What is Web Design?
Seems like a pretty straight forward question. It's the process of creating webpages, right? Actually, thereâs a bit more to it than that. Web design is creating content using hypertext or hypermedia that is delivered to an end user over the internet via web enabled software such as a web browser, rss reader or blogging client. It places emphasis on the aesthetic features of a web site.
Many new web designers are often overwhelmed by the amount of knowledge that they are expected to master. Terms like HTML, CSS, PHP, AJAX, jQuery, .NET, XML, FTP can be intimidating at first. I always hear, and I must admit that I asked the same thing when I first started, âI just want to design web pages, do I really need to know all this?â The answer, in my opinion, is a resounding yes. Think of it like building a house, if you only concentrate about the outside portion that people are going to see, chances are that house wonât hold up when it really counts. Your websites are the same. If you have no idea whatâs going on behind the eye candy or how to structure them properly then youâre just setting yourself up for failure.
So do I really have to learn everything before I can start designing good websites? Well, no but I would suggest starting your journey by learning HTML and CSS as well as keeping current with web standards. This will ensure that your sites are always structured correctly.