So I designed a homepage on GIMP and now want to know how I go from that to writing code for it, and for that I've decided to use either Aptana, Bluefish or Kompozer.
I understand HOW to slice/splice images from my design and save them as new files. What I can't quite wrap my mind around is how you decide WHICH elements to use. I'm just stuck here and would appreciate some advice/instruction. Thanks!

adobe photo shop for the win here but I guess it doesn't run on Linux well maybe wine but then you prolly don't want to pay for it. I found this I plan on following to learn from it so hope it helps. Can't say this will work as I haven't done it.

http://gimp-tutorials.net/node/71

I'm afraid I don't understand your question. Where exactly is the problem? The gimp is only there for creating images. It has no connection with what you do with them afterwards.

If you have a question about how to use your images in html or css, then it would help to ask about that directly, in detail, with samples and examples. Although I don't personally have much experience with web design, I'm sure there are others out there who know more about it.

But then again, this is a general computing website, and you might get better quality help in a dedicated web coding forum.

There are also many html/css tutorials and discussions out there in cyberspace. I have seen recently, for example, that css allows for the use of sprite-style image slicing. Here's just one of many sites that discuss it:

http://www.alistapart.com/articles/sprites