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The Noob Guide to Web Design Posted: 02 Sep 2014 06:00 AM PDT Web design is so much anchored on technology to a point that it is difficult for beginners to catch up, and if they even try to, it would be very difficult. For someone who has zero idea on web design, this can be pretty frustrating. You want to learn something new so you decided to try out web design. Because of this, you immediately looked for tutorials. To your surprise, there are a lot of tutorials out there. However, browsing through each of those tutorials, you realize that these lessons are actually directed towards people who have designed websites before. Your vibe dies and, eventually, you'll just shrug your shoulders and admit to yourself, "Meh. I didn't like web design in the first place." But would everything change if some article showed you the way? If just some tutorial kindled that small matchstick in your creativity, would you stop designing? Of course, the answer to these questions depends on a case-to-case basis. However, things might have gone differently if you just saw great newbie guides to web design. For non-web designers to want to try out web design, a noob guide would be great. And yes, I'm going to give you one. So, keep your eyes glued in this article and let's all start learning! Learning Web Design Since the Web has soared into popularity, interest in learning web design has also increased exponentially. Right now, there are a lot of people from different corners of the world who dream of building their own websites, and in the near future, earning from such activity. This exponential growth dominoed into the increase of platforms and courses that guarantee you web design knowledge. There are blogs, forums and courses right here and there for your choosing. You just have to know which is the best one for you. Here are a few avenues that may lead you to learning web design. Web Design Schools School-based learning is an alien term in the world of web design. Because schools have been traditional and often can't keep up with the fast evolution of the industry, some think that they are already ineffective. However, some people just find going to schools helpful. This may play out to your advantage if you want to learn web design. With the popularity of the subject, you will always find a university that offers web design classes. Going back to school might prove to be an effective method because it is more formal and systematized. It also teaches in a pace you can keep up with. However, if you are on a very tight budget, this is not recommendedbecause going back to college is not as easy as it sounds. Reading Of course, aside from sitting in a classroom, listening to some guy blabber about web design, you can learn while staring at the letters flashing through your computer monitor. Reading is one of the many ways you can learn web design. Now that design blogs have become a profitable niche in blogging, web design resources, tutorials and inspirations have become easier to access. The timeliness of reading as a way to learning something will always remain. As we live in a time where most people can read, it should always be the go-to method in self-instruction. Although, some view it as a lesser interactive and entertaining way of acquiring new knowledge, some people find it the most effective one. Some Resources to Check Out: HTML & CSS Book HTML5 Rocks 1stwebdesigner Blog Video Tutorials The prevalence of videos directed towards learning has been notable since the inception of video cameras. For such a long time, videos have become effective ways to teach and learn. In the world of web design, video-based instruction is very popular. However, there are only a handful of tutorials that offer in depth and high quality teaching. The reason is, it takes too much effort, time, knowledge and resources to create instructional materials with the depth that everyone is looking for. That may be the reason why some courses are pricy. There are some learning centers that also offer subscription-based learning where you pay a fee for a month to be granted access to a library of web design knowledge. Resources to Check Out Lynda Tuts+ Premium 1WD. TV Web Design Jargon A jargon is a special word or expression used in a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand.All professions in the world have their own jargons; web design has its own language too. Here are a few web design terms and their meanings: Anchor Text An anchor text is the text a link uses to direct to your website. Anchor texts play a big role in increasing and optimizing your website for search engines. Back End A website's back end is a facet of the website not visible to regular visitors. It includes information, structure, applications and Content Management Systems that controls everything within the website. Backlink A backlink is a link attached to any element within another websites page that links to your own site. Also known as track backs, these links play a great role in increasing your site's web search engine ranking. Bandwidth Bandwidth refers either to the rate the data can be delivered or the total amount of data transferable from a web host on a given time. Measured in bits-per-sec, kilobits-per-sec and other metric measurements, bandwidth can affect how fast your website loads. Bounce Rate Bounce rate refers to the number of people who browse your website without clicking any other page. This percentage commonly reflects the beauty of your website navigation and content. When your bounce rate goes high, it would only spell something wrong. Breadcrumbs Breadcrumbs refer to the small elements found in the website's navigation. They commonly appear near the top of the webpage and shows the pages, sub-pages and other directories the said page is placed. Example, in a website's breadcrumbs, you see: Home>Blog>Web Design>Inspiration>Post. Cache Cache are files that are saved, copied or downloaded from the website by your browser to increase the load time the site is visited, it will load faster. Content Management System CMS as it is famously known, these are backend tools for managing a website's content. It also separates the content from the design itself and the functions. DNS A DNS or Domain Name Service's main function is to convert your IP address into domain names. DNS servers are commonly provided with the IP of your website when you purchase a web host. e-Commerce Electric commerce or e-Commerce refers to the usage of websites to buy or sell goods. Transactions in E-commerce websites can be physical services or products delivered using email or direct download. Em An em is a unit used to measure fonts and other web elements within a webpage that relates to its parent. 