How to start studying web design from nil?

Today we will look at the way of a beginner designer and how to start studying web design from nil?

In this article, you will find out:

• What do you need to start learning about web design?
• What programs should a web designer know?
• Top 5 books for studying design and website designing.
• Online platforms for learning web design.
• One of the main ways to learn web design from nil.
• Social networks and their role in studying web design.

What do you need to start learning web design?

To study web design from nil, you need to prepare for some difficulties. Basically this is due to the fact that this field of activity does not stand still and very often there are new tools that are not always convenient and necessary. Even an experienced specialist does not always determine their need, so what to say about a beginner ... In addition, the designer must own several graphic editing skills and understand the concept of perception.

What programs should a web designer know?

The main task of a web designer is to create an external cover of the site, so he must own the following graphic editors:

Adobe Photoshop

A program that allows you to work with raster graphics and image retouching. Experienced designers use a special grid, which allows you to correctly arrange the elements, and then group them into layers. After that, the layout is redirected to the layout specialist and programmer.

Adobe Illustrator

This program is for working with vector graphics. This type of graphics allows you to create illustrations that do not lose their quality when stretched - ideal for adaptive design.

Corel DRAW

Another program that allows you to create vector graphics. There are several differences from Adobe Illustrator, the main of them is work creation of accurate geometric shapes and working with them.

The most often used are first two programs, whose tools are similar, but still has a different purpose. If you want to become a true professional, then you will have to forget about creating banners and model with the help of Paint.

Due to the wide variety of information, everyone can choose the most convenient option: from video lessons on YouTube to educational books.

We decided to collect the top 5 books for beginner web designers who will help you learn the basics of creating a design for the website, and successfully applying them by yourself.

Top 5 books for web design and site building

We believe that the following books for programming will help at this stage:

Jeremy Keith. "HTML5 for Web Designers"

This book has long become a classic for those who wish to study in detail the latest version of HTML. On its pages it is detailed, what features and complexities are available in the given language. Development of the internal core and the design of user-friendly interfaces are the main directions that lead the world of website development.

Dan Cederholm. "CSS3 for Web Designers"

After you learn the languages on which sites are designed, you can proceed to the next stage - learning the language of cascading style sheets. In the field of web development this section is called CSS. Thanks to this knowledge, you can understand how the appearance of the downloaded pages is managed. The main task is to decrease the loading time of the requested page. The book uses examples that will allow you to study in detail all the features of CSS3.

Jennifer Robbins. "HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript. Comprehensive guide "

Despite the fact that the title of the book makes it look like a "monster", yet it is ideal for a beginner. It clearly describes how to start learning from the very beginning, and quality illustrations will help to consolidate the information received. In addition, there is a supplement to the book - a disk on which you can find the necessary files, allowing in practice to study everything that is described in the lectures.

Steve Krug. "Web design, or Do not make me think"

The book is a bestseller, which was reprinted by several famous world publications. In the convenience of the site, a big role is played not only by the programming language, but by "usability." In other words, the convenience of using the site for a visitor. This book can be used not only by beginners of web design, but also by experienced specialists who want to design a really convenient and high-quality product.

Tim Kadlec. "Adaptive design. We make sites for any device"

The time when users visited pages of sites exclusively from personal computers, has long ago passed. Today, there have been a lot of devices with different screen extensions - from mobile to PC-devices. The great importance here is how one and the same site is displayed on different devices.

Adaptive design implies the development of such a site, which will be equally attractive and convenient on different devices.

If we are talking about online stores, then without an adaptive design the site owner can lose a lot of customers. You can learn examples of the work of the web-studio "NeoSeo", which clearly show what differences have the same sites, displayed on different devices.

In this book, we consider methods of adaptive layout, which will make the site convenient, modern and easy to use.

This list of books is the base that will help you to study in more detail all the stages of site design. But, if you want to become a true professional, for this basis you will need to supplement your knowledge every day with various additional materials. Below we list the most popular resources for obtaining the necessary knowledge.

What differences do the same sites have?

These sites have collected a lot of useful information, which is updated daily with new proven material.

The platform which is the leader among the training platforms. On it you can find content that will allow you to learn HTML, CSS, Javascript, and also perfectly build mobile applications for iOS.

The only disadvantage of the platform is that you will have to pay for a monthly subscription, however, it's worth it.

After paying for the subscription you will get access to various instructional video lessons and interesting opportunities: from master classes to participation in quizzes, which give an opportunity to get pleasant bonuses.

This platform is also very popular all over the world, but it has a slightly different purpose. It contains training material, which allows to study the coding process on interactive examples. You can learn HTML, CSS and PHP in practice. If during the training the student makes any mistake, the system gives exhaustive hints, allowing to understand, in what the wrong decision was made.

Ideal for those who love not only theory, but also practice.

Very convenient interface for users from the CIS. On it you can learn a lot of courses that reveal the stages of designing a website. The founders argue that their platform is designed so that anyone can start from nil learning about web development.

The advantage is that it is available as paid content, and free.

One of the main ways to learn web design from nil

If you do not want to register on multiple platforms, or do not want to pay for your training, then YouTube will be a great alternative - there is several videos of different contents (from practical to theoretical), which is free of charge 24 hours a day! All you need is a registered mailbox in Gmail to be able to save your favorite material and divide it into categories.

Social networks and their role in studying web design

We looked at ways to learn about web design that can significantly reduce learning time, however, they are not exhaustive. Keep an eye on the updates in our articles, so you will not miss the new interesting stuff!

Web-studio "NeoSeo" wishes you success in mastering web design!