January 25, 2015
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The Noob Guide to Web Design
Web design is so much anchored on technology to a point that it is difficult for beginners to catch up, and if they even try to, it would be very difficult.
For someone who has zero idea on web design, this can be pretty frustrating.
You want to learn something new so you decided to try out web design. Because of this, you immediately looked for tutorials.
To your surprise, there are a lot of tutorials out there. However, browsing through each of those tutorials, you realize that these lessons are actually directed towards people who have designed websites before.
Your vibe dies and, eventually, you’ll just shrug your shoulders and admit to yourself, “Meh. I didn’t like web design in the first place.”
But would everything change if some article showed you the way? If just some tutorial kindled that small matchstick in your creativity, would you stop designing?
Of course, the answer to these questions depends on a case-to-case basis. However, things might have gone differently if you just saw great newbie guides to web design.
For non-web designers to want to try out web design, a noob guide would be great.
And yes, I’m going to give you one. So, keep your eyes glued in this article and let’s all start learning!
School-based learning is an alien term in the world of web design. Because schools have been traditional and often can’t keep up with the fast evolution of the industry, some think that they are already ineffective.
However, some people just find going to schools helpful.
This may play out to your advantage if you want to learn web design. With the popularity of the subject, you will always find a university that offers web design classes.
Going back to school might prove to be an effective method because it is more formal and systematized. It also teaches in a pace you can keep up with. However, if you are on a very tight budget, this is not recommendedbecause going back to college is not as easy as it sounds.
Of course, aside from sitting in a classroom, listening to some guy blabber about web design, you can learn while staring at the letters flashing through your computer monitor.
Reading is one of the many ways you can learn web design. Now that design blogs have become a profitable niche in blogging, web design resources, tutorials and inspirations have become easier to access.
The timeliness of reading as a way to learning something will always remain. As we live in a time where most people can read, it should always be the go-to method in self-instruction.
Although, some view it as a lesser interactive and entertaining way of acquiring new knowledge, some people find it the most effective one.
Some Resources to Check Out:
The prevalence of videos directed towards learning has been notable since the inception of video cameras. For such a long time, videos have become effective ways to teach and learn.
In the world of web design, video-based instruction is very popular. However, there are only a handful of tutorials that offer in depth and high quality teaching. The reason is, it takes too much effort, time, knowledge and resources to create instructional materials with the depth that everyone is looking for.
That may be the reason why some courses are pricy. There are some learning centers that also offer subscription-based learning where you pay a fee for a month to be granted access to a library of web design knowledge.
Resources to Check Out
A jargon is a special word or expression used in a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand.All professions in the world have their own jargons; web design has its own language too.
Here are a few web design terms and their meanings:
RSS or Really Simple Syndication is referred to as the standardized XML format that allows content to be syndicated between two or more websites.
The first step in any web design project is to gather information that may help you in designing. Obviously, the information will allow you to understand the target audience, the possible content and design of the website, all of which are necessary to make the website successful in the future.
Here are a few things you need to consider:
Planning is one of the most important steps in this process because it’s in the step where the concept of the project is built. This also requires constant communication with the client to determine the details of the project that will be retained or removed.
This is the step where you make ideas real. In this stage, web designers plot the ideas approved by the client into functional visual representations.
Here are a few sub-steps:
In this stage, the web designer becomes more like a shadow as the developer takes over. Because it includes a lot of programming and content creation, this process can be very complicated and distressing. Codes need to be organized, commented and referred to the original concept.
Your vibe dies and, eventually, you’ll just shrug your shoulders and admit to yourself, “Meh. I didn’t like web design in the first place.”
But would everything change if some article showed you the way? If just some tutorial kindled that small matchstick in your creativity, would you stop designing?
Of course, the answer to these questions depends on a case-to-case basis. However, things might have gone differently if you just saw great newbie guides to web design.
For non-web designers to want to try out web design, a noob guide would be great.
And yes, I’m going to give you one. So, keep your eyes glued in this article and let’s all start learning!
