It is reasonable to say that one of the more broadly interpreted and badly defined terms in I.T. is the label 'Web Designer'. In actual fact, web design does include a number of diverse fields, and so it might help to clarify things if we break it down. There are essentially two sides to web-design - the 'technical' side & the creative design side. The average PC user considers web-site designers determine how a website 'looks' and 'feels'. Quite simply, they think of web-site designers because artists in the main. In reality every web designer's work is an inter-related blend of technical knowledge and design creativity - & the two things are becoming very difficult to separate. We'll illustrate this with greater clarity if we separate web design up in to its various parts.

Firstly, there are graphic-artists, that design & build the graphic symbols and pictures that we find on any web page. They most frequently accomplish this by making use of graphic lay-out and 'animation' software (like Adobe Flash and Photoshop), and are generally not strictly web site designers as such. Often, they will have come from an art background, & may well have studied at college or university level. Most importantly, this kind of job involves a strong creative talent.

Second of all, there are the web-designers, that use design environments like Adobe Dreamweaver to produce the layout and feel of the website. Using visuals from the artist, they will build the navigational composition of the site, working with the client to ensure that the feel is right. A lot of inexperienced web designers put emphasis first of all on the 'format' of the site, as opposed to it's function. Although, to actually build an effective web-site, you need to begin with a clear understanding of the things you require the website to really do. Is it largely an e-commerce website, that requires to have the ability to receive payments safely and securely, or is it a web-based product or service brochure listing? Perhaps you'll want to accentuate goods by means of video and a largely 'graphical' inter-face, or perhaps it's largely an 'informational' web-site where the necessity is simple access to key text information (such as this web site.) Regardless of what you require from a site, it must - at it's simplest level - fulfil the function for which its intended. So many websites look brilliant but are a headache to get around and find where you want - & so users leave & never come back. A good web designer must basically produce an on-line 'experience' that's both satisfying and instinctive for those visiting the site - then they'll come back again.

The design-environments employed by web-site designers are their most important tools. Adobe Creative Suite 4 is the most commercially utilised in the industry nowadays (as of '10). 'Dreamweaver' is the software which builds website pages, with 'Flash' providing access to interactive & animated graphical content material. 'Dreamweaver' may be looked at as a glorified Word Processor in a great many ways. Text and graphics can be placed (according to certain parameters) & then a basic interactivity can be created via page-linking. 'Dreamweaver' (as with any web design environment) creates 'HTML' (Hyper-Text-Markup-Language) program code in the background. Effectively, this language of web-browsers is actually a 'script' that draws & controls the web page being viewed. Layout 'tag' languages like XML and CSS are matched up with 'HTML'. These tag languages allow more stream-lined HTML coding & more efficient lay-out methods, that will work on multiple platforms (because they are 'standardised'). So whatever web browser a person uses, (Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera etc.) the web page will (hopefully) look exactly the same. Consequently the graphic blocks you're laying & the text you're including is being turned into code in the background by 'Dreamweaver'. A well-rounded knowledge of these languages is very important if you're to be a commercially viable web designer.

Many independent web designers can handle several of these roles themselves; in fact we liaise with a number who can regularly. Then again that level of knowledge takes quite some time to master. You have to be taught a number of things on a commercially viable web design training course: A synopsis of the basics of web design first of all, then straight into using Dreamweaver to a commercial level and the key nuances of 'Flash' too. The languages of 'HTML' & 'CSS' should be taught next, with a certain amount of e-commerce instruction provided here. Some Database & 'SEO' knowledge is vital, & an understanding of the programming-language PHP (as opposed to the more complicated ASP.NET) in order to construct dynamic web sites. All this is merely to reach a level of technical competence whereby you are able to work with a wide enough variety of web-sites. Much like learning to drive, you must first develop the physical skillsets, before you ultimately move beyond them & accomplish an element of finesse. Most candidates can get through a manageable program of this nature within a yr - based upon part time study & practice of close to 400-500 hours. As there are various things to consider, it's well worth taking the time to look carefully at any training-programs you're interested in. Speak to a person with industry knowledge who can help you put things together.

Professional web-designers can also enhance their offering if they branch out in to areas like project-management & e-commerce for instance. Another field - that isn't to be underestimated - is SEO ('Search Engine Optimisation'). This is all about how to optimise web site listings on Search Engines like Google & Yahoo. And whilst they strictly speaking originate from a network administration background, we mustn't forget the valuable function of the web server administrators and installers, who keep everything working behind the scenes.

The main thing to emphasise is that the training program alone will not make you a web designer; it will merely teach you the methods. As you work on your training course, make the effort to create and develop a large range of your own sites to produce a portfolio of your work. Your own websites should be about anything - your local music scene, horses, a writer you like or motorbikes. Start inter-active sites & create 'traffic' on to them. All this will seem much more constructive on your CV, & in your Portfolio, than a qualification from Adobe will!

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