A leap into a Web Development career-

[marty12550]

I use to be a UNIX Admin, now I am the techie at a SMALL non-profit. I have created a website for them using Hot Dog. I understand HTML code and can do it freehand if needed. I am good at collecting free scripts and adding it to the site as well. I am kidding no one by saying I am not a programmer, althogh I took some classes in college many moons ago. I understand the basics of programming and could learn it with practise.

What I want to know is what outlook would I have in becoming proficeint in Dreamweaver (more like Studio MX)? This is what I like doing- website stuff. I cant wait to update the pages, create new ones, change the whole site for better user-access and ease (of course it is a battle with the boss to make any real sensible changes and keeping all the stupid grapics and blinking crap out). I want to learn DreamWeaver and move on to another job. It just seems that the market isnt that great.... Am I kidding myself by taking this leap in to web development and getting a job? Of course after some years of exeprience I would love to consult- but only after I feel comfortable in my skills.

If this has already been addressed- sorry- And a list of books would be excellnt too! (I know I ask alot) I believe I would not only like to read on web development but marketing on the interent and anything else that relates to it. I do become a little obsessed with information and LOVE to know all aspects of things...

Thanks-
And this board ROCKS!

[trillianjedi]

Welcome to WebmasterWorld Marty.

One point as I'll let others answer the main crux of your post.

It's one thing doing something you enjoy on a small scale, it's quite another doing it for a living.

The thrill and enjoyment factor can be very quickly lost.

TJ

[marty12550]

I totally understand that- I have always liked it- When I have had to do it over hte last 5 years, it is something I would rather do over anything else laying in my To Do box-

So if I have to do something all day and get paid for it- then I would like it to be this!

[woop01]

Make sure to get your feet VERY wet before jumping in to the water head first. In other words, make sure you have at least a few clients under your belt to get the ball rolling.

[txbakers]

Everything is fun when it's new.

After 6 months it's a job.

[Yardboy]

my job, as a designer and developer is better than it was when i started full time over 3 years ago. of course, working for myself and having some steady clients helps me enjoy it. i can't say i'd be so chipper if i struggled to pay the rent every month.

if you want good information to start out, check out:
- zeldman.com for css and writing within standards
- http://www.designinteract.com/sow/archive.html for some very well designed sites
- pick up any old book for learning html markup basics. off all my skills, my grasp of markup is the one i use the most. by far.

[limbo]

pick up any old book for learning html markup basics. off all my skills, my grasp of markup is the one i use the most. by far.

That's good advice! HTML is your best tool so keep at it until you are fluent - learn it back to front. Get good with a graphic utility - StudioMX comes with fireworks so thats a good start.

Read and read and read the info here. There are some gems, hidden amongst the ingots, amonsgt the nuggets.... ;)

CSS [webmasterworld.com]

As a relativley new starter myself you will find that a good portfolio to showcase you talent is helpful to prospective clients.

And As for DW if you are happy to code without then it's not really necessary. I choose to use DW for the speed at which I can create and link pages and Templates. Interactivity with Flash and Fireworks is excellent and Macromedia offer excellent support/plugins.

But DW does not make you an asset. Many webdesigners think that by learning software you will become good, but it is rarely the case. To become good you need experience, knowledge and creativity - so if you don't have one make sure you have another.

good luck

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Off topic

Yardboy

I can be a pedant sometimes so please don't take this personally - but I am always interested to see sites that make it to 'site of the week' lists.(ht*p://www.designinteract.com/sow/archive.html) So inquisitively I opened the top 5/6 of them to see why.

And I was suprised to see that most of them were comprised of flash content.
<break> the N!ke one is still loading and opened a flash popup as I was typing this </break>
in fact three launch flash popups! - the other took 2 1/2 minutes to download on 56k - bad accessiblity! slow, and hard to locate content.

