School me on what I need to know

[LazyD]

Hey everyone,

Im looking to dive deeper into web design, doing it as sort of a side business if you will,I have done a few sites for friends, people I know, etc. Unfortunately there are some topics I know of, and im sure alot more I dont know of that I havent mastered or even begun to learn about.

I am, too scared, if you will, to contact people that post needing web design work done because I think that I dont know all I need to know to finish a job. Currently I know HTML, ive started to dabble with a few CMS scripts and ive done some of my own simple custom PHP/MySQL programming. I know some CSS as well but not laying sites out purely by CSS.

Some of the things I know I need to learn about include:
E-Commerce sites/systems carts, checkout etc.
SEO
More CSS, CSS Layout

And since you guys now know what I am familiar with are there any things you can suggest that I really need to learn?

Please link/include any tutorials you deam necessary, required or any tutorials that go over the topics I said I needed to learn. Thank You

 

[Jonny]

You most definately need to learn to code fluently before you design.
A fluent coder will have no problems in the implementation of a design, where as a coder with not so much experience might struggle.

HTML, as I have said many times before, is the mothertongue of the internet. CSS is a new up and coming language, very popular, very clean and I very much advise you to learn it in-depth!

You can't go wrong with CSS, your clients will love it and it will look professional.

Another thing you might want to take into account is Web 2.0 standards. Web 2.0 is the term used to describe websites that use the internet as a platform to bring information to users globally. This means more websites like wikipedia where users can add, edit and delete their own information using new technology.
Ajax is quite popular, a new improved javascript so to speak.

Your clients may not realise it at first, but Web 2.0 will help them greatly, and if you happen to be employed by a client who has a proficcient amount of knowledge about webdesign/coding then he will appreciate that you can conform to Web 2.0 standards.

Also, I am happy to see that you are doing webdesign as a source of income on the side and depending on it solely as your source of income. Too many people come into this industry with high hopes of being able to make a living off what they love doing; its just not possible for all of us.

Treating it as a side business is the best road to go down, however you must ensure that you give it the necessary attention and input the necessary revenue to get yourself on your feet, do this and you can make a hefty amount for such a simple "side business".

As for SEO, I'd say leave it to the experts, yes you can make money from it and I am not doubting that and it will also help you promote your own website. Productivity however will increase significantly if you focus your business on one aspect rather than several. For example webdesign + coding rather than webdesign, coding, SEO, professional writing and e-commerce.
It may be good to have these skills but you are severely pressing and pushing yourself.
In my honest opinion it is better to surpass yourself in one area than merely "cope" with work in several. If you can successfully manage all of them at the same time, I envy you, but not many people can.

To be a webdesigner requires so much more than design and coding skills, it requires confidence and the ability to express yourself and not just in your graphics. You will need to be more comfortable with approaching people and telling them about your services, word of mouth is the most powerful marketing tool available to this day because more often than not it will come from a reliable source that you can trust, and that you will listen to.
If a friend tells you about a webdesign company he recommends would you go with them rather than one you found on the internet and know very little about? I think so.

Unfortunately I do not know of many articles on these subjects but I can always offer my services to you. Not as a designer or coder, but as a motivator. I seem to have a way of motivating people and getting through to them that I am proud of.

Feel free to PM me and we can talk further on MSN about how you should market yourself and get in contact with your clients. My service is free and I do not expect anything in return, I merely want to help new designers become designers the internet can be proud of instead of design kiddies who just get on your nerves.

Regards as always,
Jonny.

 

[LazyD]

Thank you so much Jonny, that put things into perspective for me and made me kind of rethink the idea of doing everything rather than focusing on a couple aspects and becoming good at them.

I think my biggest problem right now personally is that I lack the ability to be spontaneous, creative or imaginitive. I think my graphic design ability is truly lacking in terms of originality and that certain "spark" that makes people go "wow" when they go to a site. I have no problem looking at a picture, a drawing etc. and doing in photoshop but when someone says "I want something classy, professional etc. with a modern look" I am stumped right there and constantly struggle to get a design that I like and that I believe the client will like. Are there any resources or methods you use to kind of, I dont know, figure out what direction you want to go? I equate my inability to a writer that cant start his paper, but once he gets going hes gold.

 

[Dan]

I don't agree with the web 2.0 stuff. Web 2.0 doesn't necessarily mean anything. AJAX doesn't help sites, and it isn't new or improved. It has been used for years.

Get good at PHP and MySQL. Making things easy for the people you make them for will make them come back to you.

Businesses (normally) know nothing about CSS or table's so that's not a priority. Some will say they want it, and most people don't know the meaning of it. It makes cleaner code.. and as a designer, that's about all it does for you. It is of course, way faster to use tables, since Photoshop can do it for you.

After a few clients and positive feedback, finding work will never be a problem.

For inspiration, go to CSS gallery sites.
www.cssvault.com
www.cssmania.com
www.cssimport.com
www.webcreme.com
www.stylegala.com
www.css.la (soon )

 

[Jonny]

I don't agree with the web 2.0 stuff. Web 2.0 doesn't necessarily mean anything. AJAX doesn't help sites, and it isn't new or improved. It has been used for years.

Web 2.0 deosn't mean anything, you're correct by saying this, but it is a Concept, just like Ajax.

Ajax was first conjured up in 2005 and it stands for Asynchronous JavaScript And XML. To say it isn't new and improved is not entirely correct.
Most people tend to just host the files on their web server and the user HTTP requests this data. Ajax uses an Ajax Engine that sits between the end user and the web server to allow greater interactivity.
The greater interactivity and decreased load times it offers surely "helps sites" does it not?

I agree that it was wrong for me to say that it was the new and improved Javascript, its not. It's merely an improved way of using Javascript as a backend for this Ajax Engine which will improve interactivity and decrease load times.

The best article to read about it is located here:
http://adaptivepath.com/publications/essays/archives/000385.php

But to say that it doesn't websites is a mistake and a huge understatement - if you could offer your users faster load times and a website that will respond almost immediately due to Async. communication, you'd do it.

Regards.

 

[Dan]

It doesn't make faster load times. It loads the same pages that you normally would have.

The XMLHttpRequest concept was originally developed by Microsoft. The Microsoft implementation is called XMLHTTP and, as an ActiveX object, it differs from the published standard in a few small ways. It has been available since Internet Explorer 5.0. and is accessible via JScript, VBScript and other scripting languages supported by IE browsers.

Not new, and javascript hasn't been updated; not improved.

AJAX is not a programming language (and certainly not an engine). It is one function of javascript.

But to say that it doesn't websites is a mistake and a huge understatement

Hmmm?