How do I start out a web developer/web site design business?

Question

What software should I get, what training should I get. I'd like to do this as a side job for now. any suggesstions, tips?

Answer 1

Well, you need some skills. If you don't have any skill then you're out of luck. Fortunately you're not out of luck since I'm about to tell you where you can get the skills you need. Go here for free resources.

http://education-portal.com/articles/Free_Web_Design_Courses_Online.html



I'd start with this one.

http://www.w3schools.com/



For photoshop go here.

http://www.mydamnchannel.com/You_Suck_at_Photoshop/Season_1/YouSuckAtPhotoshop1DistortWarpandLayerEffects_1373.aspx



Practive makes perfect so you just have to start building projects and see how good they are. Eventually you'll improve and put together a portfolio and get clients. It's a long road and you won't make it unless you truly enjoy it.

Answer 2

There are a lot of choices for web design software, I would therefore recommend choosing one that includes a content management system such as Drupal (my personal favorite), WordPress (easier to get started with, but less options later on) or Joomla (another common one, though I had problems with it).



An open source content management system is free to use, so there's no software to buy and allows you to install everything on the server (or lets you install it yourself using Fantastico if you use any host with Cpanel). It then means that still working online you can easily change the theme, add new pages, etc. and not only that, but that your clients can do the same.



Open source CMS systems like Drupal have literally 100s of modules that run e-commerce features, discussion forums, drop-down menus etc. whereas if you try Dreamweaver, you have to learn how to configure these kind of things yourself.



It's also worth learning about SEO (how to get a website to appear high in the search results).



Finally, I would recommend building some affiliate websites in the first instance for something that you're interested in. Just search for affiliate plus a keyword and you'll find something. That way, you can make some money from your site with an affiliate site and develop a portfolio, without actually having a client saying 'I want it like this, and like that, and my deadline's next week'. Alternatively offer to do websites for friends and family in the first instance.



Hope that helps!

Answer 3

Step 1: Learn how to develop websites.

Step 2: Develop a website for yourself.

Step 3: Develop examples of your work

Step 4: Display them all in an appealing way.

Step 5: Ask for people to buy your service/product.



I recomend learning from experience, just jump in and start learning.



The internet is a great place to learn, and google is a great tool.



I Highly recomend Adobe Creative Suite.



Its a great piece of software that will let you do everything you need to and more on the web.

Answer 4

•Photoshop

•Corel Draw

•Flash Animation

•HTML

•Java Script

•Dream Weaver

•CSS

•Front Page

•PHP & MySQL



This is all what you need to learn. :-)



Or else, our company can work for you till you learn web designing and development.

We will let you know our price and then you can earn some good money by charging white lablled prices to your customers/clients.



Thank You

Regards,

Vaibhav Rastogi