Getting Caught Up in the Web

Web design and development involves the adaptation of visual designs for web pages. This involves skill and training in computer graphics, graphic design, and the latest in computer and web technology. Web design and web development are similar fields, and require similar training and background, however both specialties have characteristics that are specific. Web designers are charged with creating the look and feel of website. As a web designer you will make decisions regarding what content is included on a web page, where things are placed, and how the aesthetic and continuity is maintained from one screen to the next.

As a web developer your job will be similar to that of a web designer, and your duties will overlap quite a bit. As a web developers you will also be involved in the creation of complex multimedia and interactive websites, however, as a web developer you will generally have more to do with the underlying technology of a website, such as its search features, rather than the design and visual aspects of a web page. Web developers are charged with making the complexity of a website undetectable to its user, and to develop a site that is easy to navigate. A web developer also contributes to the overall structure, flow, and user friendliness of a website. All web designers and web developers contribute in creating concepts, executing designs, and maintaining these concepts through many phases of web development. As designers and developers collaborate with each other, they are able to create websites that are both visually pleasing and easy to use.

Training in graphic design and computer technology is a great background in learning to do web design and web development. Design and editing software such as Adobe PhotoShop and Macromedia FreeHand will help you to create and design elements that can be used for a web page. Further training in web page creation technologies such as DreamWeaver and Microsoft FrontPage, will help you to increase your knowledge of how web technology works and how websites are developed.

With web technology becoming increasingly more advanced, websites today are more interactive and visually stimulating than ever, with moving graphics and 3-D images. The popularity and growing need for knowledgeable web designers and web developers in today's multi-media fields have led to enormous employment growth in these areas. Well-trained web designers and developers are and will continue to be in great demand.