What is php? well, php is a server side scripting language for your webpages. By this i mean it performs actions and adds dynamics to your website. Why would you need this you ask? Even for the beginner to web design it can be very powerful and has limitless possibilities. PHP is a language which adds almost programming elements. By this i mean being able to perform calculations, statements and much more. More will be explained on this language in later posts in this beginners guide to web design, however for the moment we will simply focus on what its uses can be.

In my opinion one of the least discovered functionalities of PHP to the beginner are php includes. These are very powerful and open up a whole new look on website creation. Even for a beginner to web design, i would highly recommend learning the basics on php and integrating these into your webpages. "PHP includes" basically add a webpage or other php file into another. Let me give you an example... the most popular use for php includes is to use them for reduction in code size and increase in efficiency. You can create a website that is split into three section, a header, a navigation bar down the left hand side of the page and a body section which takes up the rest of the page. You can have the header and navigation bar as php includes and simply include them in your body page. The use of this is that if you make a change to your header or navigation bar, the change happens to every single one of your webpages. Saves alot of time! Have trust in this beginners guide to web design and you will see how easily you can build up your skills.

Files are another great use for the beginner to web design as you can include contents of a file on a webpage, so you can simply edit the file instead of the page and your page will update. It means that no pages need to be overwritten or uploaded again preventing any problems to your users.

These are the only two things i recommend to learn as a beginner to web design and i hope that this post on Beginners guide to web design - php has taught you what you need to know to get started in this language.

Oxi