I want to learn web design, but how hard is it?

[Amazin]

The reason I want to learn web design is because I want to have an online business at some point. I just want to know how long it will take me to learn and whether its better to pay for a course or DIY. I think after that it is also important to learn SEO etc.

what do you think?

 

[mzone]

If you want do it in professional way, you have to spend very long time for learning. There is plenty courses online at you tube in ex to start understand basics but to have get professional graphics course, that is very expensive.

know how long it will take me to learn

That is depend how much you know about computer graphics at this stage, for one learning come quicker ther to others, you also have to think to buy a professional software, which is Photoshop.
You can start to learn you self at Gimp, it is free graphic editor similar to Photoshop.

Wish you the best, start from first step and go forward with your plans.

 

[Baz Watkins]

Unless you have an affinity for it, you're looking at years of learning.

Biggest thing to be wary of is the fact that the market is saturated, so unless you are very very good, or have agency experience and clients who'll follow you its going to be extremely tough.

And trust me this isn't another company trying to put you off. With all honesty, life as a website designer is really tough right now.

 

[Swisaw]

Go to this link: http://www.w3schools.com/html/ and start to learn HTML code.

Good luck

 

[soundengineeruk]

You may want to take step towards learning HTML5... Same as HTML just the latest..

Is it just basic design (no functionality) or you looking doing functionality on your website....?

 

[Paul33]

Amazin,
you might want to consider having a lookk at pluralsight.com for tutorials (it's a payed site) or lynda.com (again payed).

You'll also need to decide which technology direction you want to go (microsoft or java basically).

besides what has been said previously you should be aware that a web developer has a pretty thankless life at the best of times and whilst it is a skill worth having it really is a crowded market place out there (and you can outsource via elance REALLY cheaply).
It's good to know about this stuff and to have a basic understanding/ability but this is one of those things that is best left to others.

Hope that helps,
Paul.

 

[soundengineeruk]

Amazin,
you might want to consider having a lookk at pluralsight.com for tutorials (it's a payed site) or lynda.com (again payed).
.

Recommend pluarlsight site, it well worth the money as learnt a lot and easy to follow

 

[web-design-stories]

Hey there
It's not something that you can learn in 2 months.. Even if companies guarantee that after their course you will be prepared, you will be not.
Would you learn speaking in 3 different languages in few months? - Answer is no.

It's worth to mention that Web Design & Web Development are two different things..
If you're creative with tones of ideas, you may want to become Web Designer, and start learning from home.

Few things that you will surely see on your learning adventure:
- Photoshop
- Adobe Illustrator
- HTML, HTML5, CSS, CSS3
- Typography
- Visual balance & Hierarchy
- Unity
- Human Perception
- Colour terminology (Colour schemes, colour wheel)
- Design for print

This isn't full list, just few examples that will give you an idea of what is a must.

If you're planning to be a developer (coding stuff) just like me.. This is much more complicated and hard. Takes ages to learn.

Here's few things you will learn as a web developer:
- HTML, HTML5, CSS, CSS3
- JavaScript (CoffeeScript), jQuery
- PHP / Or PHP framework like Codeigniter or Cake (This one is optional if you intend to use OOP)

- OOP (Object oriented programming) like Ruby on Rails *That's what I do*, C, C++, Python

The great thing is that in some cases learning new language will be easier as you have knowledge of coding in something different.

For example, I learned Ruby on Rails very very quickly as I learned Codeigniter before that, they both use MVC pattern.

 

[web-design-stories]

Forgot to mention

If you're looking for website to learn from go for Treehouse.

I owe them so much.

 

[Amazin]

oh dear, sounds like a massive commitment

I'm not trying to become a web developer/designer, I thought it would be good idea to learn about it so that I don't have to rely on anyone but myself. Oh well, I guess you can't know everything.

I got a quote from a web development company recently who offered to do it for £750 (after discount) and £250 per month for SEO. I estimate it will probably cost me £2k on the whole thing so I do need to think about it carefully.

