asp.net 2.0 starter kits and design templates
Once you've gotten used to the basics of asp.net 2.0, I'd recommend checking out the latest templates available from Microsoft: Design Templates
Microsoft offers 4 starter kits and 5 XHTML templates, all of which help to provide examples of how to write accessible, compliant web sites utilizing the best of asp.net 2.0 controls, such as the tree view, grid view, site map path, etc. I've installed almost all of these kits on my laptop, and had working example sites up within minutes. The kits utilize SQL Express 2005, making setup a snap. All this was fine and good, but who wants to build a new site with new technology, only to find you are boxed into a dev environment? After my dog grew bored of it, I knew I had to publish this to the web.
I've used discountASP.com as my web host for the last three years, and they are always among the best at adapting young technologies. I signed up for a shared SQL 2005 account, and installed my site to a virtual directory there. ....Notice the shameless plug for my Calvin account...true "Calvinism" <g>
The 'Personal' starter kit uses the new Profile feature, which stores user preferences in a personalization database table. When the user returns, the preferred theme & page are defaulted, making everyone feel right at home. This is just too great of a feature to disable, so it was time to hook up to SQL 2005. I'll be writing about how I accomplished this in the coming days... if you're struggling with switching from SQL Express 2005 to a full, shared SQL 2005 on a web host, don't despair.
Check out these design examples, I guarantee you'll be inspired by one of them to create something sweet. I can't wait to find some time to begin creating my own themes. I like leaves, coffee and soap as much as the next guy, but dang. :-)
Here's my initial site, with the default themes & layout. I'll update the content soon.