Help with learning web design???

[CenTex]

I am very interested in learning web design. I have dabbled with it off and on for several years, but I am looking to actually be thoroughly trained and receive certification(s). I recently became disabled and can no longer work at a normal job. I thought web design would be something I could do from home and is also something I am really interested in learning. I'm sure I could take classes at a community college or something, but that is not really feasible right now. I am more interested in some kind of online school or maybe correspondence courses. If anyone has any advice or could point me in the right direction I would appreciate it. I have been using Dreamweaver and can do some basic designing with it but I am FAR from having thorough knowledge of the program and all it does. Thanks, guys.

[Antmeister]

Well one site I can refer you to for free lessons is:
http://www.w3schools.com/

They do a pretty good job, but usually teach you the basics in some areas and up to intermediate in others. It is a good starting point to build a good foundation. I believe they do offer certification online as well if I remember correctly.

If you have the funds to do so, I would also suggest signing up with Lynda.com. They are about $25 a month, but you would have access to their entire online library. They have great lessons for learning HTML, XHTML, PHP, MySQL, Flash, Dreamweaver and so on. It is well worth the money and something you could look into.

Good luck and hope you find something that you enjoy.

[Router Help]

What I would suggest doing is going to the book store and buying one of the thick Learning HTML 4 books. Read the entire book and master these basics so you can create nice websites by hand in just a text editor.

After that google is pretty much your best friend. Searching for things like "create css drop down menu" will bring up tons of code examples for you to look at. Then there are tons of code sites and blogs with all sorts of tips.

http://alistapart.com/
http://cssvault.com/
http://www.webmasterworld.com/
http://www.simplebits.com/
http://www.stopdesign.com/
http://www.mezzoblue.com/
http://www.csszengarden.com/
http://www.glish.com/css/
http://meyerweb.com/
http://www.mikeindustries.com/blog/
http://tantek.com/
http://www.shauninman.com/plete/
http://www.molly.com/

[jamesUMD]

http://www.webmonkey.com/ and a 2nd for W3schools.com