Do It Yourself Web Design....
Is It Right For You?
So you want to be a "web designer"........not
quite as easy as it sounds. Unfortunately, like anything else in life,
if you want to be good at it, it takes hard work, research and constant
learning.
Too many times, people think they can run right out to the nearest office supply store and purchase a program that will do all the work for them. It's not quite that simple.. Be careful of what you are getting into. The technology is changing so fast every day, if you truly want to be a good web designer, it takes a lot of dedication.
The best advice I can give to anyone making the decision to go into web design professionally or even if you're just building a small website for your business or for personal use, is to read, read, read.
Learn how to hand code the basic HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language). Trust me, it will come in handy. Anyone can purchase one of the many WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editors on the market today and slap up a website. WYSIWYG editors allow you to drag and drop any number of cute little graphics and backgrounds from their library into your web page, fill in your text and post it to the web. Sounds simple enough.
The problem? If you don't understand at the least, the basics of mark up language or how browsers read your code, you will not understand why the images on your page are all on the left hand side (after all, that's not where you put them!) or why your text is so small you can't read it, or why it disappeared completely....or how to fix it. Sound familar?
If you truly want to build a good, functional website, invest some time in research before proceeding. Avoid making the Most Common Web Design Mistakes. There are many good books on the market today and informational sites all over the web that can give you the information you need. If this sounds like too much work, hire a professional. It will save you much time and frustration and money.
