Web design can be daunting and complex, but with the rapid development of technology and increased Internet usage, the website design industry has grown. It comes as no surprise then that more individuals are looking to be web users.

What are the types of web design?

The common types of web designs are:

• Enterprise official website design.
• E-commerce visual design.
• Activity projects web design.
• New product promotion design.
• Background control web page UI design.

Chances are, you’ve come across these types of websites on the web at some point.

How to learn web design

There are a lot of styles, web pages and programs available today, which makes choosing where to start from seem very complicated. Thankfully, there are a couple of beginner-friendly courses available they can help you get started. Start by mastering the basics of CSS and HTML before moving on to more advanced web design languages, for example, JavaScript.

Please note that before you can become a great web designer you would have to love the entire design process and components -fonts, colours, typography and every component of design. Great website design companies approach design as a lifestyle, not a job and they find beauty in everything.

What are the skills aspiring designers need to know

If you intend to pursue a career in web development and design, there are a couple of skills that you should acquire:

UX/UI (usability): Great design isn’t the only components that matter in web design, understanding how design works for users is also an important component.

Coding: CSS and HTML are important even if you only intend to do visual aspects. Understanding how to code can make it easier for you to make changes while designing.

Illustrator/photoshop: These are essentially the backbone of web design. And it is you who would be required to understand how this software works in the web design industry.

Design theory: Design fundamentals, balance, basics of design, colour, rhythm and shape.

Other web design skills you’ll need include:

• Understanding the principles of visual design.
• Familiarity with the user group and company products.
• SEO rules.
• Colour combination.
• Interaction design.

Free online web design courses

Alison’s web development

It is easy to earn a diploma in web design with this easy-to-understand, nine-part course that begins with the basics of creating a usable fully formed website. Alison covers CSS, Adobe Dreamweaver and HTML. You will also learn about building, design and publishing basic web pages in this course. For new designers, this is a great design course.

Don’t Fear The Internet

This course is aimed at individuals (like photographers and designers) in the creative industry. It is set up in a way that makes learning web programming easy for the creative professional.

If you own a website that has top-notch work but is poorly designed, this is the right course for you to learn to improve your website’s design. The course is made up of seven, easy-to-digest videos that teach you web programming skills you can use to improve website design.

Code avengers

There are more than a hundred lessons on this website. You can find videos on the basics and then move up to embedding and designing JavaScript as well as create online apps. The materials on this site can be used to teach yourself or others.

Pro tip: take a look at the glossary of terms that are provided because it would be difficult to understand some of the content in the video if you do not understand what the words mean.

Learn layout

Learn layout is a website that is tailored for individuals who already have some knowledge regarding web designs but would like to improve on it. Courses are designed with the assumption that you have a basic to intermediate knowledge, so terms and concepts are not explained in detail. However, you are given access to many slides – rich in information that you can view at your own speed.

Code School

This is a great website for beginners who are not passionate about web designing. This course is set up with themes and games that make learning web design easy with minimal effort. The only downside is that it comprises of only eight introduction course; however, it is still great for beginners with little or no experience.