That would depend on why my Mom wanted to build a website.
If my Mom wanted her own website because she wanted a place to share her writing, or some photos, I'd suggest that she install Wordpress, find a free theme and work with it until her site is set up how she wants it (or just give up and invite me over to help).
On the other hand, if my Mom wanted to build a website because she was interested in learning how to develop web applications, I'd likely have to start her off with HTML and CSS (then introduce Javascript once HTML/CSS sink in). When my Mom really wants to learn something (especially something technical), she needs to see how all the component parts are actually built so that she has a full understanding. A full understanding of the smallest components makes it easier for her to understand bigger concepts. When it comes to web development, understanding how a document full of angle brackets can render as a web page would make everything else fall into place.
To complicate things, if my Dad wanted to learn how to develop web applications, making him start at HTML/CSS/Javascript would almost guarantee failure. My Dad operates best when you throw him in the deep end. He would do best if he downloaded an open source Rails project, figured out why it does what it does, and then modified it to do something different.
I struggle when it comes to the why. My Dad is extremely mechanical and he was a police officer. Perhaps working with a police force caused him to look at events as a byproduct of an entire system? Or, maybe this is straight up nature and his brain is just built differently? Or, maybe his parents did something in his first few years of life?
What does your mother have to do with it? This is much more relevant to a young programmer setting out on what may well become their career. Telling them to use Wordpress is like telling them to fuck off because you don't want to waste time helping them learn.
If my Mom wanted her own website because she wanted a place to share her writing, or some photos, I'd suggest that she install Wordpress, find a free theme and work with it until her site is set up how she wants it (or just give up and invite me over to help).
On the other hand, if my Mom wanted to build a website because she was interested in learning how to develop web applications, I'd likely have to start her off with HTML and CSS (then introduce Javascript once HTML/CSS sink in). When my Mom really wants to learn something (especially something technical), she needs to see how all the component parts are actually built so that she has a full understanding. A full understanding of the smallest components makes it easier for her to understand bigger concepts. When it comes to web development, understanding how a document full of angle brackets can render as a web page would make everything else fall into place.
To complicate things, if my Dad wanted to learn how to develop web applications, making him start at HTML/CSS/Javascript would almost guarantee failure. My Dad operates best when you throw him in the deep end. He would do best if he downloaded an open source Rails project, figured out why it does what it does, and then modified it to do something different.
I struggle when it comes to the why. My Dad is extremely mechanical and he was a police officer. Perhaps working with a police force caused him to look at events as a byproduct of an entire system? Or, maybe this is straight up nature and his brain is just built differently? Or, maybe his parents did something in his first few years of life?