An Introduction to Website Design

Let's get a few things straight: for most of us who work online, we enjoy the flexibility and relaxed environment that a job over the Internet offers. It allows us to work two jobs, even, and mold the schedule of our online job around other things we have to do. In recent years, practices such as blogging and article writing have become extremely popular because of our transition as a society into the Information Age.

But writing content online is certainly not the only way to make money online, however appealing and simple it may seem. In fact, it requires a lot of work, research, and careful attention to details. Sometimes, for beginning writers, writing articles online does not pay well, and they often think to themselves: is the time invested worth the profit gained?

The purpose of this article is to not criticize those who write articles online-they serve a critical role in society by providing the perspective of the public, a voice within the past few decades now readily accessible. The purpose is to offer an alternative to making money on the Internet-to encourage some to think that there are more routes than content creation. One alternative is website design.

Website Design

Website design, a branch of computer science, is an extremely powerful tool in generating what we see and how we interact with websites on the Internet. If you're tired of writing articles for websites, it may be time to learn a more profitable way to make money on the Internet: web design.

So Why Should I Learn How to Design Websites?

First, this is specialized labor-no more working the night shift. This kind of skill is uncommon and employers pay big bucks (far more than writing articles) to find someone who can translate their raw, paper sketch into an attractive website layout.

Second, there is a huge demand for websites. Nearly every company that wants to look professional requires a website-they need your skill.

Third, we are entering a century which will soon be completely dominated by the Internet. Knowing its structure is a critical skill that will only become more important as the decades roll by.

Fourth, as you may know, making your own website and writing new articles to generate a fan base can be profitable. But do you really want to stick to a banal template, or pay a website designer for each website you want to create? Learning website design will make you independent and have the freedom to test out website layouts as you go.

And finally, knowing a branch of computer programming will make you a more attractive potential worker for employers because of your versatility: while you may be a consummate economist, for example, you also know how to design your own programs and not use the time of other employees.

It Sounds Good, but What's the Catch?

Learning how to design websites is no walk in the park. There are several programming languages that make up the entirety of computer science, and additionally, there are several powerful applications, such as Adobe PhotoShop, that are required to become a master of website design. After several weeks of practice and more practice, you will finally be able to design a website (and the more times you repeat this process, the more attractive and functional it will become).

People often write articles because it is easy to do-it is unspecialized labor; thus, writing articles often does not generate much income. Designing websites can be heavily time-intensive, but as specialized labor, the payoff is far greater. Take your pick. From experience, I can tell you that I've written articles, I've blogged, and I've learned website design, and the latter has been the most rewarding and enriching experience by far.

"Several Weeks of Practice?" How Many is Several?

How long it will take to learn how to design websites depends on what functionality you want to give your websites. Here's a breakdown of the languages you should learn (and if you can, stick to this order):

eXtensible HyperText Markup Language (XHTML) - This language is used to structure your coding. If you visualize a website, much of this is breaking up your code into imaginary boxes and tables, providing a foundation for your website. Using the right resources, this should range between ten and twenty hours to learn with limited previous programming knowledge.

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) - This language styles practically everything you see on the page. Borders, highlights, font faces, colors, placement (of the aforementioned organizational boxes), and more are all included in CSS. This is a critical language to know and probably takes between ten and fifteen hours to learn. With XHTML and CSS under your belt, you're ready to start designing your first static websites (websites that do not need to be updated regularly).

PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) - PHP is used for the server-side requests of a website: this means interacting with a database (used for storing users or forum posts, for example) or sending cookies from one page to another (eg. to make sure a user is logged still logged in). More than just a scripting or markup language, PHP is a real-deal programming language. As such, it is far more difficult and different than the previous two languages, and would take an estimated thirty to sixty hours to learn.

MySQL - MySQL, an online database application, is generally learned in conjunction with PHP. Most of the time, PHP is used to retrieve values from a website user and pass them into MySQL, which stores them into a MySQL database (which is, if you visualize it, just a table that can hold a lot of data). Estimated time: ten hours.

JavaScript - A language different from Java, JavaScript is used to animate your webpages without reloading them (at least, that is its primary use). It is a client-side language, which means instead of refreshing the page and making requests to the server all the time, your computer (the client) does the work instead. Its animations and user interactivity make it a popular addition to making webpages transition and function smoothly. Estimated time: between thirty and forty hours.

Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) - Not as much a language as an extension in the use of JavaScript, this language can call to the server without reloading the page. Estimated time to learn AJAX: fifteen hours.

I Don't Think I Have That Much Time...

I gave those estimates to be realistic: learning how to design websites is not something you do overnight. You must be driven by a desire to learn and enrich yourself, both mentally and monetarily.

You may ask, "So how did you do it?"

I've been studying website design for about the past eight months, three of which I was busy during, making it a total of five months. Since then, I've learned almost all of the Adobe Creative Suite (includes PhotoShop, Illustrator, Flash, and more), XHTML, CSS, PHP, MySQL, JavaScript, AJAX, Java, and am currently studying JQuery. It can be done: it simply requires the willpower to succeed.

So you did it. How, exactly?

First, let me begin by recommending www.lynda.com video tutorials. They are instructive, clear, and to the point. They are far more effective than any e-book or YouTube video that you may find.

Second, have a notebook. The worst thing is to read or watch something and by the following day, have all of that information be forgotten by your brain. Take notes and you will retain far more of the information than by passively listening to or reading the material.

Third, put at least five to seven hours in a week. That's one hour out of your night, on average. Spend the time, don't cheat, and you'll recognize your developing skill in no time.

Finally, use the online community; they're there for a reason. There are thousands of forums out there, such as www.sitepoint.com, that are crawling with website designers eager to help newcomers. Sign up, build your questions and the answers will come.

Conclusion

Hopefully, after reading this article, you have learned a little bit about website design: its pros and its cons. I don't expect readers to suddenly ditch their work on the Internet, but simply to explore. Consult other articles and writings about what practices are effective, what to learn, and how to use your time efficiently. The Internet is your tool for knowledge: use it.

Sources:
Personal Experience
www.lynda.com
http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/forumindex.php?