 

[Swisaw]

Please don't confuse the man with all these complex jumbo mumbos. He is a beginner and doesn't have a clue about all of these things. Let him to start with the simple html code from the link I gave him. It is free and I believe it is the best for beginners.

 

[LouiseSwift]

If you pop "learn to code for free" into your preferred search engine you'll find tons of resources, including sites like Codecademy which allow you to learn in a little online sandbox. It's actually really engaging and fun!* Treehouse do video training, which I find really annoying, but lots of people do seem to love them.

Even if you decide to hire professionals to make your site, you'll be better able to pick those professionals and tell 'em what you want if you've got a bit of understanding about what they do. So it's always worth having a browse through the free online learning available out there.

Personally, I did also find in-person training to be extremely useful at certain stages in learning to code. But it has to be good-quality stuff, where you get plenty of time to ask the tutor/workshop leader questions and the assignments are actually useful tasks that move your understanding ahead.

Either way, learning a little here and there at your own pace will eventually leave you far less dependant on web professionals (especially for the smaller tasks, like adding a plugin or whatnot) and much more able to make the right choice if/when you decide to hire any.

(* If you're a huge geek, like me.)

 

[Chris Fickling Design]

I agree with the post above - Code academy is great.

There is an over-all perception that it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert at anything, so what I would say is target and specify exactly what it is that you want to learn before you begin.

If you're starting a business in a particular niche learn how to build websites for that particular niche. Select a Content Management System or an e-commerce system and learn that system inside out - do that and you will learn some html and some php (et al) as you go. Learning how to write the language is less important than learning what can and can't be done with it. Learning logic is more important.

 

[rsalemseo]

I agree with Swisaw's resource. HTML is really the primary coding language for websites and it pays to master it. Actually, there are plenty more tutorials online or buying a book would help as well. I would not recommend any paid tutorials but rather just self study because overall, its very easy to learn.

Learning HTML is a great starting point then after that, SEO and Social Media would be the next step if you want to venture in earning online on a "finding and working for clients" approach. You can also learn more web related languages such as javascript, php and others so that you can also be competent in the more advanced web development world.

Always remember that its always about constant learning and development.

 

[derick32]

You need to learn Photoshop, HTML/CSS and you can look for online courses on Lydia.com. I believe that its worth the price you can learn. You can also look for web design tutorial on youtube. Video tutorials is the easiest way to learn. I also believe that web design is not that hard to learn as long as you have the passion and dedication. Web design is a great way to earn online.

 

[Ian J]

HTML is really the primary coding language for websites and it pays to master it.

I disagree although I would admit that it pays to have a working knowledge.

I am nowhere near mastering HTML although my knowledge is sufficient to alter pages and other minor tasks and I can certainly take a professional template and make alterations to the design to suit the way I want it to look

 

[paraleadogg]

Biggest thing to be wary of is the fact that the market is saturated.....

I completely disagree.

More and more business now do business online and the tech market is booming. I get at LEAST 3 emails a day from various agencies and I am never short of work offers. Linked in, twitter etc - always have companies and individuals inquiring about my availability.

I read an article just last week that stated the UK could be a facing a severe shortfall in the necessary tech skills in the next 5 years (sysadmin, web dev, designers, dba etc) as demand begins to outstrip supply.

And i haven't seen anything to suggest otherwise and it is only gonna to increase with the continued emergence of mobile and online services.

 

[paraleadogg]

I agree with Swisaw's resource. HTML is really the primary coding language for websites and it pays to master it. Actually, there are plenty more tutorials online or buying a book would help as well. I would not recommend any paid tutorials but rather just self study because overall, its very easy to learn.

Learning HTML is a great starting point then after that, SEO and Social Media would be the next step if you want to venture in earning online on a "finding and working for clients" approach. You can also learn more web related languages such as javascript, php and others so that you can also be competent in the more advanced web development world.

Always remember that its always about constant learning and development.