1em is equal to the point size for the font defined within the parent element. Fold The fold is the point on the webpage that is shown initially. Anything that you see below the fold are the elements you see when you scroll down. Front-end A website's front-end refers to the components of the website that the visitors see. These are pages, images, content and UI. Hexadecimal Hexadecimals, also called "hex" numbers are a base-16 numbering system used to identify colors. These numbers include the numerals 0-9 and letters A-F. They are written in three set of hex pairs: the first pair defines the red hue, the second green and the third blue. .htaccess The .htaccess file is a default configuration of the apache server. The configurations contained within the .htaccess determine which file is placed. HTML HyperText Markup Language is the primary language understood by web pages. HTML is intended to provide the framework and content of website. HTTP HyperText Transfer Protocol is a set of rules in order to transfer requests between browsers and servers. HTTPS HyperText Transfer Protocol over SSL (Secure Socket Layer) are set of rules for transferring requests from a browser to the server (and vice versa) only that it uses a secure and encrypted connection. Landing Page A landing page is the page the visitors see when they enter the website. Landing pages are specifically designed to call action from the new visitor. Meta Data A meta data is a data contained in the header that shows the information about a web page the visitor is on. Permalink A permalink or "permanent link" is used on blogs to define the permanent address of a given blog-post. Plugin Plugins are any bit of third party codes that extend or increase the capabilities of the website. Plugins go with CMS or blogging platforms and make it easier for the developer to have functions added over time without re-coding the website. Really Simple Syndication RSS or Really Simple Syndication is referred to as the standardized XML format that allows content to be syndicated between two or more websites. Resolution Resolution is used to define the number of pixels displayed in the screen. Script These are portions of code in an HTML page that adds dynamism and interactivity. Web Server A web server is a computer software that allows a computer to host websites, web and web pages to make them available anywhere. The Web Design Process When web designers acquire clients, they follow a series of steps. These steps organize their work and allows them to monitor their own progress as each step is completed. Here are the six steps in the web design process: Research The first step in any web design project is to gather information that may help you in designing. Obviously, the information will allow you to understand the target audience, the possible content and design of the website, all of which are necessary to make the website successful in the future. Here are a few things you need to consider: Purpose Goals Target Audience Projected Content Planning Planning is one of the most important steps in this process because it's in the step where the concept of the project is built. This also requires constant communication with the client to determine the details of the project that will be retained or removed. Design Proper This is the step where you make ideas real. In this stage, web designers plot the ideas approved by the client into functional visual representations. Here are a few sub-steps: Wireframing Mockup Creation Designing Re-designing Slicing and Coding Development In this stage, the web designer becomes more like a shadow as the developer takes over. Because it includes a lot of programming and content creation, this process can be very complicated and distressing. Codes need to be organized, commented and referred to the original concept. Conclusion As this article ends, I hope you learned a lot. For newbies, web design is very daunting. But it takes patience, skill and some hard work to become successful web designers. Remember, all web design experts started like you are right now – newbies. If they did it, why can't you? Good luck. If you have questions, feel free to ask at the comment section below.

AwesomeWeb! Secrets Unveiled to Gain More Clients in No Time Posted: 02 Sep 2014 01:00 AM PDT Are you unhappy with the lack of clients you are getting as a freelance web designer? Why don’t you try changing your style and start increasing the number of your clients. It may be a big step but, it will surely satisfy you. Your biggest challenge as a freelancer is finding more of them! Introducing AwesomeWeb! We know, we asked, and we understood the need for a great place that connects freelancers with clients but we couldn't find a good solution to recommend. Existing job boards, crowd sourcing sites and freelance marketplaces all seem to undervalue designers and serve clients with cheap solutions. Then we spoke with a few of our entrepreneur friends and guess what? The hardest part for them is finding talented designers and developers! The world needs a better way to find the perfect designer or developer. And freelancers need a better way to get more and  better clients. We believe we’ve created that better way. It's called AwesomeWeb! To kick it off with a boom, we invited 12 of the best designers and developers on the Internet to help mentor you! …and these are the best designers and developers that you could find from around the globe! The Problem with Finding More Clients After climbing through every job board, crowd sourcing site, and freelance marketplace we could find, they all had one thing in common- they all catered to the client while putting up a barrier between you and them. Job boards allow clients to post projects that generally go to the lowest bidder. Crowd sourcing sites attract the low-end clients who expect hundreds of designers to work for free. The big freelance marketplaces are flooded with agencies who have worked for thousands of clients. How are you supposed to compete? Maybe they're right. Maybe there's a reason they all appeal to the client. Maybe that's the best way to maximize profits and build out their companies. But we believe there is a large and growing group of under-served entrepreneurs, designers, and developers who value quality over cost, people who want to make the web more awesome. The Feedback from Beta Testers Earlier this month we started beta testing the site. People loved it! We had over 300 applications for 20-30 spots. They couldn't wait to get in, create their accounts and showcase their work. …and here’s the launching of a marketplace to search for awesome web designers and developers! Email after email started