Getting Started In Web Design
The field of web design is an exciting one, with unlimited potential for creating unique and interesting websites. Whether it is for your own personal use, or you desire to design sites for other people and generate any income from it, there are some basic things that you will need to know. Read on here for some ideas and insights into the basics of designing pages for the Internet.
The first thing you will need before starting to create pages for a website is a domain name. If you are not sure what this term refers to, then all you need to do is take a look at how you got to this page you are reading right not. A domain is simply the place where you go to view a website. The name of the domain is typically the part that comes directly after the "www" portion of the website address. Choose your domain name very carefully, as it will be a huge determining factor in how many people will ultimately be drawn to the website that you create.
Domains must be purchased on a yearly basis, which gives you the exclusive right to use that name. There are many places online where you can go to purchase a domain name, and are found by simply typing "register domain name" into a search engine like Google. Alternately, you can easily purchase a domain name from most web hosting services wen you sign up to use them as a host for your new site.
If your goal is to become a serious web designer, you will need to learn HTML coding. This is the "script" used to create text and images that show up on the world wide web. There are "do it yourself" courses and books that you can use to learn it on your own, or you can speed up the process by enrolling in a local class taught by experienced code writers. If, however, you want to start out in a simpler way, you can use online templates that have HTML coding already built in to the pages. You will have some limitations when using templates, buy many are designed professionally and can be customized to your liking. These templates come free with many host providers, or you can purchase more elaborate ones from individual companies.
You will eventually want to learn how to use web design software, such as Dreamweaver or any other program designed especially for creating websites. These programs will take some time to learn, but can be manipulated easily by anyone who is willing to put in the effort. They can be expensive to purchase, so look around for discount sites, such as those for students.
Make sure that you are using a computer that has the capacity to handle and store large image files. Update to a newer version if you computer is older than 5 years. Consider adding more memory, and purchase external hard drives for storing large files.
Now that you know the basics, you can start to explore the field of web design in more detail. You will eventually find your niche and develop your own unique style of page designs.
