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![Liam Davies](https://uploads.teamtreehouse.com/production/profile-photos/100689/micro_me_in_vodka_rev_CROP.jpg)
Liam Davies
Courses Plus Student 2,791 PointsExtra curricular activities
Hello everyone!
Having always been a 'techie' guy, I realised recently that having that status among my friends and family won't really land me a decent job.
So, I signed up to Treehouse to try and remedy that!
I'm currently working through the 'Become a Web Designer' learning adventure. Although the videos are great, I feel like I will personally need a bit more practice using the methods laid out in them to really grasp some of the concepts and be able to use them in a real-world environment without (too much) help.
My question to you lovely people is this: In what ways do/did you help yourself learn outside of using Treehouse content, and how can I ensure I grasp all of the concepts covered?
I realise learning styles vastly differ from person to person, but having some sort of direction would be a great starting point for me.
One thing I am doing is attending a meet-up in London later this month. I'm hoping to get some scope from that.
Cheers! Liam
6 Answers
![Jack Carr](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/d7e8d56a110da7474e083bb80abdd732?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fecs-static.teamtreehouse.com%2Fassets%2Fcontent%2Fdefault_avatar-445fbbabfc8dc9188fb5967fe43322ee0c3e0dd1e10f378bf8343784af5a13eb.webp&r=pg)
Jack Carr
7,329 PointsOne really easy way to grasp everything is just to build something. If you have no idea what to build, just go for a portfolio website.
This will give you something to build and practice your new skills!
![missgeekbunny](https://uploads.teamtreehouse.com/production/profile-photos/101646/micro_monster.jpg)
missgeekbunny
37,033 PointsMy way of practicing is by implementing things I learn into sites that I'm making for my portfolio. I have a few family members who want me to build their sites and so I just implement things I think are cool into my family's site especially if it is aligned with their scope.
![Derrick Mull](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/7d2f7c85c84f17285ca1f15d7e1aa5ac?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fecs-static.teamtreehouse.com%2Fassets%2Fcontent%2Fdefault_avatar-445fbbabfc8dc9188fb5967fe43322ee0c3e0dd1e10f378bf8343784af5a13eb.webp&r=pg)
Derrick Mull
18,518 PointsI find building and tooling a portfolio site to be helpful. Or doing mocks of other sites.
Actually coding and building is the best way to try out and solidify the information presented, I think.
![James Barnett](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/43ea08b4fc547e8a5da87c207bea2123?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fecs-static.teamtreehouse.com%2Fassets%2Fcontent%2Fdefault_avatar-445fbbabfc8dc9188fb5967fe43322ee0c3e0dd1e10f378bf8343784af5a13eb.webp&r=pg)
James Barnett
39,199 PointsMy advice is that now that you've covered the basics of webdesign it's time to focus in on the most important part ...
- Being able to select elements
- And position them on the page.
I had my first ah-ha moment with CSS when I figured out how to do this using floats. No absolute positioning, that would be cheating.
Source: Piet Mondrian Composition II
![James Barnett](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/43ea08b4fc547e8a5da87c207bea2123?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fecs-static.teamtreehouse.com%2Fassets%2Fcontent%2Fdefault_avatar-445fbbabfc8dc9188fb5967fe43322ee0c3e0dd1e10f378bf8343784af5a13eb.webp&r=pg)
James Barnett
39,199 PointsAfter you've brushed up on your positioning skills as I suggested in my previous post. You're ready to make your first website.
My suggestion is to use Cloud9 and make yourself a simple "business card" site. Who you are, what you do, other info you want others to know.
Something like this template ...
For building your first site I recommend the following process...
- Make a wireframe using an online wireframing tool, something like Cacoo
- Write the semantic HTML, don't worry about the CSS yet
- Build a fixed width site
- Keep it simple to start with, don't try to solve problems you don't have yet
- Add in some small CSS3 if the design calls for it, maybe border-radius or box-shadow
- If you need a form add in some HTML5
Try to stay away from a lot of Javascript for now
Once you've got the first version fully working post it here and get some critiques on your design
Then it's time for version 2
- Make it responsive
- Check it out using the responsinator
- Then post it here to get some feedback on the responsive version
Time for version 3
- If you are sick of cutting and pasting your header and footer on every page
- It's time to add in some templating using PHP.
Very basic PHP is all you need, it makes it easier to not repeat yourself (see also: DRY). - Post it here to get some feedback on the responsive version
![Jack Carr](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/d7e8d56a110da7474e083bb80abdd732?s=60&d=https%3A%2F%2Fecs-static.teamtreehouse.com%2Fassets%2Fcontent%2Fdefault_avatar-445fbbabfc8dc9188fb5967fe43322ee0c3e0dd1e10f378bf8343784af5a13eb.webp&r=pg)
Jack Carr
7,329 PointsWOW, James this was an awesome post. Probably one of the best I have seen you post on this forum.
Tons of great information here, thanks for taking time out of your day to help us so much.
I really appreciate it :)
![Liam Davies](https://uploads.teamtreehouse.com/production/profile-photos/100689/micro_me_in_vodka_rev_CROP.jpg)
Liam Davies
Courses Plus Student 2,791 PointsFantastic info! Many thanks, James :)
![Carlos Matos](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f20d8df5c803161d3c2718b70a2dcdc0?s=60&d=https%3A%2F%2Fecs-static.teamtreehouse.com%2Fassets%2Fcontent%2Fdefault_avatar-445fbbabfc8dc9188fb5967fe43322ee0c3e0dd1e10f378bf8343784af5a13eb.webp&r=pg)
Carlos Matos
1,340 PointsWhoa holy crap. Going into my evernote.
I also want to say that I'm now using Anki because of you, James. Thank you.
![James Barnett](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/43ea08b4fc547e8a5da87c207bea2123?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fecs-static.teamtreehouse.com%2Fassets%2Fcontent%2Fdefault_avatar-445fbbabfc8dc9188fb5967fe43322ee0c3e0dd1e10f378bf8343784af5a13eb.webp&r=pg)
James Barnett
39,199 PointsAfter you've done all of that, one of the best ways to get better at CSS & JavaScript is anytime you see page element you like, ask yourself could I make that?
then use codepen, to build it.
You can check out my own little collection of demos up on codepen to give some idea of what I mean.