Web Design

Web design has become an increasingly complex and multi-disciplinary field. Where HTML coding used to account for almost all of the work involved in designing websites, the new levels of interactivity allowed by technology and broadband connections has vastly increased the level of complexity of most commercial, and even personal, sites. Learning web design today means a huge amount of choices as to where the designer wants to place their efforts.

Designers who have a particular interest in the look and feel of a site will likely have most of their class time dominated by two technologies: HTML and CSS. CSS, an acronym for Cascading Style Sheets, have vastly increased the flexibility of web designers where making site-wide changes are concerned. The language they use is incredibly simple, human-readable and very flexible. Web design classes generally concentrate on teaching the basics of the CSS language and address issues with operability between different browsers. HTML, of course, remains the backbone language of the web.

Some designers have more of an interest in site functionality than they do in the look of a site. To that end, these web designers are often versed in data-driven technologies such as PHP and ASP. These languages power the majority of databases that work over the Internet. Enormously powerful, they offer a programming challenge for anyone, no matter what their skill level, and the ability to innovate new applications and designs.

Web designers are employed in just about every sector of the economy as the applications for the Internet in the business to business, business to consumer and public service worlds continues to increase. While the economy may be contracting at present, web designers remain in demand throughout the market.

Web design is oftentimes done on a contract basis. Individuals looking for a low-overhead, high-profit industry in which to apply their skills tend to do well as freelance web designers. Many such designers have four or five regular clients who have enough business to provide the designer with a decent income while allowing them more free time and independence than could be enjoyed at a regular 9-5 job.

Web design has also expanded because of the popularity of mobile devices. More and more people are browsing the web, writing and responding to email and using other online applications on devices such as cell phones and personal organizers. Web pages and applications specific to these devices need to be created and individuals who can make attractive pages small enough to conveniently load and display on such devices are in constant demand. As these devices become more popular, it's likely that just about every major site will want a "mobile version" of their website, and this promises tidy profits for web designers well into the future.

Web design is one of the most exciting, creative and profitable skills in the IT field. For individuals who prefer the human element of creativity to the very technical world of networking and computer service, it is an excellent career choice.