Web Design As A Hobby?

Question

I just want to be a "part" web designer. So I figured I should learn:

-Dreamweaver

-Fireworks

-Photoshop

-Flash

-Illustrator

Along with PHP, Actionscript, and maybe Javascript. I just want to be able to pull out a good site with all the bells and whistles. Any recommendations? Visual Studio?

Answer 1

Web Design is not about installed programs on your desktop but what you do with them. Some people still develop great websites using only HTML and a Texteditor.

You should also not forget about free CMS out there. With them, you basically don't even have to know so much about coding and you can focus on the actual designing process which is - I repeat - a question of years of experience.

50 % of a Web Designers life is how to handle your clients, getting your jobs done and - even more important - even getting jobs!

You should better ask for some books or topic-related websites instead of a bunch of programs you don't can't afford and don't know what they are ment for.

I can recommend you http://www.smashingmagazine.com/ to get more into Web Design.

Answer 2

do it by hand first

www.w3schools.com

and notepad++

maybe gimp for photoshop replacement

once you get good then purchase professional tools

Answer 3

I highly recommend Barlam Enterprises:

http://www.barlamenterprises.com

Answer 4

I am a web designer, here is my website www.graphicday.com . O would recommend you to learn:

1- HTML  in the first place

2- learn how to use dream weaver

3- learn photoshop( for graphic parts of the design)

4- javascript would be useful

5- php and SQL ( if you want to to server side programming , database or ecommerce, ) (you an use dream weaver for this purpose)

6- Adobe flash is also useful to make web animation

7- I would say XML is also good

8- if you know php and xml you can learn AJAX also

9- JOOMLA is also a good thing to know!

you don't really need to know visual studio.

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you see! there are many thing to learn, but to start I would say just learn HTML, photoshop, a little  adobe flash and dream weaver.

so you would be able to make a simple website. ( no programming involved)

then start learning web programming( like php)

good luck