Web Design Book - The easy way to do symbols in HTML

When you want to to symbols like ©, & or ⊗ which aren’t on your keyboard, you need to use special pieces of HTML called HTML Entities. These are small codes that tell the browser to show the symbol. For example, the HTML Entity for © is © and the symbol for & is &.

That’s fine, but how do remember which code creates which symbol?

Well, a chap called Remy has created a fantastic tool which allows you to work out an HTML Entity based on how it looks.

For example, if you type in “c” it gives you all the HTML Entities that look a bit like a letter “c”. These include:

• ¢
• ©
• ç
• ⊆
• ς

How cool is that?!

What’s more, he’s even made a desktop wideget for Mac users on top of the online version. Brilliant!!!

Check out the catchily-titled HTML Entity Character Lookup now.

The BBC has a great article on how Nokia design mobile phones for people around the world.

The key? Understand the people using your product (or website)

Jan Chipchase, principal researcher at Nokia Design, travels the world trying to understand how people use their mobile phones.

It’s a great lesson for web designers, who - as anybody who’s read my book knows - are actually product designers.
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I’m thinking of organizing some training courses and wanted to gauge people’s temperatures here to see:

a) if there’s any demand for it
b) what sort of prices people would realistically pay and
c) how much time they’d be prepared to give up in a block.

It’s just an idea at this stage .. but you guys might help me decide whether it’s worth pursuing.

What do I need to do?

I’ve got a list of questions below. All I’d like you to do is drop me an email, to trainingsurvey@richardquickdesign.com, with answers to as many of the questions as you can.

Hang on, what’s in it for me?

I’ll give anybody that takes part in the survey 3 months free hosting. That’s on top of the free hosting you can get if you buy my book or join the mailing list.

Fire way then!

Here’s the kind of thing I had in mind for the training

Name: CSS Jumpstart

Timescale: 1-2 weeks intensive residential course

Who’s it for? People with little of no knowledge or CSS-based web coding. People who are struggling to get their head around CSS. People who want to break into the web design industry.

What will it cover? Everything you need to know to code websites to a professional level. Tailored to suite the individuals on the course, but including: Basic CSS. CSS layout techniques. The process most web design companies go through. Bug fixing. Cross-browser testing. Getting work as a CSS developer. How to write a web design CV.

What would you know by the end? By the end of the course you would be fully equipped to get a job as a junior XHTML / CSS developer.

Course size: 10 people max
Price: In the region of £750-£1000/week.
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Craig McManus, over at the Boagworld forum, did a short review of Web Design in easy steps. Here are the highlights of what he said:

I found it to be very informative, it covers pretty much everything web design related, in fact I was quite surprised how many topics it had in it, really does ‘full coverage’; giving you a brief but good understanding of all the topics with useful tip bits thrown in all over the shop, while being easy and entertaining to read.

For me to get through a book in a month is almost unheard of, but this I managed in a day: and I feel I’ve learnt a great deal today.

Great entry level guide into EVERYTHING web design.

Don’t forget to check out the full post and explore Boagworld. It’s a great site for beginners and more experienced web designers alike.

One of the best ways to get people to buy your product or service, can often be to offer them something for nothing in return.

In that vein of thought, I’m offering 6 months’ free web and email hosting to anybody who buys a copy of my book, “Web Design in easy steps”, on Amazon.

All you need to do is email me proof of purchase (such as your confirmation email from Amazon) and I’ll set up the hosting for you.

It’s fully-featured Linux hosting with PHP and MySQL installed as well as a control panel.

What’s that worth?

Well, I charge £10/month for web hosting, so it’s worth £60.

Sign up for the mailing list and get a further 3 months hosting free

What’s more, I’m offering a further 3 months hosting free to anybody who registers for the mailing list.

Just email me after you’ve got your confirmation email to let me know you want to take up the offer.

This offer can be taken up on its own, or in conjunction with the “buy the book” offer - meaning you can have 3 months or 9 months hosting for free, depending on which you choose.

What happens after the free period is up?

After your free period ends, I’ll contact you to find out what you want to do next.

You can either carry on hosting the site with my company, or you can transfer the site to another hosting company, it’s up to you.

If you decide to carry on, you’ll get a reduced rate of £7.50/month for the next 12 months.

How long is this offer valid?

Until I decide otherwise. Terms & conditions apply.