Web design: For those in the know.

[Cash]

Whats up.

Just seen a web design vacancy for £29,700 USD$60,000 full training provided, with "basic knowledge of HTML essential".

I don't know alot about web design, but i know one or two things from playing with Dreamweaver/fireworks a few years back.

What's the best way of getting started with HTML, best programs etc, as the only things I know about HTML are a few very basic tags.

Any help appreciated.

 

[Cash]

One last push before i let this die.

 

[SmoothTalker]

All I've ever used to write HTML is notepad.. Seems to do the trick.

 

[Demon]

Whats up.
What's the best way of getting started with HTML, best programs etc, as the only things I know about HTML are a few very basic tags.

Install WordPress. Start creating themes. But go ahead and apply for the job. You have basic knowledge. They'll provide the training.

 

[speakeasy]

That's a good salary for "just basic knowledge of HTML" required. To be a fully rounded web designer/developer you should learn XHTML, DHTML, Javascript, AJAX and XML. And if you want to do well, you should learn SQL and/or MYSQL along with PHP and ASP. Learn Flash too. And if you are good with advanced Flash Actionscripting, you'll always have people needing your services. HTML is just the begining, now work your way up through the other stuff I mentioned above. Also one other thing, web design is not just about code, it's also about DESIGN. So learn something about art, layout, balance, color theory, aesthetics. Go to a newstand and look through magazine like Communication Arts to see what's fresh in the design world. Build upon a creative base, then learn the technology and scripting languages to make your art come to life. If you want to see excellent examples of webdesign pushed to the limits look at any of the UFC minisites for each event such as: http://78.ufc.com/ http://77.ufc.com/ http://76.ufc.com/ You can just type in the number going all the way back and see all their different designs. The designers of the UFC minisites are simply amazing. Don't settle for just that HTML sh*t, aim for making fully-interactive multimedia sites. That will make you some good $$$.

 

[Suicide]

http://www.ff0000.com/

Those guys are amazing.

Also www.iikki.com

 

[mixmasterbert]

hi guys, I was a graphic design student and I droped out due to deperssion,weed, and women.I'm so much stronger/wiser then i was before. I have natural ability and I took it for granted. I'm looking at getting into web design/networking. It looks to be somthing i can take Anywhere and i see a demand on job sites. anyone else have any thoughts on these fields? please help, thanks

 

[STR8UP]

Yea, there's a HUGE difference between someone who knows how to use a computer, and someone who knows how to use a computer to make some kick ass design.

I've been through at least a half dozen different graphic/ web designers, and only ONE of them could do a better job than I could as far as putting together a design with form and function.

So I just started playing around with Photoshop and now I can put together sh!t that puts most people who have been to school for that stuff to shame. Also been playing around with Vegas editing video. I need to start learning at least basic HTML too.

Learn how to produce high quality graphic design (from a business standpoint....if it looks good but misses the mark it's useless) be RELIABLE, and you will never be out of work in that field.

 

[mixmasterbert]

good advice

 

[Cash]

Thanks for the replies. Very informative.

 

[Señor Fingers]

I been doing some web freelance on the side for a while now. All I can say is that design skills are imperative. You must have a good idea of how to present content in an engaging manner and a decent grasp of design concepts such as emphasis, contrast and flow.

Some of us have this gift naturally, others must learn it. Anyone can pick it up with time and dedication. The best way to learn is to absorb yourself and pick things up by osmosis. For inspiration, here are some showcases for well-designed web sites.

http://www.cssmania.com
http://www.designmeltdown.com
http://www.csstux.com

The other half of this art form is more scientific, having a decent grasp on semantic HTML and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is crucial. I highly recommend a book by Andy Budd called "CSS Mastery". No other book lays it out so well.

As far as tools, you can use Dreamweaver as training wheels, but before you become addicted to WYSIWYG editing, just remember that any serious web designer codes by hand..its actually much faster once you know what you're doing, plus your code is cleaner and less bug-prone.

I use and love Textmate, but its only for Mac. If you are on PC I would recommend getting a copy of Topstyle Pro..really great app for HTML designers.

A warning is probably in order here. Anyone who designs for the web discovers sooner or later how much they hate Internet Explorer. It does all sorts of wonky things to your layouts and doesnt support the same standards of other browsers. Version 7 is a big improvment, but most people are still using crappy old 6. Never fear though, where there's a will and global community, there 's a way.

http://www.positioniseverything.net/explorer.html

One final word..if you find yourself really enjoying this type of work, prepare yourself to fall down the rabbit hole. HTML is a gateway drug to Javascript, XML and server-side programming languages. I hope you enjoy learning!

 

[mixmasterbert]

thanks. could you please elaborate on the rabbit hole thing.

