Many people think of a web designer as someone who just creates web
pages out of thin air. While that is technically true, there's more to
being a web designer than putting up a Wordpress blog and choosing
backgrounds. To be a web designer, you need to be familiar with various
software programs and keep up on the latest developments in web design.
Here you'll find out the areas of knowledge in which you'll need to be
proficient as well as whether you need a diploma in order to design cool
web pages.
Software
You have probably seen
advertisements touting do-it-yourself websites. These sites just ask the
user to pick from a pre-selected palette of themes, fonts and
backgrounds. Web designers create all of this by themselves with the
help of software programs. They do this with a few programs issued by
Adobe. The two you'll definitely need to know are Photoshop and
Illustrator.
In addition to Adobe
Photoshop and Illustrator, you should also have a deep knowledge of
Adobe's Fireworks and Dreamweaver. These programs should give you the
best leeway in producing the web pages that you ever imagined.
Programming Languages
While
the artistic side of creating web pages is always fun and interesting,
there's another side to creating a brand new web page. You'll have to
intimately know several programming languages. For example, you've
probably heard or even seen HTML sometime in the past few years. HTML is
one of the more popular programming languages.
In addition to
HTML, learning CSS, Javascript, Flash, PHP and jquery will open more
professional doors for you and your business. You might be thinking "how
will I learn all of these programming languages?" or "I just want to
make cool web pages." The next section will describe your education
options.
Should I Go to College?
Many people learn web
design in a 2 or 4 year college
program. There are benefits to pursuing higher education. You'll have
the help and guidance from faculty who are also working professionals.
You'll be among people who are interested in the same things as you.
There
are many people who are excellent web designers who didn't go to
college. If you have a passion for the field, are a quick learner and
can work independently with no problem, you could learn all the
fundamentals on your own. You'll just have to actively keep up on the
latest developments in the field.
Click here to learn more.
