Do I need any “programming ability” to become a web designer?

Question

It is well known among teachers that some people can program, and some cannot. They just don't have the mindset for that. In a peanut shell, I want to ask if the same is true for web design.

I have a friend who is a good designer in general and can create pretty nice websites with a WYSIWYG editor, such as Dreamweaver. But, since we are starting a general project, I would like someone to "get their hands dirty": work with html and css code directly. For many reasons, I am sure you understand. Now I am going to incite him to study, but I do not know what are the chances of success.

So, do you also need some “programming abilities” to profess css and html, or is it just a training issue for a regular designer?

I would especially like to hear the specific experience of web designers.

PS I intentionally do not use JavaScript, let it be simple

Answer 1

Top Web Designers . I have worked with a bit of html but don't use it when developing sites. They do their job at PhotoShop (a minority will use GIMP). The reality is that I would prefer that they focus on laying out attractive websites, rather than trying to encode them and lay out the site on the fly.

A web designer is absolutely not the same person as a web developer. This person has a skill set designed to transform designers into a set of working html / css templates.

Let me make it clear that I'm not saying that there is no crossover between the two sets of skills, but rather that very few people will be excellent both in design and development. If you are willing to accept less stellar results, at least make sure you enter the project with your eyes open.

Answer 2

Not at all. HTML is not a programming language, it is a markup language. It does not have to take a long time to figure it out; I did this when I was 12 years old. I personally think that you need to be better, as I put it ... an artist for website design than a programmer.

Of course, websites are now much more interactive, and for this you will need some server-side scripts (PHP, ASP, etc.) and Javascript - and these are real programming languages.

Answer 3

A web designer who cannot convey HTML / CSS code is not a web designer. The lack of such skills shows more ability problems (wanting to improve self-esteem). graphic designer + front-end developer does not always work well, because the likelihood that the developer does not have an eye for details in the design, such as margin, line-height, text kerning, etc. transform interactive elements.

edit: This topic has already been discussed in the web design community for some time. You can find interesting links on the blog I wrote about this issue.

Answer 4

you’re much better off knowing how to encode HTML / CSS / Javascript on a site before talking about the awesome with the WYSIWYG editor. Of course, you can use the software to create a beautiful website, but when it comes to it, how do you solve cross-browser issues? How to add dynamic content (even without the server side), the WYSIWYG editor is similar to creating a website in powerpoint or word, but much more skills. Although without the support of knowledge you are not going to go far.

As for learning simple HTML / CSS, it's pretty easy to simply mark it up to understand. But then more comes with this, learning how SEO is simple HTML, for example. There is always more to a site than HTML / CSS to be successful.

Answer 5

It is like a question about life; I suspect that this is true in almost everything. I think it can be difficult to understand that someone can program without seeing what they are actually trying to program for a while. Many people have to fight him for a while before “AHA!”. moment is reached.

However, I don’t think that design skills and reluctance to work with CSS and HTML necessarily correlate with programming ability as such. Of course, these two are not mutually exclusive,

Answer 6

It is not necessary for a designer to be able to program / markup / code in HTML or CSS. However, it is important for the designer to know the current restrictions imposed by HTML / CSS. With what is becoming more dynamic, it is also important for the designer to understand how everything will interact with each other. For example, you cannot become a real architect without being aware of the restrictions imposed by a civil engineer.

But this. It’s not important for a good designer to even know Dreamweaver or Photoshop or other software :)

Answer 7

I am a university professor and I also wrote both computer programs and HTML. Although I teach math, I understand the essence of learning computer programming. Although it might seem that there is no gray area between programming and no gray areas, I would say that writing in a markup language is one thing. You should not divide the world into “banks” and “can'ts” with such a question.

If he’s a bright guy at all, yes, you should encourage him to learn HTML and CSS. I would not advocate it as a thing that real men do, or the greatest thing after sliced ​​bread. Rather, my argument would be to have a more complete picture of what, after all, he was already doing. Just as a rider does not have to pick up a key, but knowing what to do with it is useful for a deeper understanding. If you offer your friend a positive sale, the worst that can happen is that he will say no and not take your advice. And who knows, he might like it.

Many people either cannot program, or simply do not use it, but do not mind writing in markup. Most research mathematicians today write their articles directly in the TeX / LaTeX markup language, which in some ways is very similar to HTML. Some mathematicians also like to write computer programs, but most of them do not. If they like it, there is a good chance that they would end up in Silicon Valley. In fact, in my profession, the whole question of whether or not to write markup, or whether or not can write programs, is out of date. We have long been accustomed to a continuous range of abilities.

Answer 8

In my opinion, you may not have enough knowledge about this when you do any computer design or software implementation.

The more you know about underlying technology, the better you will work with the higher-level structures and constraints in which you live.

Even if you work only in Photoshop to create a website, having knowledge of what works and what will be more difficult in HTML / CSS / Whatever creates an advantage for you when developing this website over someone who does not Know these details.

Of course, with knowledge there are limitations that can be bad on their own. Some of the best new technologies were built by people who did not know that almost everyone else believed that what they were trying to do was impossible.

But I still think more knowledge = Good Thing ™

Answer 9

Creating a website, especially a commercial website, includes many different skill sets.

For backup, you need:

System administration, database administration,

Web application development (any time a site becomes interactive) requires server-side programming skills and knows various tools such as (PHP, Java, ASP, Perl, C, C #, pick-flavor-of-the-month -server-side- language) and on the client side requires knowledge of browser markup languages ​​and browser-side markup languages ​​(HTML, javascript, CSS ...)

Web design requires artistic visual skills and related tools (graphics programs)

Web content requires language skills (Knowledge of how to read, translate, etc.).

Website optimization requires knowledge of how to make websites attractive to various readers and audiences (both human and robotic).

A professional site includes several people working in tandem to collect all of the above together in different quantities.

If you are going to pursue a career, you need to know a little about all aspects of this space, and then keep track of what really excites you. Therefore, if someone creates visually appealing content well, they should simply plan the content and work with someone to “program” their vision on the site.

Learning tools and knowledge of the various components are good because it speaks of the boundaries and areas of the playing field, but you do not need to know all this in order to achieve professional competence in one specialization.