I would'nt recommend these as good sites from a webmaster point of view. Graphically they are excellent but only if you are willing to wait!

messages like this: You’ve only seen half the story. If you’ve got a pop-up blocker and you arrived here without visiting our website click here

not too clever IMO.

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ta

Limbo

[katy8439]

Hi Marty,

I've been a web developer for almost 10 years now. I started off learning HTML from a book (HTML for Dummies actually *lol*) and doing all my coding in FrontPage and DreamWeaver. Now however I very rarely use a WSIWYG editor now, 90% of my code is hand coded - the only thing I tend to use FrontPage for is setting out the initial tables on pages and that's it. I find I have far much more control of the code and also, it's essential knowledge to have if something doesn't work.

Don't forget, it's not just about HTML though, if you want to add a dynamic touch to your sites you'd have to know JavaScript, DHTML etc. rather than using "free" scripts which could have copyright implications.

As for whether you should do it or not - Only you can decide that. And as was mentioned, make sure you have a decent portfolio to show to prospective clients, even if it's just a couple of freebie sites just to get your name out there on the web.

Saying that though, I wouldn't change my profession for all the tea in china :)

Hope that helps

Katy

[hsolly]

Hi Marty and Katy,
I am new too, and have been learning to use Dream Weaver. I am fairly adept with HTML and I am learning Javascript (I pretty much think that I will just copy and paste most JS stuff though!) I still like to hand code and have been told not to lose that skill, and I still do.... but in Dream Weaver....The code is all color coded and it makes it easier to read...especially now that I am using lots of different things. I, too am considering getting Studio MX as I am seeing a lot of Flash out there. I am wondering though if Fireworks is as easy to use?
Any thoughts on this?

Holly

[limbo]

Hello Holly

Welcome to Webmasterworld :)

I am a keen advocate of fireworks. If you have used Flash you will not take long to get to grips with it.

It, like many image editing programs, has a steep learning curve - but I found that it levelled out quicker than most - the interface, tools and shortcuts don't take too long to master and from then on it's pretty intuitive. Interaction with other Macromedia sofware is excellent too.

If you can, you should try before you buy, as it is not cheap at over 200 quid.

There are also many other applications that do much of what fireworks can, for a fraction/free price. Infranview and GIMP are two that are often praised here.

And then there's Photoshop......

As for Text editing topstyle - which I think comes with the MX suite is better than Dreamweaver for colour coded mark up. Homesite also does unless I am mistaken.

Ta

Limbo

[cazgh]

Everything is fun when it's new.

After 6 months it's a job.

So true! When I first started this job in July 03, it felt like I came into work and got to play everyday - now it is a job, although still enjoyable - it is not the same.

Good luck with your decision - the only thing that keeps me from going solo is the sheer number of people who offer web building services and the competitive nature of the SEO stuff.

[marty12550]

thanks for all the responses!

I just got in the mail PHP and MySQL- so I figure I will go thru the book and see what I can learn-

At this point I would be grateful for a job in a e-commerce dept of some big company. I just want the experience (and the benefits!)

[gregor]

I just got in the mail PHP and MySQL- so I figure I will go thru the book and see what I can learn-

A little off topic but what book? Can you somehow let me know if it's any good?

Thanks!

[Strange]

Hi marty..

You mentioned in the first post that you were looking to learn all of Studio MX. There are lots of great resources available for that.

Dreamweaver is a great place to start.. Personally I use it in the old HomeSite coder style. I like the context highlighting and the ease it provides in reading through code. Occasionally I break into the WYSISWYG portion to draw quick tables or layers.

As for the rest of Studio MX:
Cold Fusion - A great webdev tool for developing dynamic sites, and it is really easy to write the SQL into it to get information from databases. It's fairly easy to learn if you are strong with HTML becuase it is tag based. Think of it as HTML with programming logic applied. You can get the developers version of Cold Fusion for free from Macromedia.

Flash - Great for adding interactive content. To really get the full power of flash, learn how to write action scripts. This will ad more usability to any flash you use.

