demonhale — Tue, 20 Sep 2005 23:48:24 +0000

I hope you are aware you are replying to an old thread?

loveair — Tue, 20 Sep 2005 07:19:35 +0000

Thanks for the warm welcome Have put my answers in the Introductions forum.

Have also learnt how to setup an Apache/PHP/MySQL environment on my home PC and started working through PHP Web Development with Macromedia Dreamweaver Mx 2004 which has a five star rating and is proving to be an excellent introduction to these essential skills.

Renegade — Wed, 01 Sep 2004 19:08:49 +0000

Aye, that is true. I consider myself as more of a programmer. A left brained person. Which is why I decided to take a Web Design course this year - I don't know how to design.

It really depends on the person. Make a choice:

Do you really want to be sitting infront of a desk thinking of new/fresh ways of doing things which have already been done, finding new/fresh ways of doing/displaying things

Do you really want to be sitting infront of a computer terminal racking your brain, trying to figure out the logic to a program/problem?

You choose. The choice is yours

loveair: Welcome to the forums, glad you could join us. Why not stop by the introductions forum and introduce yourself?

loveair — Wed, 01 Sep 2004 18:14:44 +0000

Hi,

I found this site/thread while searching for information on what are considered today to be the basic skills required of a webmaster.

I have been online for ten years or so and I have taught myself HTML, Dreamweaver, Paint Shop Pro etc. in my spare time while building a career as a Cisco networking engineer. I would like to expand and enhance my webmaster skills and wondered what the consensus of opinion is for the core skills required of a professional web developer.

I'm sure there will be differences of opinion because there is no rule book for this, and at a guess I would say: HTML (to the latest standard), PHP, JavaScript, DHTML, but what else?

I'm aware also of the need for other business skills so I'm thinking of the core programming skills here.

TIA
Ben

Megan — Tue, 14 May 2002 13:44:39 +0000

I think that there's room for many different skill sets and ranges of specialties in this industry. It really depends on what you want to do.

You may just want to design and develop a website for personal interest. In that case it doesn't really matter what you can and cannot do - it's entirely up to you and what you want to do with your page. You can pick things up as you need them.

You may want to do freelance work for small business. In that case you'll need a fairly wide range of skills from front-design to light programming to business logistics etc. You'll need to be prepared to hand off work to contractors when it gets outside of your skill range. This would be a similar skill set to that need for an individual working within a larger company that only needs a few people in house to maintain a web site or intranet.

If you want to work for a company that specializes in web design you'll want to specialize quite heavily in one area or another. One of the comapnies I interviewed with had front-end design, mid-end coding, backend, usability, and marketing all as completely separate departments. Another place had the front-end design and mid-end coding together but backend was still separate. This type of skill set could also work for someone wishing to work as a contractor for the freelancers and companies described in the previous paragraph.

I would say that my skills range from front end design to mid-end coding and light programming, as well as writing and copy editing. I have always been looking for a field that can combine my left side and right side skills into one career so this has really worked well for me. I don't profess to be amazingly good in any one of these areas but I think that it's enough to put up a good, solid, functional website for a client.

cadeh — Fri, 10 May 2002 18:01:03 +0000

Hey, I'll put my two (non)cents in here.

I have no idea what a "true webmaster" is supposed to be. It's not one of those jobs like plumbing where everyone knows what you can do.

I would say you don't have to concentrate on just one path, design or programming. Start with the one that you like better first and then start with the other later on. I also found that there is a lot more information on the web about programming than there is on design concepts. Just FYI. If you want to get started with a little programming get the the PHP bible and make your own blog with mysql and php. Fun stuff and php is probably one of the easiest web programming languages. Learn html first though. As far as the design stuff? I still don't have that down myself. Some people just have it, but for us normal people I think it takes a lot of practice and finding what "looks" good. Look at other peoples sites on coolhomepages.com or linkdup.com or one of the many link sites out there. Maybe get some books about design. Yeah, books are just great.

What is a "true webmaster"?

necrotic — Fri, 10 May 2002 00:32:18 +0000

In my opinion a "true webmaster" is someone who can not only make his/her own site without a program (IE, Frontpage, DreamWeaver, FireWorks, etc...) and only uses NotePad. If they can do that, then they can go use the fancy programs to tweak their abbilaties.

When it comes to Graphic Design I like to use as little images as possible. Not ten on a page, but two or three. The less the better, I think. The real Graphic Design is how you put the site togethor to appeal to people. Not to cluttered but not to spread out. Not to complex but not to simple. If you use CSS, make sure it actually goes with your layout. Don't have a red link on a green backround. That's just terrible.

As for programming skills, you don't have to know every language on the planet. A few is good. I for one know some PHP/MySQL, very basic JScript, and quite a bit of HTML. That's enough in my opinion. If you want to learn more and can without getting confused, go for it. But if you get confused easily, stick with two or three at most, maybe four.

That's my two cents.

Suzanne — Sun, 05 May 2002 21:14:31 +0000

That, in a nutshell pbrustas, is a sign that you should team up with a graphic designer. Having the tools isn't the same as having the ability to create with them. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Just recognize it and find yourself a graphic designer who knows what needs to be done code-wise but can't write it and you'll both be happy. And probably more successful.

design?

pbrustas — Sun, 05 May 2002 15:43:50 +0000

't seems that to be a "true webmaster" you have to have both programming and graphic design skills. However, these two skill areas require very different cognitive skills
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Hmm. Imagination has been my limitation. When a client wants a site I unfortuately need to rely on that person to tell me what HE/SHE wants ... otherwise I am kinda lost. my own site (brustasconsulting.com) is really pretty basic but it gets my point across.

I have and use Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Flash 5 and Fireworks... so I certainly have the tools. In using Flash I find myself looking for images all of the time. In creating stuff with the Fireworks/Dreamweaver combo, I find myself using similar themes over and over again. Ya know, menu bars on the top or side, standard graphic interface.

I really like website design ... but doubt I'll ever make alot of money at it until/unless I get more creative!

DC_Sara — Sun, 05 May 2002 15:02:52 +0000

Start with one, learn all you can about it, the other will follow as you will want to make the first look and perform better!

I started on AOL, with pages, way back in the early 90's. Then I started making graphics. Learned from a book how to do HTML. Learned how to use Photoshop. Learned how to us FP. Learned how to use PSP 6. Devoured DW. Learned how to use PSP 7. See a trend?

I think that the 2 really feed off of each other.

Sara