It's impossible to judge your css compliance without seeing your actual code for your site. :)

Having said that, use Firefox Web Developer Tools to get you to the W3Schools CSS Validator here when your code is being developed, and this will help you stay compliant:

http://validator.w3.org/

I would suggest that unless you have serious animation needs that you don't need to use flash for your site at all, just some javascript for your images in case someone wants to enlarge them further. CSS does wondeful things like set a default for no image border (you don't have to set border=0 ever again for an img src, just do an img tag in css!) and more.

Design-wise I'd recommend a little more color in the body of your site; it's very stark and white at the moment. That doesn't mean fill up the spaces, just color them for interest. But this is only an opinion, not absolutely necessary to do.

Hope this helps!

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Powerpoint is not a design application

thanks for the input. I have not written the code yet, i just want settle on the general site design and navigation before i begin. And i agree, it feels a bit stark and empty right now. I am adding information and links as i go along, which i will probably present in some faux tables. Maybe plug some images here and there. Hopefully that will do the trick.

For the portfolio page, i really want to present it with simplicity and intrigue. I really like the coverflow approach here, but if you have any other suggestions im all ears....

Actually there's a great javascript code out there that will do the job marvellously:
http://www.vclcomponents.com/JavaScript/Scripts_and_Programs/Image_Effects/Image_Display/Pop_up_image_viewer-info.html

But that's not the only source. http://www.dynamicdrive.com is great too.

Remember, flash is not searchable so if you want people to find you and your work you're making it harder for yourself by using flash.

Again, without seeing your real code it's really impossible to judge the fitness of your css. :)

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Powerpoint is not a design application

Stack, I don't see any problems with your layout as far as CSS goes. In fact, the CSs for your layout would pretty simple.

Oh, and, you'd be surprised what you can do with CSS. You can go rather complex using position and layering to the point where, nearly, anything you can imagine in Photoshop can be sliced and diced into a valid CSS layout.

Don't feel limited by your CSS knowledge, rather use your imagination and learn how to code the CSS to make it work.

Stack, I think your site design will be fairly easy to code with CSS. Like mintsauce said, don't limit yourself with your CSS knowledge. Do your best design and then try to learn how to code it. Otherwise you will find yourself oversimplifying for the sake of easy coding.

As far as the flash is concerned, I highly recommend you read this info if you want to adhere to CSS standards while using flash:
http://alistapart.com/articles/flashsatay

-Shawn

http://www.ssarts.com

I just finished reading Zeldman's book on Web Standards. I feel like i have good direction...but not very good practical knowledge. I look forward to applying these techniques to my website. Thanks for all your tips! I will post an update soon!