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How to start web designing ?

Discussion in 'HTML & Website Design' started by sophieleo, Apr 10, 2016.

  1. #1
    Hello world actually i wanna be web designer how i start my career?
     
    sophieleo, Apr 10, 2016 IP
  2. Paralabs

    Paralabs Greenhorn

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    #2
    The first thing to learn the basics of web design, to explore the initial course, follow the latest news in this area, to communicate in forums on issues of interest for the design.
     
    Paralabs, Apr 10, 2016 IP
  3. mmerlinn

    mmerlinn Prominent Member

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    #3
    If you have not already started doing it, start studying websites and how different ones work. Look at dozens and dozens of sites and learn what works and what does not work. Most websites have major problems. Learn to see the problems, then figure out what can be done to solve those problems. In other words, long before you actually start designing sites, you should have a firm grasp on what makes a good site and what makes a poor site.

    Practice, practice, practice. Learn from the mistakes of others. Learn from your own mistakes. No one ever learned to walk without lots of practice. Same with designing and everything else in life.

    Usually the simplest websites work the best. They may not look great (think Craigslist), but they have lots of traffic. Some of the most successful sites are also some of the plainest of plain jane sites, again think Craigslist. Or look at Google. Not as plain jane as Craigslist, but still nothing really fancy. What makes those sites tops in their fields?

    Try using lots of different sites. Notice how fast they are. Notice how easy they are to navigate. After a while you will have learned what to do and not to do when you are designing sites.

    When you find a slow site, or one that is hard to navigate, try to figure out WHY they are that way. What would you do differently to avoid those problems? Look at the source code to see if you can find a problem there. Yes, source code looks like gibberish when you first look at it, but so did books, letters, signs, etc before you learned how to read.

    Once you get to where you can instantly know what makes a good site and what does not, then, and only then, can you start doing actual designing. If you start trying to design before you learn this, you will spin your wheels trying to force your designs to work and will constantly being trashing your work and starting over. Or you will add more GARBAGE to the cesspool that we call the internet. And you will not be happy nor successful as a designer.
     
    mmerlinn, Apr 11, 2016 IP
  4. Selenexoxo

    Selenexoxo Peon

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    #4
    Hey!

    UI Designer here who started as a webdesigner. I design Website and Interfaces since I am 14. It is my passion. If you truly wanna get into it I suggest you learn both – design and the coding basics.

    Later on you can choose one direction but I think every designer should know what the coder is doing and should be able to code their website alone if needed.

    For design I suggest checking out behance or awards sites and try to collect inspiration. Big help for me is also pinterest. And then… start to design. Get used to the tools, try to find shortcuts in the designprogram of your choice, get a feeling for colors and forms. Practice practice practice.

    Make sure to Post your work somewhere to get helpful tips.

    When it comes to coding I can suggest the website called codeschool. My last 3 apprentice who came without knowing anything about code did their online course and learned very quick without needing me much for help (we split their time in learning phases where they can do stuff like that and ask us, and real customer work so they know how to handle customers) – they explain basics very good and you can learn a tone.


    Depending on where you life you can also go to college for a webdesign course or take an apprenticeship or intern in an agency.
     
    Selenexoxo, Apr 13, 2016 IP
  5. Puntocom81

    Puntocom81 Banned

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    #5
    This is a good starting point: http://cutcodedown.com/article/progressive_enhancement
     
    Puntocom81, Apr 14, 2016 IP
  6. zaidi1813

    zaidi1813 Greenhorn

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    #6
    You should start by learning HTML and CSS. This will give you an understanding how a website is constructed. You can do this by helping friends and family construct simple websites or with online sources like Codecademy.

    Most designers work with Photoshop or Illustrator. It would be worth spending a significant amount of time learning how to use these tools from the ground up.

    Everything else is practice and following the work of others. You may want to get access to a site like Dribbble or Forrst. These will give you insight into how people are thinking about design.
     
    zaidi1813, Apr 15, 2016 IP
  7. Puntocom81

    Puntocom81 Banned

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    #7
    Photoshop is a tool for graphic design, not for web design. You can use it to create graphic elements, though. I don't recommend to use Wordpress, it will give you lots of headaches and it generates rubbish html, it's much better to use a static generator (I like wok), but first learn how to write proper HTML using semantic markup and then adapting your design to your content.
     
    Puntocom81, Apr 15, 2016 IP
  8. meet_dilip

    meet_dilip Member

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    #8
    Start with learning HTML and CSS. Also try WordPress.
     
    meet_dilip, Apr 15, 2016 IP
  9. Host Capitol

    Host Capitol Greenhorn

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    #9
    There are many, many resources available online that can help you learn the basics of HTML/CSS and then progress from there.
     
