Where to Start As a Newbie?

[Logikal]

Hey, im currently in college taking Web and Graphic desgin... Im starting to think this course is a joke, in the first week at school i have completed 2 months of the 10 month course. Included in what i have completed has been how to turn on my computer, how to save documents, learing to type at 25 words a minute (before the course i type at 4 times this), how to create new documents in microsoft word etc. Basically what im saying is i am shocked i am going to be paying 12,000$ for this course. Im now nearly halfway done and the first thing that has actually touched on web and graphic design is the use of Dreamweaver. Simply teaching me the basics, things i would have learned on my own in under an hour. Im realizin ill be needin to learn nearly everything i need on my own and am very dissipointed.

I have my first customer whenever i feel comfortable enough to design the site (a family friend) but basically i feel very overwhelemd and lost. Anyways after ya see where im comin from, i'd like to know a couple things.

1. Ive heard that many designers also offer web hosting. How is it i would go about doing this?

2. Where can i find a good contract to give my future customers?

3. Where is more info on the steps i should be going through as to designing a site for customers. IE. Getting info from them, do i continue to update their site for them? Do designers often charge per hour (If so what kind of price range?) Or do you charge per item/page etc.? Do i find webhosting for them? In what form do you deliver the sites to the customer in?

Any answers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a ton!

 

[ian]

1. check google for reseller packages. Basically a hosting package that allows you to host unlimited websites within an allocated data space and bandwith limit.
2. There are automated software scripts to resell web hosting, such as modernbill.com whmautopilot.com etc, Not sure if they handle the legal issues etc you may want to check that out.
3. Never offered web design services to anyone so cant comment. Dont have enough time to work on the projects I currently have. But for an initial site design, most people would want to know a fixed price of how much they will be charged, and not an hourly rate. Hourly rate could perhaps be quoted for future maintenance, but even then customers would want a fixed estimate for specific site updates.

 

[StephanieCordray]

There are sites that will sell you a standard web design services contract which you can use and customize to your needs. There used to be one that came here every now and then and posted or renewed his listings in the offers section.

As for everything else, I agree with ian, so there's nothingI can add. I don't offer web design although I do subcontract from time to time to a web designer/reseller... but then, I didn't spend 12,000 on courses, either.

I can't believe you haven't learned anything but basic Dreamweaver. That kinda sucks. For that price they should be teaching you a lot more, like HTML, CSS, and graphic design to name a few. Will they at least give you certifications after the course?

 

[ian]

I think the easiest way to learn is by actual doing. Decide what you want to do, then scour the internet to find out how to get it done. You can find an answer to almost anything using google.

 

[John84]

You can try to google "Web Designer" and have a look at what services they offer and how much they charge to get a basic idea for yourself.

After I learned html, css and javascript I decided to try and get a certificate so I can turn it into a profession. I paid $500 for a 10 week course on "basic" web design and I ended up correcting my professor on numerous occasions. This is when I realized that im better off continuing my self-taught method. The way I see it, unless your going to work for a company, you dont need a certificate. Just do some probono work so you can set up an online portfolio and then advertise advertise advertise.

Good luck.

 

[Logikal]

Well, im supposed to be learning html, photoshop basics, javascript basics, and a couple other things.. But, i have been through the photoshop area of my course already, and it tought me as little about it that the dreamweaver course has taught me. I had used photoshop before and i already knew everything that was taught in the course and then some.

There ARE other sections of this course like i said, the HTML and javascript, but im so concerned because from the quality of the information ive already received, i wont be learning anything very useful. I mean it'll be nice to have a basic understanding in those areas to get started with, but when i signed up for the course, they assured me that i would know enough to be able to design professional sites and sell them.

The sites they use as examples in my dreamweaver course, that they claim i will be able to build after, are horribly unprofessional. I could build sites to top these in grade 8 when i spent a week dabbling on building a personal site with geocities.

But yes, when i am finished my course I'll recieve a diploma of web and graphic design. So im just toughin it out just so i can say "Yes i have qualifications". I know i will learn much much more than they will teach me in these books by doing myself, I'ts just hard to know where to start. Im not sure what exactly i need to learn, i would like to design web sites for clients and logos/graphics. I just recieved the Adobe Creative Suite 2 premium Web bundle. And becuase i am in school, it saved me 1500$ on the software. But i feel terribly overwhelmed right now, much of this software i havent used and there is soooooo much to learn.

But just like you ian i've always learned the most by playing around on my own, i plan on starting by building a few sites for myself, and my fiance who does eyelash extensions. I mean ya learn the most by experience am i right?

Awesome, that sounds like a good idea John. The probono work that is, i plan on doin a little, but im lucky so i also have a start in that area. My mom's boyfriend is a mechanic starting his own business, and is interested in me building a site for him and is willing to pay me for it. I think i can convince him to fix up my car instead, it needs a little work at the moment. So it would be a good way to get my first site out there and even get somethin outa it.