HTML and CSS are good starting points. I think every developer should know these inside out. But they are so basic. They just produce static pages and on their own are pretty useless given today's standards.. In order to do anything REALLY useful you need to also be able to program using a server side language such as php, rails or .net (vb, c#) - and work with data, objects, databases etc.

Knowing just HTML and CSS alone will not get you very far these days - but i guess it depends on your goals - do you want a career in development or the ability to just tinker with your own personal websites?

Good luck

 

A simple website is easy ,get a copy of dreamweaver and you will be up and running in no time.

SEO is probably the most important factor for a sucessfull online site,as the most brilliany website in the world is useless without customers.

 

[paraleadogg]

SEO is probably the most important factor for a sucessfull online site,as the most brilliany website in the world is useless without customers.

After Google rolled out Panda, Penguin and most recently Hummingbird a lot would argue SEO was now in fact dead. Takes more than a few H1 tags, keyword stuffing and a few decent relevant authoritative backlinks to get you top and [more importantly] keep you there!

Instead of worrying about SEO you are best just building the best site you can and catering to your USERS (NOT search engines).

If your site is GENUINELY useful and offers good unique content and value it will eventually be rewarded. Stop trying to cater for Search engines and focus on your own customers ; )

 

[nathan0101]

Don't be put off by the many negative responses. As paraleadogg pointed out the tech industry is booming and there is plenty of opportunity.

HTML and CSS are key starting points and fairly easy to grasp. Make sure you're learning to code by hand and not using WYSIWYG editors.

You'll also want to look into content management systems such as WordPress.

CodeSchool have some good interactive courses. Check them out.

 

[HorseLatitudes]

What is it that they've offered to do for the money?

How many pages, products etc will they include?

Will they maintain it as well?

Does it include a domain and hosting?

 

Instead of worrying about SEO you are best just building the best site you can and catering to your USERS (NOT search engines).

If your site is GENUINELY useful and offers good unique content and value it will eventually be rewarded. Stop trying to cater for Search engines and focus on your own customers ; )

I take it you are new to the world of SEO.:|

 

[Banksbroo]

Knowing how to trade on-line is very different from knowing how to create a web site. Creating the site is a very small part of your activity. You are creating a business, not just a web presence. That means finance skills, negotiating, marketing, accounting, sales, customer relations, etc. etc.

If you want to create a decent site, and assuming you have the graphic design flair, and skills to learn coding, then you should be getting to grips with things in a couple of years, enough to create a reasonable site built by a non-professional.

Put another way, if you were thinking of opening a small shop, would you want to spend a couple of years to train to be a shipfitter in order to fit it out, our would you just hire a contractor?

 

[Lolleo]

I think most posters have gone off in tangents here. The guy wants to build a website for himself. The simplest way is to use a ready made website template and fill in the text and pictures. Dont worry about HTML or CSS.

Wordpress has free pre-built site templates that you can use to make a simple site with the bonus that it is already responsive (adjusts to any screen size). You could buy other templates also that have been developed. Themeforest have loads of templates on there.

So my advice is:
Get webhosting that supports wordpress
Install wordpress
Use free or purchased template
Fill in pictures and text
Publish pages
Job done!

Youtube has loads of 'how to build your own wordpress site' videos

Edit: I forgot to mention plugins

WP allows you to use plugins. Lots of free ones for just about anything such as SEO, google maps, ecommerce etc....

 

[bigalski]

One of the quickest ways to learn how to do web design and create great websites is by using Wordpress (WORDPRESS.ORG). It is used by over 60 million webmasters, Internet marketers, bloggers etc. worldwide, this what people are now using.

Wordpress is for anyone who doesn't want to spend months and years learning how to do traditional HTML, CSS. and coding (which sounds like you). Once you know what you are doing and have all the things required for your site; like your header graphics, written content, images, etc. You can have your site ready within 2-3 days

The inside is a bit like using Microsoft Word and once you have mastered it (probably in a few weeks) and you have got good looking graphics, you will be able to create fantastic looking professional websites. There are also thousands of free and paid templates (skins) that you can use and there are hundreds of free and paid plugins available which allow you to do some amazing things with your site. There are some really cool websites and blogs that have been created using Wordpress.

