Joyce Evans: Educator and Author

Here at DMXzone we are working hard to get articles from some of the best authors around, and are pleased to say that we'll be getting some brand new material from renowned educator and author Joyce Evans in the very near future. 

Joyce has been training, educating and authoring as well as web designing for the last 10 years. She's spoken at conferences such as Macromedia MAX2003 and TODCON, and has authored numerous books including Macromedia Studio MX bible, Dreamweaver MX Complete Course and Web Design Complete Course. We've got details about her latest publication – Macromedia Fireworks MX 2004 Zero to Hero here. 

At Joyce's personal web site you can see how passionate she is about supporting Web developers - check out the tutorials and reviews of Dreamweaver, Fireworks and other Web design related books and products. 

To provide some background for our readers, we've got an interview with Joyce so you can see how she went from HTML Zero to Dreamweaver and Fireworks Heroine!

DMX: What core skills do you need to get under your belt to progress from being a newcomer to a more experienced professional and what mistakes do you commonly see Web developing newbies make?

JE: One of the biggest mistakes is not knowing which application to use for which job. For instance, Fireworks can export a fully functional web page but it is NOT the best way to build a site. Use Fireworks or FreeHand to build your site comps [comparables, variations the client can choose from] or layout samples.

Fireworks for images and optimization or even simple animations and Dreamweaver for the layout. Flash for more advanced animations and/or web applications.

As far as core skills I'd say first and foremost strong HTML skills. Strong CSS skills are now a must. Once these are mastered I'd say learning how to work with databases. This involves choosing a server technology to learn. This can really be a challenge. I started with basic ASP, then moved into basic ColdFusion. In the next year I'll be beginning with PHP. We never have enough time to learn everything there is to know.

 

DMX: ASP (ASP.NET), PHP, ColdFusion, MySQL, MSDE, Apache, IIS - agreed the choice is bewildering to the newcomer - so much to learn so little time. Thinking of two different circumstances what technologies would you suggest for each:

1. The hobbyist running a site for a volunteer organization like a local history society or local sports club 
2. The aspiring newbie looking to develop skills to impress a potential employer 

JE: It's a difficult question, it's actually a very controversial area. Everyone chooses a technology for different reasons:

1. I would have answered ASP very quickly previously but now ASP.NET has become very popular.
2. For the new user, and keep in mind this is just my opinion, I'd use ColdFusion.
   
   The reason being is that Dreamweaver has great support for it and a new user can do quite a bit with ColdFusion in Dreamweaver without writing any code at all. This applies for ASP as well. I haven't personally gotten into ASP.NET or PHP yet.

My suggestion to new designers is to concentrate on what you do best! For instance, advanced ASP, ColdFusion, PHP or ASP.NET is beyond me so I hire it out. I learn enough to do the basics, I'm better at the design and usability portions so that is where most of my efforts go.

 

DMX: And time for the DMXzone stock question.What does accessibility mean to you (both technically and as a development issue)?

JE: I think all web designer/developers should do all they can to make a site accessible to all. With better browser support of CSS, more and more sites are being done using CSS. The use of CSS separates the layout and formatting from the content. This method makes a site much more accessible and versatile. It also makes updating of sites much easier and faster.

 

DMX: What issues really wind you up you when you visit a site and what pitfalls should the newbie avoid?

JE: Big honky buttons, blinking, a useless entry page (even worse when there are several!) non-secure forms asking for too much personal information.

Another big one is when you can't focus on anything. Your eyes jump around the page with no landing point. When this happens I normally just leave. If I can't find what I'm looking for in a reasonable amount of time I leave.

 

DMX: Well you certainly have a big portfolio of professional interests - which one of your many and varied roles do you find most fulfilling?

JE: Teaching live classes. I love the interaction and hands on involvement.

 

DMX: What's the most fulfilling project you've ever worked on?

JE: The Dreamweaver MX 2004 Complete Course book. I have gotten so many great letters from readers on the format of this book. It teaches people how to develop a complete web site in Dreamweaver while learning the tools. What makes it unique is that the illustrations have numbers in them that correspond to some of the steps. It is a step-by-step book, which is for people who learn best by doing.