    Host Capitol, Apr 15, 2016 IP
  10. khawar4u143

    khawar4u143 Peon

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    #10
    Watch the online tutorials for the beginners and follow the instructions step by step. Create the projects and do it all the time.
     
    khawar4u143, Apr 19, 2016 IP
  11. Virtual Fundamentals

    Virtual Fundamentals Greenhorn

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    #11
    You need practice and a portfolio so I suggest you start with WordPress. There are numerous YouTube free tutorials where you can create a responsive WordPress site in not much time (assuming you are comfortable on the computer.) Get started by designing your own website for your company and then reach out to friends who need websites developed for their businesses.
    I would suggest that rather than learning how to code it is more important to understand on-page SEO techniques. Try using SEO Yoast (a free plugin for WordPress sites) and you'll see the importance of establishing keyword phrases in title tags, alt text for photos, paragraph headers, etc. It's simply backwards to create a website without understanding keyword phrases - because what good is a website if no one finds it.
     
    Virtual Fundamentals, Apr 19, 2016 IP
  12. Virtualhost

    Virtualhost Active Member

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    #12
    You can definitely learn web design on www.w3schools.com
     
    Virtualhost, Apr 20, 2016 IP
  13. PoPSiCLe

    PoPSiCLe Illustrious Member

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    #13
    But for all that is holy... NO, YOU CANNOT! First off, w3schools is horrible, both in usability, design and anything else having to do with design. Second, they have a history of HORRIBLE coding standards, and outright WRONG use of elements and attributes.
    The only thing you can use w3schools for, is for a quick lookup if there is some obscure attribute you've forgotten about - then it might provide the info you need, if you're already knowledgeable enough to know when they're wrong. Do NOT use w3schools for learning. Seriously!
     
    PoPSiCLe, Apr 20, 2016 IP
  14. Virtualhost

    Virtualhost Active Member

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    #14
    Well i use w3schools to learn my coding :)
     
    Virtualhost, Apr 20, 2016 IP
  15. PoPSiCLe

    PoPSiCLe Illustrious Member

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    #15
    And since I haven't seen any of your coding, I can't say whether or not that is bad, but most likely, it's bad.
     
    PoPSiCLe, Apr 20, 2016 IP
  16. Spacechimp

    Spacechimp Peon

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    #16
    A lot of people here seem to be focusing on coding skills, which is extremely important. As is studying and understanding sitemap/site navigation for usability. But don't forget that to be a successful DESIGNER you should also have a flair for design work. So check out graphic design, pen and paper drawing skills and typography because those are the things that actually make your design work successful.
     
    Spacechimp, Apr 20, 2016 IP
  17. PoPSiCLe

    PoPSiCLe Illustrious Member

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    #17
    Agreed, to some extent. However, web "design" is (or, at least should be) mostly coding. The visual aspect of web design is mostly "don't make it look like GeoCities" and "don't use Flash" (or, nowadays, a bunch of js-animations and 200 MB images). The point is - web design, if anything, is mostly about knowing colors and typography - graphic design doesn't really play into it that much - and way less than most people think.
     
    PoPSiCLe, Apr 20, 2016 IP
  18. kk5st

    kk5st Prominent Member

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    #18
    To expand on that a bit, the layout stuff, menus, content organization, etc. are the domain of the information architect (IA). The graphic designer is, as Popsicle sz, is mostly responsible for staying out of the way of the visitor's ease of use. Study your client's existing color scheme and fonts from existing stationery, signage, ads and interior design of public spaces. Carry this branding forward to the website.

    All that other stuff and your own belong to your boss, the project manager, who is commonly the IA.

    Did I mention, do not get in the way of your customer's ease of finding what he wants to find, learning what he wants to learn and buying what he wants to buy? Let Amazon, Google and Craigslist be your models.

    gary
     
    kk5st, Apr 20, 2016 IP
  19. Андрей200

    Андрей200 Greenhorn

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    #19
    Hello,what programs i should know to become a webdesigner?
     
    Андрей200, May 5, 2016 IP
  20. PoPSiCLe

    PoPSiCLe Illustrious Member

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    #20
    There are no programs to know. What you need to know is HTML, CSS, some server-side language like PHP, and Javascript. Which program you use to utilize that knowledge is pretty much irrelevant: go for a text-editor you're comfortable with, which has the functions you want (like syntax-highlighting, auto-indentation, built-in FTP or the availability of plugins etc.). Good choices are Sublime Text, Notepad++, or similar offerings.
     
    PoPSiCLe, May 5, 2016 IP