Nowadays you do not need to go to college and spend months learning website design and creation (in the traditional sense). A good example of website that offers Wordpress training can be found going to the UDEMY website and looking for how-to-create-a-wordpress-business-website-in-2-days

Hope this has helped

 

[paraleadogg]

I take it you are new to the world of SEO.:|

Haha not at all. I am a full time developer and in my spare time have ran many affiliate websites - marketing and building a business by generating leads for others

I've worked with the likes of B&Q, Wickes, Screwfix, Debenhams, Miss Selfridges, Robert Dyas, Ann Summers (ahem) and many other high street stores generating leads online and taking a healthy commission

I have managed to build sites that regularly attracted up to 8,000 UNIQUE visitors daily without spending a single penny on marketing and paid placement. That's unique impressions - not page views!

Some of my sites convert at about 8% - well above the benchmark 3% figure (we are talking physical goods here).

So i am WELL versed in the art of "SEO" thanks - and the simple fact is what worked 3 years ago will simply NOT work now. FACT.

It used to be a case of simply buying a few decent reciprocal links, spamming a few WP comments (and maybe if you were REALLY savvy the odd guest blog post) job done - especially if you had an EMD!!

Now? Not gonna happen.

You may get some quick wins but you will lose out long term. Google now looks for a NATURAL link profile - one way none reciprocal links from AUTHORITY RELEVANT sites. It looks at your social profile - is this site "hot". Is it being talked about? Is it being shared?

So rather than waste time on black hat (or even grey hat) tactics you would be far better catering to your USERS.

Make good unique, relevant, SHAREABLE content. And they will link to it. They will share it. And you will build that much coveted NATURAL LINK PROFILE. Engage users via social media. Twitter, Facebook. OFFER VALUE.

"SEO" (and i hate that word) is not a quick win - it is a long term strategy and that strategy has changed vastly even over just the past 18 months.

You only need to look at things like Google+ and the introduction of the disavow tool to see that. Google has introduced a measure which allows web masters to DISTANCE themselves from the shady practices of yesteryear.

Gaming SERPS has gone. FACT.

So in order to answer your question - no, i am not "new" to SEO hahaha

But maybe you are?

If so you can read a couple of articles i wrote on some of the good things you CAN do that may HELP but won't necessarily guarantee you get you to where you wanna be (because we all know that anyone who says they can GUARANTEE a top x position in Google is lying. Don't we?) ; )

affiliatetuts (dot) com/general/10-tips-to-increase-your-sites-organic-traffic/

affiliatetuts (dot) com/seo/link-building-strategies-rebuilding-a-lost-resource/

Good luck ; )

 

Haha not at all. I am a full time developer and in my spare time have ran many affiliate websites - marketing and building a business by generating leads for others

I've worked with the likes of B&Q, Wickes, Screwfix, Debenhams, Miss Selfridges, Robert Dyas, Ann Summers (ahem) and many other high street stores generating leads online and taking a healthy commission

I have managed to build sites that regularly attracted up to 8,000 UNIQUE visitors daily without spending a single penny on marketing and paid placement. That's unique impressions - not page views!

Some of my sites convert at about 8% - well above the benchmark 3% figure (we are talking physical goods here).

So i am WELL versed in the art of "SEO" thanks - and the simple fact is what worked 3 years ago will simply NOT work now. FACT.

It used to be a case of simply buying a few decent reciprocal links, spamming a few WP comments (and maybe if you were REALLY savvy the odd guest blog post) job done - especially if you had an EMD!!

Now? Not gonna happen.

You may get some quick wins but you will lose out long term. Google now looks for a NATURAL link profile - one way none reciprocal links from AUTHORITY RELEVANT sites. It looks at your social profile - is this site "hot". Is it being talked about? Is it being shared?

