Old School

Not too long ago, I was talking to a friend I hadn't seen in a while about web design. He asked if I was using Dreamweaver and I said yes but that I still did a lot of hand coding.

"What - who hand codes?" he asked, sounding almost offended and very sure I was doing something stupid and wrong
But I had to reply emphatically, "I do!"

I couldn't believe his attitude and amazement and I'm sure he was equally put off by the fact that I'd rather write my own code then have something write it for me. At the time, I blew it off but for some reason, kept thinking about it later. Is this really a strange concept for some - coding by hand? And should I feel weird or bad about it? Because honestly, I don't.

Probably because I learned to build my first web page using nothing but notepad years before ever laying a finger on Dreamweaver or any other application, hand coding feels comfortable and natural to me. I don't' find it boring or monotonous or more difficult at all, I actually really enjoy it. And although I can appreciate applications that allow designers to use drag-and-drop techniques in pre-made templates, I also find great comfort in knowing if there's something that's not working or just doesn't look exactly the way I want it to, I have the knowledge to open up the code and make those changes or just create my own custom design. Why would it be wrong to use the knowledge I have?

I don't think there has to be an absolute right and wrong; only hand code or only use a program and I'm not putting down Dreamweaver or the use of anything similar but it did make me wonder about others perceptions on the subject. This may not even be a debate but I thought it an interesting question to raise - do you hand code or is this considered old school?

Some of the basics, but good stuff to have

I'm always looking for good information, resources, etc to keep close by. With so much information out there, sometimes it's the little things that I keep closest to me. Here's just a few of my favorites:

W3C CSS Colors: www.w3schools.com/CSS/css_colorsfull
- a great list with tons of colors, I'm always experimenting with for different layouts

For Special Characters: www.webmonkey.com/reference/Special_Characters
- a small detail that can keep a site looking clean

www.webdesignforum.com
- I joined this forum years ago when I was just learning web coding, mostly for website review opportunity. Sometimes it was pretty harsh but I learned a lot and having this community to ask questions, read other posts, etc was a huge help as part of the learning process. And maybe helped develop a thicker skin!

www.webdesignfromscratch.com
- this was one of my favorite sites when I was just starting out, great beginner info and articles on coding, the design process and more

www.sitepoint.com
- another great resource, always good tips and articles

www.netmag.co.uk
- One of my favorite web magazines I will occasionally pick up at Boarders as well. A little more expensive but always well worth the extra cash.

These are probably the big ones for me but I'll share more as I think of them or find them. I'm sure there's a ton more out there, I'd love to hear about other favorites - feel free to share!