Which Web Design Cert. Program is good for me?

divine010

New Member
Hi Everyone,

Currently, I am deciding on which web design certificate program I should take. I decided to go this route since I have a BS already and I am not interested in going back to school for another 4 years. This will all be based on cost and the timeframe. I noticed some certificate programs can last from 5 months to 1 years. Does it really matter the length of time? I just want to make sure I am getting everything that I need to get started in this field. Can you please let me know if this is a good program. Also, does it matter if this is a non-credit certificate or will that effect me later? I am listing 2 of the same programs but from 2 different institutions (community colleges). The both cost less than $1500 for all courses.



Communicty College 1 (only have to take 6 courses and 2 electives)

Duration: 1 year

Courses:

CSP247 HTML 1 - Creating Web Pages

CSP296 HTML 2 - Creating Web Pages

CSP297 1 JavaScript

CSP299 Planning and Maintaining Your Web Site

CSP313 Web Graphics

CSP325 1 HTML 3 - Creating Web Pages

CSP389 Dynamic HTML - Cascading Style Sheets

CSP398 Dreamweaver - An Introduction

CSP404 1 Flash Workshop

CSP413 1 Dreamweaver - Advanced

CSP415 1 CGI Scripting and Server Interface

CSP417 Advanced Web Design Workshop





Communicty College 2

Duration: 5-6 months

Courses:

Dreamweaver Basics and Essential Photoshop Skills
Macromedia Dreamweaver is the web development program used by more than 80 percent of web professionals. Topics will include text formatting, dynamic graphics, hyperlinks, templates, tables, frames, style sheets and forms. Practice publishing your completed site to a web host. Adobe is the premier image-manipulation tool for both print and the Web. Learn the basics of Adobe Photoshop in this thorough beginner/intermediate course. If you are planning on working with images in any way, you need to know it. Even if you just took your software out of the box, this course will help you learn and tame this creative powerhouse of a program. (18 hours) $329


HTML Basics
An introduction to HTML used for creating web pages for publishing on the World Wide Web. Topics include HTML tags, formatting text, lists, adding simple images, background colors, and hypertext links. This is a hands-on course using Windows. Students must have word processing skills, knowledge of Windows, and knowledge of the Internet. (12 hours)



Advandced Dreamweaver + CSS
This course is a continuation of Dreamweaver Basics. Focus is on functions that convert static web pages into engaging sites as well as on formatting and laying out your site using Cascading Style Sheets. It examines advanced design techniques such as color, font, position, rollovers and pop-ups. Students will also be introduced to Javascript driven, Spry widgets to quickly create drop-down menus, accordion boxes and more without having to write a single line of code! This course will benefit anybody who needs to create professional, consistent looking web sites using Dreamweaver's CSS tools. This hands-on course requires basic knowledge of the Windows Operating system, Internet, and HTML.



Flash Animation + Photoshop
Gain experience in the functions and capabilities of Adobe Flash. This course will teach you to use incorporate animation/interface design and illustration principles and practice into websites. (36 hours) $499


Maintaining a Website
Layout, navigation, and maintenance are the three keys to the success of a website. Learn to analyze website content, audience profiles, IP addresses and domain name registration. Other topics include: web hosting, start-up and maintenance costs, updating HTML documents and graphics, guest books, submitting sites to search engines, and log files. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) will also be discussed. (12 hours) $189

Totaling 96 hours
 

ishie

New Member
If I were you, I would take the latter. The second option is good enough to learn all the basics of web design. 1 year is way too long. You just need a few months to be educated. Practice and experience are what you need to be good at web designing.
 
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