So rather than waste time on black hat (or even grey hat) tactics you would be far better catering to your USERS.

Make good unique, relevant, SHAREABLE content. And they will link to it. They will share it. And you will build that much coveted NATURAL LINK PROFILE. Engage users via social media. Twitter, Facebook. OFFER VALUE.

"SEO" (and i hate that word) is not a quick win - it is a long term strategy and that strategy has changed vastly even over just the past 18 months.

You only need to look at things like Google+ and the introduction of the disavow tool to see that. Google has introduced a measure which allows web masters to DISTANCE themselves from the shady practices of yesteryear.

Gaming SERPS has gone. FACT.

So in order to answer your question - no, i am not "new" to SEO hahaha

But maybe you are?

If so you can read a couple of articles i wrote on some of the good things you CAN do that may HELP but won't necessarily guarantee you get you to where you wanna be (because we all know that anyone who says they can GUARANTEE a top x position in Google is lying. Don't we?) ; )

affiliatetuts (dot) com/general/10-tips-to-increase-your-sites-organic-traffic/

affiliatetuts (dot) com/seo/link-building-strategies-rebuilding-a-lost-resource/

Good luck ; )

I'm impressed but confused why you would make such rubbish statements.:|

"After Google rolled out Panda, Penguin and most recently Hummingbird a lot would argue SEO was now in fact dead.

Instead of worrying about SEO you are best just building the best site you can and catering to your USERS (NOT search engines)."

 

[paraleadogg]

I'm impressed but confused why you would make such rubbish statements.:|

"After Google rolled out Panda, Penguin and most recently Hummingbird a lot would argue SEO was now in fact dead.

Instead of worrying about SEO you are best just building the best site you can and catering to your USERS (NOT search engines)."

Which part are you confused by? Many peoples interpretation of SEO is to simply pay someone who then (often unknown to them) simply build cheap, worthless links (directories, comment spam, fake reviews etc.). It's sad but true.

So yes in that aspect SEO is dead.

Of course you should still be doing the basics - optimising page load speed, outreach, building a strong social footprint, creating fresh relevant content, guest blogging to a degree etc.

But simply emailing hundreds of PR 2 sites and swapping reciprocal links will not get you far these days. Maybe 2 years ago but not now.

Infact many sites are now being penalised for the poor 'SEO' practises they used to engage in.

I suggest you google seomoz etc and also check out Matt Cutts blog. He is head of googles web spam team and outlines the things a webmaster SHOULD be focusing on. I.e. content and building a natural link profile rather than buying or acquiring cheap, short term links.

Good luck ; )

 

[paraleadogg]

I think most posters have gone off in tangents here. The guy wants to build websites

No. I thought he said he wants to learn web design? (That is the title of this thread anyway)

There is a big difference between setting up wordpress and installing a few free plugins and actually designing your own site. Is there not?

 

[Ian J]

One of the quickest ways to learn how to do web design and create great websites is by using Wordpress (WORDPRESS.ORG). It is used by over 60 million webmasters, Internet marketers, bloggers etc. worldwide, this what people are now using.

Wordpress is for anyone who doesn't want to spend months and years learning how to do traditional HTML, CSS. and coding (which sounds like you).

A beginner may be able to create good websites using Wordpress but it's certainly not the quickest way to learn how to do web design. In fact I would go so far to say that it's the hardest way.

I can fiddle my way around html and css but php is much harder and seems akin to learning a foreign language to me

 

[Amazin]

I wonder how hard it is to create a membership based site with wordpress. I will respond some your messages later, gtg!

 

I suggest you google seomoz etc and also check out Matt Cutts blog. He is head of googles web spam team and outlines the things a webmaster SHOULD be focusing on.

You do mean the things that google would like,unfortunately not the things that will get one a high ranking in the search engines.

As for seomoz.PLEASE.

 

[paraleadogg]

You do mean the things that google would like,unfortunately not the things that will get one a high ranking in the search engines.

