Graphic Designer- is it worth it to learn web design too?

I have a job in graphic design now.

I am interested in learning web design too but it's expensive. Is it worth it to learn? How is business for it?

Also, someone told me you dont necessarily need to learn coding these days and you can mainly work off of templates. I dont necessarily fall for that but is it somewhat true?

it makes you significantly more marketable, I would say. I only do print, and loose jobs because of it. I dont have the time, interest or brainspace for coding right now, but somewhere down the line I may be ready for the investment of time and energy, I do think it would be worthwhile.

personally, I think if you are doing something professionally, you should really know what you are doing. I wouldnt feel comfortable saying I could do web design if I couldnt code on my own. I once did the web design for a client who had someone else do the coding. that other person was using some kind of short-cut (I think it was called wordpress), and everuything I designed she would say it was 'impossible to code'. I eventually made an excuse, and quit the project. it was that frustrating.

Moderator Joined: Mar 29 2005 Posts: 18289

Wordpress is a CMS (content management system) in that you don't need to know HTML to get a good site going, but HTML can help.

That being said, I don't think you need to code if you won't be doing web design, but you should have experience in what websites will need with your graphic design.
For example, if you design a client's logo, you may be asked to design a header for their site. I've had experiences where the graphic designer gave the images in PDF form which is not usable on the web.
_________________
http://a-natural-birth.com
Let me know privately what you would like to see on this; I'm still working on it Smile

Complimentary ad for being a mod

Platinum Member Joined: Apr 12 2010 Posts: 5784

I think so.
I learnt both together in a course and it plays off each other (iykwim).
If you already know graphics, web design is in my opinion a very good business opportunity.
_________________

OP here- also, how is the web design freelance business out there?

I figured that it should be easier for me to make nice looking web sites since I already have a design background.

I do print only (and I teach at Maalot Baltimore), although I do know how to prepare images for web. I am learning web design now, but do not expect to become sufficiently proficient to market that skill.

Having said that, I'm in my 50's and have plenty of business doing print graphics and and also space planning (as in doing kitchen design and space planning, which is my true passion). I would encourage a young graphic artist to become competent at web, or illustration techniques, or photography, or any other segment of the business you believe you can excel in. It will expand your marketability.
_________________

The 2012-2013 Balabusta's Daily Organizer: in stores now!
~Paid ad~

Silver Member Joined: May 18 2011 Posts: 620

Web design is definitely good to learn, but you have to remember that it's way more expansive nowadays than just learning one language, such as HTML. I used to be "with it" when it came to new web design technologies, but it kind of exploded in the last 3 years and there is so much to learn that I'd recommend finding a specialty within in. For example, Wordpress is a blogging/content management system that is very common and very diverse, so getting familiar with it is enough to earn a living alone. You do need some sort of coding knowledge to understand how to customize existing templates, but it's pretty basic and you can almost always Google the answer.

However, designing for a Wordpress site is very different than designing a website from scratch. Even if you don't do the coding yourself, it's definitely worth it to learn how to design for the web, which just functions differently than designing for print.

There are many designers who get by with only using templates and the like, but in my opinion, you still need to learn enough coding skills to be able to troubleshoot what is going on if something goes wrong.

There are always freelance jobs, but when it comes to web design, you have to keep up with the times, because websites can become obsolete very quickly, or your client may want a new feature, or a redesign. I'd say it's worth it to at least start learning by looking up tutorials online, but I wouldn't spend money on a course until you know that you have a real interest in it. That being said, if you DO take a course, make sure it's one familiar with current web technologies (like PHP, Javascript, Flash coding etc.) and not just basic HTML, because virtually nothing is designed based on that nowadays.

Moderator Joined: Jun 05 2011 Posts: 3375

OP,

I think you should definitely learn web design. You can probably take a month to teach it all to yourself via youtube tutorials without paying for a course, if that's your hesiation.

Very often clients will want to run an advertising campaign in print and online.

Customizing Wordpress templates or themes is a great business model; I pay someone in the midwest $40/hour to do customizations for my Wordpress sites, and I'm sure he really could be charging me much more.

I just want to add- I have trouble with languages. The only subject I ever nearly failed in my life, was French. And that being said, I taught myself the basics of html through W3schools and similar sites/tutorials over a week or so. Whenever I get stuck, I simply google around for a solution. If you'll do this as a business, you want to know it way better than I do; I just want to let you know that it's not an intimidating thing to learn!
_________________
Visit HelpEllen.com whenever you shop at Amazon.com!

~complimentary ad for being a mod:)