Introduction & Some Questions from a Fed-Up Insurance Salesman!

[thechrisjordan]

Hello! I am a disgruntled insurance salesman in Georgia who, after three years of selling insurance, recently came to the conclusion that I loathe my job and would love to get into web design and interactive media. I came here to seek advice and learn from all of you, with hopes of making a complete career change in the next year.

What I ultimately want to do is operate a small web design/internet marketing business helping small businesses in my area develop a web presence (sites, social media, blogs, etc.) I have no formal background working on computers but I learn quickly and am well versed in HTML/CSS and am getting ready to attempt learning javascript. How much emphasis should I put on learning PHP/MySQL and are there other languages that I need to consider studying?

The biggest question I have is how much coding knowledge do I really need when there are so many templates and open-source options available? Could someone build a legit business using templates, etc?

Secondly, I have thought about taking some distance learning courses, but am hesitant because I can learn so much on my own. Since I want to work for myself and not get hired, would getting formal credentials matter? I know that it would help and it is something I will definitely pursue at some point... but how important would it be in the beginning?

Your input just might save me from a miserable existence snaking around selling insurance!!!

 

[codeguardian]

suggestions

As a freelance developer I have found people are not interested in my education, but my previous work. My suggestions are to build up a portfolio of work that you can show your clients.
I do not recommended just using templates because many employers do not want to have the same site as other people, but exception do exist and they may want changes to the template.
Even if are just using open source it may be good to know at least the basics of HTML,CSS,PHP,ASP so you can integrate open source into sites.

Hope that helps

 

[thechrisjordan]

codeguardian, thanks for the reply! I am beginning to gather based on other posts I've found that portfolio is much more important than education, which is great and bad for me all at the same time. Great because I think I can continue learning on my own without forking out $ for classes, but bad because I have ZERO portfolio. I have thought about just creating some sites on various topics so I can reference something until I have legit clients. I definitely plan to learn basics in the codes you've listed and fortunately I have a good enough handle on HTML/CSS that I should be able to get by with some good references, or even just W3C schools. Thanks again!

 

[JMCDesigner]

You should get a basic idea about Graphic Design Theory and how to make something look 'good'. You can be the best coder in the world but if your websites look like crap no-one will want to employ your services.

 

[Brett]

Lots of good suggestions up here, just thought I'd also mention that this business is EXTREMELY competitive... So don't feel bad when the clients aren't banging down your door... you just have to find that tiny corner of the market you can farm, get me?

w3schools.com is an excellent reference site for just about every web related standard

 

[wetgravy]

the market sucks (right now), so expect alot of foot work and social marketing to make bank. Otherwise as long as the price is good and the work is clean and what they want ... no one cares what learning you have.

 

[Eric]

Congratulations on your new career. I'm in a similar situation, been studying for the last year, but haven't started professionally yet. I've trolled many forums looking for the same questions as you, and gotten the same responses: It's about having a good portfolio and convincing people to hire you, not a degree. As a self-taught student, I can give you some advice:

1. Invest in some good books. Here are some classics: Learning Web Design (O'reilly), Don't make me Think, Non-Designer's Design and Type Books, The Zen of Css Design, 100 Tips and Tricks (Photoshop), How to Start a Home-Based Web-Design Business, Web designer magazine.

2. There are numerous sites, too many to mention, that you can learn from. Also, googling is a great source for answering questions, just make sure you select "posts from the past year" in your search, or you might just get a history lesson.

3. The biggest trick is to not get overwhelmed with all you need to learn. Start with html, then css, then photoshop, then javascript, then php/mysql. Obviously the path won't be this linear but you get the point.

Good Luck!

 

[MDwebdev85]

Hi TheChrisJordon,

I can soooooooo relate to your story.

After being unemployed for 6 months (with 2 kids to take care of) I finally decided to open my own business – as an independent website builder.

I’ve always had a passion for art but never knew what to do with it…so a couple of months ago a friend of mine told me about this new online website builder - that lets you make professional websites in just minutes for a really low cost – WITH NO PROFESSIONAL DESIGN BACKGROUND

In two months I’ve made really cool websites for 2 friends, 3 neighbours, my hairdresser and my dentist!

I highly recommend this - http://www.mediasitebuilder.com/campaign1/?CMS=336

Seriously? How many threads are you going to post in trying to get someone to follow that affiliate link? The bottom line is if you want to do web & graphic design you need to understand what you are doing and how to do it. You MUST know how to code at least html & css. Yes, while some people may get away with using a web site builder "tool" such as the one posted before me....what happens when the client needs something done to the web site beyond the scope of the tool?, that you now have no idea how to do because you've relied on a piece of software. My best advice is to not use such tools....learn how to code on your own.... Try not to use web site templates, as stated already....what company would want their web site to be the same as the next companies, right after they just paid a web designer to "design" their new website?......

 

[Eric]

Ditto the previous post. Companies already know about "easy-bake" site makers, not much reason to hire someone else to do that for them. My network right now is other musicians like myself, and they want a site that mirrors the CD artwork they already completed. There goes your template out the window.

 

[ian]

Seriously? How many threads are you going to post in trying to get someone to follow that affiliate link?

That user has been banned for spam.