As for seomoz.PLEASE.

So you are saying the way to get high rankings is by doing stuff the search engines DON'T like? Hahahahahaha! Good luck with that!

I think we will agree to disagree on this one ; )

You have rubbished my opinion but at least i have offered one. You haven't backed up your view with any kind of reasoning or opinion of your own.

Which leads me to conclude you are probably one of these so called "SEO gurus" who charge companies a fee to link build before farming the work out via oDesk / fivver? lol

If so good luck to you.

You are going to need it going forward ; )

 

So you are saying the way to get high rankings is by doing stuff the search engines DON'T like? Hahahahahaha! Good luck with that!

Nope I am saying it is best to do the things that are effective rather than follow people who have a vested interest in getting followers.

P.S I don't need luck as like Arnold Palmer I practise a lot.

 

[bigalski]

I went to college to learn website design and even though I found learning HTML, CSS, etc. very tedious, I would agree that if you want to become a PROFESSIONAL WEBSITE DESIGNER, that is the way to go; so do go to college, do use the Internet free web design learning services, or get a job with a web development company, if that's the road you want to go down.

If you don't want the headache of learning all that coding stuff, and you want to setup your blog/website quickly without having prior knowledge of webdesign, then I would recommend learning to use a web design platform like Wordpress because IT IS so much easier to learn, setup, and to use. Once you have got a template setup, you've got your basic list of plugins installed, you've done some SEO, and you're happy with it, you can then clone that site and use it to setup another website in about 15 minutes. Doing it this way (or using something similar) you need to know very litttle coding.

As you know, there are now hundreds of companies offering websites to people and you don't need to have any webdesign knowledge at all, it's getting to the stage now where it's becoming drag and drop. So as you can see, you may not necessarily need to hire a website designer at all. If you don't want to be a professional website designer and you want to create your own profesional looking site; what you do need to have is access to good graphics and images for your site, good quality written content, and know how to do the other more technical things that you may need, e.g. setting up payment collection/shopping carts, setting up an email autoresponder, creating a squeezepage, etc. (or just as importantly), knowing where to go to get these done for a low price. Some website companies may have these tools already built-in but you may not be able to position, resize, where you want them

On the subject of SEO, even though SOCIAL PROOF (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Google +, etc) is now a lot more important to help rank your websites, you will still need to do do basic SEO on your website to keep Google happy.

 

[bigalski]

Forgot to mention, it is quite easy to setup a membership site using Wordpress, you either get the right Wordpress template with it built in, or get a good plugin that does the same job.

 

[Lolleo]

We got a live one here boys!

No. I thought he said he wants to learn web design? (That is the title of this thread anyway)

There is a big difference between setting up wordpress and installing a few free plugins and actually designing your own site. Is there not?

Read his post. You just assumed from the Title like most other posters on this thread who have gone off on one. You know what they say about assumptions!

Please see below. You can probably stop after the first sentence.

I'm not trying to become a web developer/designer, I thought it would be good idea to learn about it so that I don't have to rely on anyone but myself. Oh well, I guess you can't know everything.

I got a quote from a web development company recently who offered to do it for £750 (after discount) and £250 per month for SEO. I estimate it will probably cost me £2k on the whole thing so I do need to think about it carefully.

 

[paraleadogg]

Nope I am saying it is best to do the things that are effective rather than follow people who have a vested interest in getting followers.

P.S I don't need luck as like Arnold Palmer I practise a lot.

Well for your information I follow niether but appreciate your concern

Would love to hear some of these "effective" practices of yours though...

Let me guess - % keyword density, h1, h2, WP comment spam, squidoo lens, free directory submission, cold calling / emailing 30 webmasters daily asking for a link swap and maybe an EMD of you have touched lucky?

Lol ; )

 

[paraleadogg]

We got a live one here boys!



Read his post. You just assumed from the Title like most other posters on this thread who have gone off on one. You know what they say about assumptions!

Please see below. You can probably stop after the first sentence.

Fair enough