Web Design: I need some help getting started

[snow patrol]

OK, it's time for me to actually choose a career and I'm intrigued by web design. I've done a few basic sites in the past, which have been of reasonable quality but I realise that I need to learn skills such as flash and DHTML (others?). Does anyone have any links to some sites that will help me learn these skills? Also, how easy is it getting into the business of web page authoring?

Any words of advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for yer time

 

[abracadabra1]

ttt!

i need some too.

 

[denali]

Webmonkey
NetMechanic
HTML Help

 

[Engine]

Knowing Javascript is pretty much a must for doing DHTML (at least, from my limited experience). There are plenty of Javascript tutorials out there, but I've heard the O'Reily books on DHTML and Javascript are great (I actually own the DHTML one, but I haven't read it yet ).

 

[dennilfloss]

html goodies
Dave's
Stars
Lessons
Yahoo
Mouseover
Guru
Metatags
Lexicon

Hope this helps!

Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad (Meat Loaf)

 

[snow patrol]

Thanks guys, those are some helpful links

Do we have anyone in the business itself? How difficult is it to get into? Does one need qualifications or would proof of skill be enough? Thanks

 

[purplehayes]

I do web design as a side business. Mostly, I use my income to keep myself in a steady supply of computer related stuff.

I think to get started, you need to do a site for yourself as a resume of sorts. I wouldn't hurt if you had a few other sites you had done on your site in a portfolio.

You can go to my site here if you like.

PH

 

[Imported]

Later on, you'd want to learn Flash. Flash is becoming increasingly popular nowadays. Knowing DreamWeaver is also an added plus, but I'd only start using it after you've learned raw HTML via Notepad.

 

[jonnyGURU]

illkid is right. You can always use WYSIWYG editors like Dreamweaver to lay out and make the process quicker, but if you don't know about the HTML itself that is created by these programs, you will get stuck.

BTW: I am insulted that nobody mentioned webhelp as a resource. It's probably the oldest damn site on the net!

 

[denali]

I have been doing volunteer HTML work since 1994 and have always tried to make sites that would work with any browser that someone could be using. This generally means that the sites look simple however I know that everyone will be able to see the content. If someone cannot see the content then the site has no value. Yes the latest browsers support many features that allow you to create sites that look great. However not everyone is going to be using the latest browser. If you don't care about everyone being able to view a site then by all means use all that fancy stuff, otherwise keep it simple.

As an example you cannot use the forums if you do not use a browser that supports javascript. That was a decision that AnandTech made not to cater to people who don't use a browser that supports javascript.

 

[Jonny]

When I started I used programs like Frontpage, and mostly Dream Weaver 3. But I don't like using it since the code is not very good and it can mess things up pretty bad.

Hand code it all, and there some nice programs for that.

 

[Adul]

Whats wring with dreamweavor? It a huge time saver over hand coding hundreds of pages. Specially when you throw in templates and library items. though hand coding is a very good way to learn. DW is better for when you start making those bigger sites.

 

[denali]

Adul, If you use server side includes it's easy to change the appearance of hundreds of pages by editing just a few files. This way you can do everything by hand but keep it easy to change the appearance of a large site.

 

[purplehayes]

I rarely use anything but Dreamweaver and Photoshop. Handcoding is too slow. I'd probably have too many irate customers if I were to hand code everything since I bill by the hour.

The only time I hand code is when I need to use javascript.

 

[StageLeft]

When I started I was all about pure html code but this year I have been convinced that editors like Dreamweaver do have a place in many cases. Try making a massive table in pure html, its just slow and a waste of time. As was said below an editor isn't enough though, you will also need to learn HTML so you know what the editor is doing, because they can't do everything.

Of course if you want to get into web design for a full time job you'll need to take your basis of HTML and build upon it with Javascript, and quickly get into technical things like ASP and a database backend. I have found that most large sites specialize who does what. What I mean is, where I work we have 1-2 guys who do only flash and photoshop, and all I do is the backend of things. I can barely navigate around Photoshop, they can't write a line of code. There are people who do both but if you want top of the line work you rely on people who are specialized...

Of course I wish I could do a little flash and graphics work - it depends - what do you want to do? Design the front end of sites or do the back-end? I suck at front end so I'm all technical on the back...

 

[perry]

I wouldn't wanna do it on my own for other people. Too many headaches. They don't like it, you redo it. They don't pay, you are screwed pretty much. If you wanna start on your own, ask for a flat rate setup fee plus 100% of your estimated time in advance (make sure you say it's only 50% of your time). Then, bill the balance at the end. If they screw you over, you are already compensated for your time. If not, then you make out pretty good.

I've heard too many horror stories of people being contracted over the internet for work and then the customer just disappearing off the face of the earth and not paying for the work. Better to overcharge than not get paid at all. Or make websites for yourself, or work for a corporation that has lawyers and accountants working for them to take care of the hassles.

 

[snow patrol]

Thanks again for the advice everyone I'm already fairly good at dreamweaver and a bit of photoshop, but yes, flash is something that I'm going to try and learn over the course of the next few months.

 

[M00T]

I love my photoshop.