Just starting out in Web Design, quick question

[csykes290]

Hi, I'd like to start off by saying this site is amazing and i have already learned alot in just a few days.I have a few questions, anyone who would be willing to answer them would be greatly appreciated!first off, i want to start as soon as possible learning the necessary software i will need to start a career as a freelancer. So my question is, what do you are the barebones minimum programs to have to start taking on projects?I've heard dreamweaver and flash is enough to start... Is this true? What would you guys reccomend to make a good started kit of software so i can get started? P.S. I have both mac and pc, but i'd much prefer to work on my Mac.after looking over the Adobe website, it seems there are many different versions or components to flash? Flash Builder? Flash Catalyst? Im not sure what these programs do, i have only worked in Flash itself at school in the media lab. So if someone could clear this up for me thatd be awesome!So the basic question is: What programs would you reccomend to begin taking on freelance projects? again, I'd prefer to work on my macbook pro, rather than my PC.

[thescientist]

I'd say you essentially need:1) a simple text editor (see the pinned topic on recommended text editors for your OS) - no dreamweaver required2) a good set of references (like w3Schools)3) a good development environment (something like Firefox w/Firebug)4) Other browsers for testing (Chrome/Safari/IE)5) some sort of AMP stack (so you can test PHP/MySQL locally when you get to that point)6) a good FTP client when its time to take those local projects livenothing fancy, nothing complicated. It's best to start of with the basics, understand the principles of good coding and designing practices and then move into the directions/languages that suite your tastes. Start off with HTML/CSS, then try out some JavaScript, and then get into some back-end development, is one possible track for instance. If you're really into graphic design, then you might want to get into Flash sooner. Learning to write clean, semantic code is essential though no matter what road you go down. Learn to recognize what makes a valid web document, understand when to use HTML vs. XHTML, why to use a doctype, etc.

[csykes290]

I greatly appreciate your input!A few people have told me that programs like Dreamweaver are helpful but i should not rush to drop the cash on them because (just like you said) i should learn to hand code inside and out first before even thinking about using a WYSIWYG editor. So im going to take your advice and not worry about that just yet. I must ask what you mean by "back end development", havent heard that phrase yet?and i also dont know what the "AMP stack" means either, if you could explain that a little further i'd pretty much owe you coffee for a week or something!

[csykes290]

Also, could you point me in the direction of the pinned topic you spoke of about the best text editors for each OS? Which forum is it in i cant seem to find it! Thanks in advance again! =D

[jeffman]

The back-end is your server. A lot of professionals have a development server on their desktop, but that means learning how to be a sysop as well as a web developer. If you want to go that way, no problem. But you can also rent pretty cheap server space, complete with PHP and mysql, and leave that other set of headaches for someone else.

[jeffman]

IMO, the best free editors are notepad++ for Windows and TextWrangler for the Mac. Lots of great features for free.

[thescientist]

AMP = A.M.P. = Apache / MySQL / PHPit is a bundle of the various software you will need to emulate a web server (Apache) on your local machine (your computer) so that you can run a particular server-side scripting language (PHP), which also has the benefit of interacting with the RDBMS (database) MySQL. (SQL being a language construct enabling one to store, retrieve, update, etc information in a database.)If you have Windows, you would get WAMP (Windows + AMP) stack, if you had OSX, you would get a MAMP (Macintosh + AMP) stack. That's what I use. Google MAMP since you indicated you preferred environment is to be OSX.Back end development refers to work that is done typically involving the use of a server-side scripting language (PHP, ASP) and database, which if taken from the users (an average person using the web) appears to be working behind the scenes, where as a language like Javascript runs client-side (in the users browser).http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/...nd-development/

[ShadowMage]

A few people have told me that programs like Dreamweaver are helpful but i should not rush to drop the cash on them because (just like you said) i should learn to hand code inside and out first before even thinking about using a WYSIWYG editor. So im going to take your advice and not worry about that just yet. ...and i also dont know what the "AMP stack" means either, if you could explain that a little further i'd pretty much owe you coffee for a week or something!

I don't recommend a WYSIWYG editor for the simple fact that they often generate excess, confusing, or invalid code. Plain text editors are the way to go, so long as they also have features like auto-indentation and syntax highlighting. (The pinned topic scientist referred to is here: http://w3schools.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=760)As for the AMP (Apache, MySQL, PHP) stack, that's your essentials for setting up your own webserver. There are a variety of them available depending on your platform (for example: XAMP - for unix/linux and WAMP - for Windows [somebody correct me if I'm wrong on those] )

[csykes290]

Thank you all for your input! Big help and i appreciate you guys helping a newb like myself, i hope in another month or two i can call myself intermediate instead of a newb! =)

[thescientist]

Thank you all for your input! Big help and i appreciate you guys helping a newb like myself, i hope in another month year or two i can call myself intermediate instead of a newb! =)

one step at a time...

[ShadowMage]

I'd say one could reach an intermediate level within a couple months. It's the expert levels that take years.

[mnkn]

To be honest, it's useful to work for a company for a while before freelancing, as you can learn things like project management and be aware of the unforeseen stumbling blocks, plus get some on-the-job training without the fear that you are taking on more than you are capable of. The freelancing life is certainly something to aim for (no alarm clocks, no boss!) - but I think it's foolish to do so until you consider yourself a professional at what you are selling (and, from your questions, I assume you are still learning.)Lots of knowledge is more important than lots of software. That said...If you google "open source version of.." and the name of the Adobe software, you can normally find a good free alternative - eg Gimp instead of Photoshop.Flash is a rarity in commercial sites, so you probably won't need to learn that, and I can see HTML5 killing it.And I agree with the person above about WYSIWYG editors - the code they generate is usually not to a professional standard.