Expanding My Web Design Skill-set

LiE · 16 Jan 2008 at 11:23

Hi Guys,

I'd like to expand my skill-set for web design, to cover a more technical side. Currently I have photoshop/illustrator and html/css experience, so I can create good designs. What I would like to be able to do is make my websites more interactive. I've found that a lot of developers use php with mysql for website funtionaility, is this hard to grasp? Would you recommend something else? I'm going to buy a few books to learn these new technologies, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Matt

Augmented · 16 Jan 2008 at 11:31

A server-side scripting language, such as PHP, and a database system such as MySQL help you manipulate, store and present data. They don't however, directly impact on the interactivity of a website.

The traditional tool for enhancing interactivity and managing behaviour is javascript. Interactivity in web-design is really about an action occuring as the result of a user-initiated event (clicking and such). Javascript allows you to capture these events and act upon them.

LiE · 16 Jan 2008 at 11:39

Ah yes, Javascript. I think ultimately I'm aiming to learn php/mysql (I already know the fundamentals of mysql/databases), and also Javascript. I'm looking to freelance as a web designer eventually, would these new technolgies, together with what I already know, allow me to meet the needs of most clients?

Augmented · 16 Jan 2008 at 11:53

Yep, they would be a very good cross-section of skills to have as as a freelancer; you're covering all the bases and they all complement each other well. Only other 'big' technology I would consider useful is Flash, but I wouldn't call it essential.

You might consider looking into .NET (C#) as an alternative to PHP, as that tends to be the choice of large companies, and thus useful if you want to break out into contracting. However, as a freelancer, producing complete sites for clients, PHP is an excellent choice.

LiE · 16 Jan 2008 at 12:03

Thanks for the help.
Following on from the freelance subject, do you have any experience with this? I've always got the impression it's extremely difficult to get clients.

Augmented · 16 Jan 2008 at 12:19

It's not something I've done actively as I've always had permanent jobs. Any freelancing work I've done has been through friends-of-friends and related contacts, so unfortunately I can't really help with how to go about getting contracts in the wild.

Check out freelanceswitch.com - I've read a few of their articles before, and seems like a good resource.

evismaniac · 16 Jan 2008 at 15:27

I would recommend PHP. I also do a lot of webdesign, and I have recently been learing PHP (I've always figured out editing stuff but never to write it from scratch) and it is proving to be very usefull!!