HTML - Code or design first?

Before we dive into HTML, we should first draw our attention to the ‘chicken-and-egg’ syndrome of web design instruction. Whenever one attempts to learn about web design, the teacher must decide whether to cover coding or design first. There are arguments to be made for both methods.

If you teach design first, you are putting the emphasis on the design and format of the content, without limiting the student by the restraints of the code. But, in doing so, you may actually cause the student to create designs that are unattainable, simply because he doesn’t understand the code yet.

If you teach the code first, you are instead emphasizing the blueprint and structure of the pages, better equipping designers to make educated design decisions that smooth the coding process. The drawback to this method is students end up learning to code before they actually have any designs with which to practise.

We’ve chosen the second option, to teach the coding methods before covering the ins and outs of site design. We think this will make you better web designers in the long run, even if it may cause some slight confusion during the learning process. To help alleviate some of that confusion, we provide exercise files on which to practise.