rolling in. "That is an awesome idea, honestly. Your work should have a fair chance in the market and the client should come to you, rather than being pressured into hiring the big dog. I feel that is one of the major areas that Elance and Freelancer went wrong. They made it to where companies came in and basically took over the market (having employees posing as freelancers) because they were able to approach the client, rather than the other way around. Sure, they had to be invited in the end, after presenting a proposal…but when they dress up their proposal with less than minimum wage rates and 'thousands of websites built to date', how is a single freelancer supposed to compete with that?" ~ Andrew R., designer "Right now, I believe that the bar is set pretty low on popular sites like oDesk, Freelancer, etc. I get the feeling that your project wants to change that." ~ Liviu M., designer "I am all for helping expand opportunities for designers and clients to meet in a forum that is fair to both. I was a Codeable vendor and resigned due to policies that only favored the client and not the designer." ~ Jonathan F., designer "Too many companies are conned into using services like PeoplePerHour or Fiverr and end up with substandard work." ~ Simon P., designer "I am all for better way to connect the right web designers to the right clients. It shouldn’t take scouring Google, Craigslist, oDesk, or Freelancer for days just to find a good web designer. Let’s make it fast, simple, and easy" ~ Charley L., designer Talented designers from around the world are clamoring for a better solution. We're Like You. We’ve been there… Before we tell you what we have built, we want to share our partner Nicholas Tart's story because it is important for you to know where we're coming from and why we created this project: "As a freelance web designer and front-end developer, it took me two years to build up a modest client base. I started at $15 per hour, built a few sites, increased my rate, built a few more sites, and increased my rate again. The cycle continued but it could've happened much faster. I was nowhere near capacity. So I started looking into my options. I hated the concept of crowdsourcing. I'd rather focus on my side projects than work for a 1-in-100 chance at getting paid. Then I looked through the freelance marketplaces and found nothing but a sea of $100 projects. I'm sure these sites work for some people, but it wasn't for me. Without finding anything that could help, I continued to take on a few clients per year while managing my existing clients. I was able to pay my bills but my days were never full with billable work. I could only imagine what it'd be like working at $50-100 per hour, 40 hours per week. And to have enough work coming in that I could start turning clients away. It'd be a dream! There was nowhere for a freelancer like me. Someone who has several years of experience building $3K – $10K websites, who was only a few $10K projects away from opening up an agency or being able to focus on my side projects part time. That's when I started working with Michael and Dainis on this project called AwesomeWeb! ~ Nicholas Tart The Beginnings of AwesomeWeb …these are the faces of the amazing and brilliant people who designed and created AwesomeWeb. In January of this year I met with Nick and Michael Dunlop at a cabin in New Forest, England to establish the foundation of what is now AwesomeWeb. Michael Dunlop (founder of IncomeDiary and PopupDomination) is well-known in the Internet marketing community. His software has been viewed over a billion times. The number one question he receives is "Can you recommend a good designer?" We set out to build a simple freelance marketplace for people who do and need awesome work. The concept is built on three principles: If you're a website owner, it should be simple to find talent and choose who you work with. If you're a freelancer, you should be hired based on the merits of your work. The purpose of a freelance marketplace is to connect clients and freelancers with the perfect clients and freelancers. …without barriers. Our developer, Stefanos Ioannou, happened to be in the UK at the time, so he joined us for a weekend. Then I told them about my designer, Michael Burns, who we brought into the project just a few hours later. We had our team. We had our foundation. It was just a matter of building it. Easy right? How Does AwesomeWeb Work? How would you like to focus on building awesome websites without worrying about finding new clients? Not only that, how would you like to choose your clients rather than begging them to choose you? …different design styles brought by the awesomeness of AwesomeWeb developers. AwesomeWeb is a subscription-based freelance marketplace. For a flat $17 per month, you'll be able to create an account, choose your skills, upload a few projects, request endorsements and sit back as clients sell themselves to you. No more percentage of project fees. No more waiting for a Big Brother marketplace to hand you a measly project. If you have the skills that clients are looking for, and you have the portfolio to back it up, clients will contact you. If they don't, leave within 90 days and we'll give you your money back. One good client will pay for your account for life. In a few short weeks, we'll be opening AwesomeWeb to a limited number of freelancers. In the meantime, make sure you enter to win an AwesomeWeb Scholarship below. Back to Our Launch Contest To commemorate our launch and give back to you, we've asked 12 of the world's most talented designers and developers to mentor 12 lucky winners! It's called the AwesomeWeb Scholarship! These designers have stepped up in a big way to give you an hour of their time: Nick La, Web Designer Wall Paul Jarvis, pjrvs.com Adelle Charles, Bitly Jacob Cass, JUST Creative Those were just the first four, care to check out more of them in here! …AwesomeWeb just gets more awesome every minute; you can gain a scholarship slot here from the world’s best mentors! When Michael, Nick, and I were on a walk out in New Forest back in January, we brainstormed on how to launch AwesomeWeb. We considered an iPad giveaway, but that would've been gimmicky and overdone. Then we thought about giving away 100 of the best design and development books. It would've been better, but what if we could give people the chance to talk directly to the authors of those books? Nothing is more valuable than the time and wisdom of a mentor. So that's what we went with. It took a lot of work to get these people onboard, but they're ready and excited to help. Click here to enter the AwesomeWeb Scholarship! Let's make the web more awesome!

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