 

[Señor Fingers]

I started programming HTML years ago, with the intention of just doing some basic pages..nothing serious. Then I learned about all the cool stuff you can do with Javascript to manipulate things on the pages..(swapping out images, making calculations, setting up slideshows, etc)

After that I started playing with CMS's (content Management System), cause it's a b!tch to have your clients call you every time they want to change their website.

For a while I was using WordPress and Textpattern...both decent CMS's for blogs or basic portfolio pages, but I started to reach the ceiling on the features (especially for commercial sites) and needed something more powerful, so I started learning PHP and MySQL for a bit, ended up hating both and switched to Ruby on Rails and PostgreSQL.. Afterwards, I needed to learn how to maintain these apps in production environments on a hosted server, so I had to learn Linux and the command line.

Granted, not everyone takes this route. There are plenty of designers out there who just do HTML and thats it. But if you enjoy learning new stuff everyday, coding can quickly become addictive as there are endless ways to build web applications.

 

[Mr. Wolf]

Dreamweaver seems to be the best tool I've used.. Though it's not the only tool, I also use Microsoft SharePoint Designer and Notepad2..

Notepad alone? That's so pre historic, you might as well program your web pages on IBM PC.. Bragging that you can do all the majic with no sh1t is so beta IMO.. Notepad is missing source highlighting, Notepad2 is more like it, but still a basic text editor..

Whatever you use.. Easy thing to do is get a template, such as freeware templates or from template monster.. Customize it, and spit out your web one page at a time.. If doing from scratch, then you are making a template first.. Which envolves art..

I think this job offer is not for joe shmoe who knows how to do stuff, I think this job offer you telling us about is for an artist.. A person who is able to make a kick a55 template.. It takes eye, graphic skills, and whatever..

Call them up, and ask them..



I'm no artist, I'm more on a technical side and can make a clean web pages using a template or a costomized template.. I don't write templates myself.

 

[legolas]

I started programming HTML years ago, with the intention of just doing some basic pages..nothing serious. Then I learned about all the cool stuff you can do with Javascript to manipulate things on the pages..(swapping out images, making calculations, setting up slideshows, etc)

After that I started playing with CMS's (content Management System), cause it's a b!tch to have your clients call you every time they want to change their website.

For a while I was using WordPress and Textpattern...both decent CMS's for blogs or basic portfolio pages, but I started to reach the ceiling on the features (especially for commercial sites) and needed something more powerful, so I started learning PHP and MySQL for a bit, ended up hating both and switched to Ruby on Rails and PostgreSQL.. Afterwards, I needed to learn how to maintain these apps in production environments on a hosted server, so I had to learn Linux and the command line.

Granted, not everyone takes this route. There are plenty of designers out there who just do HTML and thats it. But if you enjoy learning new stuff everyday, coding can quickly become addictive as there are endless ways to build web applications.

WTF, Senior Fingerz is a programmer too? LOL

Fingz, I have two questions for you, but your PM is full.

 

[legolas]

Also been playing around with Vegas editing video.

vegas is actually a pretty cool app, and it looks leaner than most video editing packages out there like Premiere for the PC. It also runs on more platforms, but is not as widely known as Premiere or Final Cut Pro. HTML is not that hard to learn. You just need to play with it for hours and learn how to do tables. Most everything in HTML is laid out in tables.

 

[speakeasy]

For a while I was using WordPress and Textpattern...both decent CMS's for blogs or basic portfolio pages, but I started to reach the ceiling on the features (especially for commercial sites) and needed something more powerful, so I started learning PHP and MySQL for a bit, ended up hating both and switched to Ruby on Rails and PostgreSQL..

Can you tell me why these are better than php and mysql? I'm just learning php and mysql and haven't only briefly heard about ruby on rails and I've never heard of PostgreSQL.


Oh and I agree, I HATE Internet Explorer. I wish we could pass a low banning every browser other than Firefox!

 

[Analytic]

I have been in the web development business for over 7 years now and I think that going to school for web-design is the biggest joke of an education ever, a total waste of money. Most people that graduate from school are usually jobless (if you're looking for a position in a company) where you get your money is Freelance. With freelance people don't give a crap if you have a degree or not, what's important is your portfolio.

Also creativity does not come from school, it comes from the heart. The web design business is extremely tough these days because of competition, anyone with a computer can get a crack copy of Photoshop. You can't go anywhere with technicality alone, yes it'll help if you know your ins and out of photoshop and CSS but those are easy to learn with a few good books. No need to spend 30k and 2-3 years in school. The majority of your work will come from your creativity and passion for web-design. If you don't have a passion for creating graphic, then good luck making it anywhere in this business.

 

[legolas]

He personally hated it, but that doesn't mean you won't like it. PHP is really cool to work with. I don't have much experience, but for what I've needed it for, it has served me well. Think about it, this entire board application is built with PHP. I've also just gotten intrgued by Ruby, and would like to give it a try.

 

[mixmasterbert]

do u really thinks its a waste to go to school for web design?