Fireworks - Every web site needs graphics right? Pretty good tool, but if you can, take the time to learn photoshop as well as it is more widely used.

As for everything else that has been mentioned... PHP is being used by more and more companies these days because it is cost effective. I find it to be a lot Perl, and it is pretty easy to implement. I think you will enjoy learning it. And of course as everyone else has said, build up your portfolio, make sure you know your HTML and CSS inside and out, and learn JavaScript...

Good luck with your decision! I made mine and now you couldn't talk me into doing anything else. ;-)

[tulip]

Just a brief remark - if you only want syntax highlighting and indentation to make hand-coding easier, you don't need to buy anything WYSIWYG, or indeed buy anything. I prefer Xemacs: it's free, simple and reliable and supports a number of programming and markup languages. It may look a bit unfriendly if you have a background in graphic design rather than code mongering, but for a KISS approach fan like myself it is just fine...

[mgm_03]

I'm very grateful for this discussion because I'm slightly overwhelmed by the daunting challenge of going solo. My former career was marketing in Silicon Valley. Being unemployed and living with family, I have been fortunate enough to devote all my time to "reinventing myself" as a web developer. A similar discussion on www.phpfreaks.com awhile back was citing an oversaturated market as reasons not to get into web development. It was much less encouraging than this thread.

A year ago, I barely knew HTML. Most of my time has been put into PHP/MySQL. I now have more technical reference books than when I was in electrical engineering in college. I have 5 three-ring binders full of tutorial print-outs, bookmarks out the whazoo, and bunches of code snippets saved...somewhere?

I am a big fan of the PeachPit Press Visual Quick Start Series for any beginner. As you get more comfortable, try the O'Reilley books.

I have MX Studio and believe the integration of apps is a great benefit. I like DW for many reasons but I DO NOT USE IT TO CODE. I write out every line of code by hand in DW. I highly suggest newbies do the same. You won't find many tutorials that reference DW terminology (like "recordsets"). I also have BBedit but have not used it. Freehand is a great vector app which I use to make logos and other things that I import into Fireworks.

I recommend getting a book called "Color Harmony" so you don't spend hours trying to pick a palette of colors for a site. Go to a bookstore and get something on Graphic Design to learn what makes a site (or brochure) have "eye-appeal". Create a bookmark folder of sites you like and reference them later when needing ideas.

Learn how to write SQL queries. Purchase "SQL Queries for Mere Mortals". Also the "MySQL Cookbook" for when you're ready.

Any CSS book is required reading although online resources will be more effective. [css.maxdesign.com.au...] ...great tutorials there.

Javascript is a pain in the ass.

To be good with Flash takes a long time ( I am not good). There are companies that are putting out tools to create text effects and sites www.swishzone.com www.verticalmoon.com
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I recently bought The HTTP Developer's Handbook - good in depth explanation of the protocol (a newbie can wait to read this).

I have put well over a thousand hours into it all and still feel like I'm just scratching the surface. If you don't love it or feel somewhat obssessed with it, stop now.

[GeorgeS]

I use DreamWeaver MX with ASP/ASP.NET or PHP for developing front ends for databse-driven web sites.
Apache/PHP/MySql are very popular and free but MS ASP/ASP.NET with MSSQL are used by the most serious businesses like AMAZON, DELL & many others.
I see a lot more perspective in ASP.NET and web services dev then in plain PHP although in the beginnig you'll find more demand for PHP/MySql projects.

I also use CodeCharge/CodeChargeStudio for very fast development of database-driven websites and back-ends(you create one project but can generate files in 10 different languages).
This is an amazing product that does almost everything for you without bugs and errors.
Final design tune-up can be done in DW MX or whatever you prefer.
So, in short, DW MX is for your design and some of dynamic "front-end pages" & CCS for ADMIN (content management, business/orders tracking, stats & other).
Of course, you'll have to create your Database first.
Go to www.codecharge.com -
You'll be able to do your projects up to 10 times faster