What is web design?
A website is a company's public face. The use of colours, images and site layout can be perceived differently by different people, and it can sometimes be tricky to uncover what works best for the public at large - this is where the work of the web designer becomes so vital.
Web design is all about creating the most effective visual representation possible through optimising the aesthetic elements of a site. This in turn builds brand awareness and boosts online engagement.
An important aspect of web design is making a site user-friendly so that all information is easily accessible to search engines as well as for visitors. This is achieved by combining search engine-friendly web design with search engine optimisation. Web presence can be crucial if your website creates a profit or just a necessary expense, as it distinguishes the production, design and communication through websites.
Web design courses are on hand to help you learn how to build websites that are user-friendly, appealing and an authentic representation of your company, as well as how to effectively promote your website to make sure it is being seen by your target audience.
What does a web designer do?
Companies involved in web design often have an entire team of web designers including an art director and a programmer. A web designer can be likened to an architect in the online world, as they build and maintain sites. The web designer will utilise tools to help them edit HTML, style sheets, server-side programs and other files used on web sites. Additionally, they can use web design software to publish a web page on the Internet, typically using an FTP client.
Web design careers are in high demand, and a web design course enables participants to gain valuable knowledge in the latest technologies and web design trends - providing a valuable leg up on the competition and standing out from the crowd.
What you'll learn during web design courses
Web design courses are likely to include a variety of different topics, units and modules. Web design is a broad skill and involves utilising an array of technologies, programmes, hardware and software. Web design courses could include any of the following topic areas in their content:
- Layout for Web
- Typography for the Web
- Off Web Communications
- HTML
- The technology behind a Web page
- Handling of information flows
- Graphics Applications for Web
- Basics in PHP, Dynamic HTML (D HTML), Java Script and Java Applets.
- HTML, X HTML and CSS from scratch
- Dreamweaver
- Photoshop
- CMS - Joomla
- Using Flash, Java applet and ActiveX CSS - Cascading Style Sheets, JavaScript and Ajax
- Web Server
- Database - MySQL, SQL
How much does a web designer earn?
Qualified web designers enjoy plenty of career flexibility as well as the chance to earn competitive salaries. Whether you'd prefer to work freelance or as an in-house web designer, your career opportunities will be diverse with great progression potential. Web design and development professionals earn an annual salary of £31,705, for both men and women. From this base, web design professionals are in a great position to move into programming and software development (£43,920 per annum) or IT project management (£52,170 per annum).
Wherever you opt to work, your career in web design is guaranteed to offer the chance to learn new skills on the job and create engaging work for a variety of online niches. A web design course is the perfect starting point - discover the best training option for your needs today!