Learning Web Design
Since the Web has soared into popularity, interest in learning web design has also increased exponentially. Right now, there are a lot of people from different corners of the world who dream of building their own websites, and in the near future, earning from such activity. This exponential growth dominoed into the increase of platforms and courses that guarantee you web design knowledge. There are blogs, forums and courses right here and there for your choosing. You just have to know which is the best one for you. Here are a few avenues that may lead you to learning web design.Web Design Schools
School-based learning is an alien term in the world of web design. Because schools have been traditional and often can’t keep up with the fast evolution of the industry, some think that they are already ineffective.
However, some people just find going to schools helpful.
This may play out to your advantage if you want to learn web design. With the popularity of the subject, you will always find a university that offers web design classes.
Going back to school might prove to be an effective method because it is more formal and systematized. It also teaches in a pace you can keep up with. However, if you are on a very tight budget, this is not recommendedbecause going back to college is not as easy as it sounds.
Reading
Of course, aside from sitting in a classroom, listening to some guy blabber about web design, you can learn while staring at the letters flashing through your computer monitor.
Reading is one of the many ways you can learn web design. Now that design blogs have become a profitable niche in blogging, web design resources, tutorials and inspirations have become easier to access.
The timeliness of reading as a way to learning something will always remain. As we live in a time where most people can read, it should always be the go-to method in self-instruction.
Although, some view it as a lesser interactive and entertaining way of acquiring new knowledge, some people find it the most effective one.
Some Resources to Check Out:
- HTML & CSS Book
- HTML5 Rocks
- 1stwebdesigner Blog
Video Tutorials
The prevalence of videos directed towards learning has been notable since the inception of video cameras. For such a long time, videos have become effective ways to teach and learn.
In the world of web design, video-based instruction is very popular. However, there are only a handful of tutorials that offer in depth and high quality teaching. The reason is, it takes too much effort, time, knowledge and resources to create instructional materials with the depth that everyone is looking for.
That may be the reason why some courses are pricy. There are some learning centers that also offer subscription-based learning where you pay a fee for a month to be granted access to a library of web design knowledge.
Resources to Check Out
- Lynda
- Tuts+ Premium
Web Design Jargon
A jargon is a special word or expression used in a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand.All professions in the world have their own jargons; web design has its own language too.
Here are a few web design terms and their meanings:
- Anchor Text
- Back End
- Backlink
- Bandwidth
- Bounce Rate
- Breadcrumbs
- Cache
- Content Management System
- DNS
- e-Commerce
- Em
- Fold
- Front-end
- Hexadecimal
- .htaccess
- HTML
- HTTP
- HTTPS
- Landing Page
- Meta Data
- Permalink
- Plugin
- Really Simple Syndication
RSS or Really Simple Syndication is referred to as the standardized XML format that allows content to be syndicated between two or more websites.
- Resolution
- Script
- Web Server
The Web Design Process
When web designers acquire clients, they follow a series of steps. These steps organize their work and allows them to monitor their own progress as each step is completed. Here are the six steps in the web design process:- Research
The first step in any web design project is to gather information that may help you in designing. Obviously, the information will allow you to understand the target audience, the possible content and design of the website, all of which are necessary to make the website successful in the future.
Here are a few things you need to consider:
- Purpose
- Goals
- Target Audience
- Projected Content
-
Planning
Planning is one of the most important steps in this process because it’s in the step where the concept of the project is built. This also requires constant communication with the client to determine the details of the project that will be retained or removed.
- Design Proper
This is the step where you make ideas real. In this stage, web designers plot the ideas approved by the client into functional visual representations.
Here are a few sub-steps:
- Wireframing
- Mockup Creation
- Designing
- Re-designing
- Slicing and Coding
-
Development
In this stage, the web designer becomes more like a shadow as the developer takes over. Because it includes a lot of programming and content creation, this process can be very complicated and distressing. Codes need to be organized, commented and referred to the original concept.
Conclusion
As this article ends, I hope you learned a lot. For newbies, web design is very daunting. But it takes patience, skill and some hard work to become successful web designers. Remember, all web design experts started like you are right now – newbies. If they did it, why can’t you? Good luck. If you have questions, feel free to ask at the comment section below. By :1stwebdesigner
