New to web design. Where to start?!

[MugOTea]

Hello, I've specialised in an area for many years which has never required any web knowledge or experience. I'm thinking of expanding to make me more employable and so web design is probably the sensible way to go.

I'm not sure where to start though. I'm not massively technical and that's been fine in the area I've worked in up until now. Bit scared!

:icon_eek:

 

[jooty]

just start with wordpress. I know the majority of clients want some sort of back end control over their digital right now. Its easy to use and usually requires little to no coding knowledge.

 

[MugOTea]

just start with wordpress. I know the majority of clients want some sort of back end control over their digital right now. Its easy to use and usually requires little to no coding knowledge.

Thanks.

Ok will have to look that up.

Perhaps I should do a course? Or is a course not necessary for Wordpress?

 

[Corrosive]

I'd steer clear of Wordpress at the initial stages and learn to code. Knowing how (and why) a website goes together will make you a rounded supplier in this area. Once you've cracked it then Wordpress is OK as a CMS - not the best in my opinion but it does a job. If you are serious about offering bespoke web design then knowing how to carve a design from nothing using HTML and CSS means you won't be the guy who says "you can't have that, there isn't a plug-in or template for that".

As for resources I'd recommend joining a (friendly) coder's forum for help and advice.

 

[bigdave]

As for resources I'd recommend joining a (friendly) coder's forum for help and advice.

Or you could just PM Corrosive 15 times a day... :icon_wink:

 

[Corrosive]

Or you could just PM Corrosive 15 times a day... :icon_wink:

Thanks for that Dave!! :icon_eek:

 

[MugOTea]

I'd steer clear of Wordpress at the initial stages and learn to code. Knowing how (and why) a website goes together will make you a rounded supplier in this area. Once you've cracked it then Wordpress is OK as a CMS - not the best in my opinion but it does a job. If you are serious about offering bespoke web design then knowing how to carve a design from nothing using HTML and CSS means you won't be the guy who says "you can't have that, there isn't a plug-in or template for that".

Thanks. What is CMS and SCC? Totally new to web design and don't know the terminology!

Not sure I would want to offer web design as a freelancer as I would have no one next to me to turn to when I got into difficulty. Was thinking more to have some skills to help me get into an in-house job where I could learn on the job from more experienced people perhaps.

 

[MugOTea]

Or you could just PM Corrosive 15 times a day... :icon_wink:

Ha ha! Yes I'll do that. :icon_biggrin:

Thanks in advance Corrosive! :icon_wink:

 

[Corrosive]

Thanks. What is CMS and SCC? Totally new to web design and don't know the terminology!

CMS is a Content Management System. Fundamentally it allows non-tech people to edit pages through a browser but they are so much more than that in terms of functionality, managing content sensibly, not having to lose all your stuff when you update the design and so on. I'd say that no website should be built without a CMS nowadays. CSS stands for Cascading Stylesheets and is the cornerstone of modern web design. HTML holds the content and CSS tells the browser how to display it.

Not sure I would want to offer web design as a freelancer as I would have no one next to me to turn to when I got into difficulty. Was thinking more to have some skills to help me get into an in-house job where I could learn on the job from more experienced people perhaps.

That's fair enough. Good skill to have, especially if you can learn it on someone else's time!

 

[bigdave]

Have a look at the w3schools.com tutorials. They'll give you a really good insight into how it all works.

 

[Paul Murray]

I've started doing a fair bit of web design now, despite not initially offering it as a service. However, I just do the design, not the actual coding. It may be worth getting to know one or two developers you can team up with to complete a project, or just stipulate to clients/on your site that you don't code.

I've worked for a few clients who have a business idea and are a developer themselves, but need someone to help them realise the site, add creative input, and generally just make it look the bollocks.

 

[MugOTea]

Have a look at the w3schools.com tutorials. They'll give you a really good insight into how it all works.

Hi, sorry only just seen this. So what is this? Tutorials that you can practice on their site? (it would probably help if i wasn't looking at it on my phone!)

 

[Paul Murray]

Hi, sorry only just seen this. So what is this? Tutorials that you can practice on their site? (it would probably help if i wasn't looking at it on my phone!)

Basically code snippets plus examples you can alter to see how they work.

 

[RDB]

Try signing up to treehouse. It is really good.

 

[Paul Murray]

Try signing up to treehouse. It is really good.

Yeah, I've heard good things about treehouse. You can also look at Codeacademy's course in HTML/CSS if you're completely new.