there was also the speculation that over time as the merging of Macromedia and Adobe's products and engineering had time to mature and develop, this was a union that would surely produce some redefining results.
