Sorry if this is a very newbie question but how do I make two separate background colors like the attached banner? See how one side of the banner is red and the other side is white? What is this "technique" called? I will Google and Youtube it if no one feels like explaining it I just need the name of this "technique".
Create 2 layers.
One full white. The other, half width red. The red one goes on top of the white layer.
Just go to youtube and ask that same question and you get it explained in 30 seconds
If you don't know what layers are, check out some beginner guides on photoshop. You'll find a lot of them if you simply check google or youtube.
It's not a technique - but here's how you would do it:
Create a new file with a white background. Then add a new layer. Select the new layer, then select the 'marquee' tool (rectangular version). use the marquee tool to select/draw a rectangle on the new layer to the size you want that red background area to be (you can easily change this later, if you want). Then click on the colour selector on the left hand side, at the bottom of the tool palette - the colour selector will appear. Choose the red you want to use. When that red appears in the colour palette, simple click 'alt-delete' and the marquee area in the new layer will fill with red. Give the layer a name so you remember which on it is. Done.
So long as you do this on a layer by itself you can easily make the red background area bigger or smaller or change colour or position - that's the useful thing about layers.
It looks to me like there's a graduation on your white background. You can do that on the white background itself with the gradient tool or create a new layer and put the gradient on that. I'd use the radial gradient tool for that.
Put all individual text elements on their own layers. So you can move or edit them individually. For small jobs like this, it's best to put everything on its own layer which makes rearranging and editing so much easier.