Once you master the basics of authoring HTML, you’ll need focus on what your next steps will be. If you’re an aspiring web designer, you’ll need to dive deeper into HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. If you’re maintaining a corporate or personal site through a CMS, you’ll need to focus on how the CMS works, and the most efficient ways to edit and maintain content. On this page I’ll give you some basic advice on how to approach learning web design and point you towards additional resources that can help you along the way.
I’m always amazed at how many web designers focus on learning “just what they need to know” and ignore how the web actually works. Without understanding how web servers, protocols, browsers, and other related web technology works, you’ll never really understand the context behind why you do the things you do, and what makes one practice better than another.
There are a lot of areas of web design that you could specialize in, so I’d recommend learning as much about them as you can, to determine which areas interest you. Then, spend as much time learning about your specific area of focus as possible. Once you achieve a level of proficiency, begin to branch out into other areas as well.
The web is constantly evolving. Even if you become the absolute best there is in a specific field, chances are new techniques and approaches will come along within the year that will make your current skill set less desirable. Understand that being a good web designer means embracing the changing nature of the web.
There is no better teacher than experience. Build and experiment constantly. Ask yourself, “what would happen if I?...” or “wonder if I could build?...” and then go out and build it.
Although their format can be a bit hard to read initially, once you’re familiar with them there is no better resource for learning HTML and staying current with it than reading the actual W3C specifications.
HTML 4.0
XHTML 1.0
WHATWG HTML5
W3C HTML5
W3C Markup Validation Service
Mozilla Developer Network
HTML5 Rocks