Getting Started in Web Design

Web designers are responsible for creating websites that capture and attract a large audience. They can work in a variety of industries, helping to create professional and creative web sites. Web designers can operate from a home office or other workplace. Most web designers now work from on-site computer software development centers or freelance sites. Web design encompasses a variety of disciplines and skills in the creation and maintenance of web sites.

The various fields of web design encompass user interface (UI) design, graphic design, and content writing. Web developers and designers can also perform such tasks as testing of applications, adding new modules, code changes, documentation updates and integration with business systems. Web graphic design is an important part of web designing. This involves using images and photographs to enhance the user experience of a site.

User Interface (UI) web designers create and manage the overall user interface or layout of web pages. They often use specialized toolbars and menus that are included within the HTML programming language. A web designer can play an integral role in search engine optimization (SEO). They optimize web pages through various methods of content management and use various coding and programming languages for this purpose.

Graphic Designers creates images for a website design. They can use text, illustrations and photographs. Some web designers use typography, color theory and image manipulation techniques. Web page layout can be complex, requiring many levels of interactivity and navigation. Web page designers use different methods to lay out web pages in terms of vertical, horizontal and diagonal layouts.

Content Writing is another key aspect of web designers work. This includes authoring and rendering of documents such as articles, emails, etc. Web developers write script code for web pages to make them interactive. These developers often use a client-server model. The most common methods used by content writing web designers are RSS feeds, Java, ASP, PHP, ColdFusion and so forth.

Web designers also perform some administrative tasks such as creating accounts and mailing list. They also integrate various online applications and services such as shopping carts, reservation systems, electronic payments, etc. The information architecture task is the process of creating a clear idea on how the website should be designed and organized. In order to complete this task, web designers often collaborate with developers, programmers, usability experts, designers and so forth. They also give enough thought to the back-end support and operations of the website. Web developers on the other hand use programming languages and codes to construct web pages.

As a beginner, one must be aware of the difference between web designers and web developers. Web designers are responsible for creating visual components while developers are responsible for creating functional elements such as navigation and database structures. It is important for a learner to get a good understanding of how these two different roles to play in the web designing process. Learning web design requires a deeper level of understanding into how web designers go about their work. Web designers can be considered the face of the website as they are in charge of what the visitors see and where they are going to look.

One very important skill that you must master as a web designer is color theory. Color theory deals with the idea that different colors can convey different meanings. For instance, red stands for passion, orange stands for joy, green for harmony and blue for new hope. There are many other colors that have different connotations. To sum it up, a good website designer must have an idea of the many colors as well as how each color can affect the overall layout and design of the site. He or she should be able to relate all colors and their effects to the target audience.

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