As more and more people become aware of the internet and its potential, the more we begin to trust it as a reliable source of information and advertisement. The growing need to create flashy, eye catching graphics for web sites/pages that stand out from the crowd has lead to a hugely competitive industry that has gone from strength to strength (ever since the internet was first introduced), and is so successful today that it employs a large percentage of the UK's population.
When you view an actual website you will find that it consists of a number of pages in which a user will browse through using a number of links (hyper links) in order to get to the information they require. Each page of a website displays content and images which will relate to a single or even a group of subjects.
Web Site Designers
It is a web designers job to design and build web pages in a way that suites their customers. A web designer will do this by first designing a website template (using design software such as Photoshop or Illustrator) to give an idea of just how the website will look, if the customer is happy they will then proceed to build it.
Although web pages display on your computer in the form of images and text, they are in fact made up of a series of coded languages such as HTML, CSS, and XHTML etc. Your computer will interpret this information and displays it accordingly on your computer.
Web designers will either know how to write this code or will build their sites using a software package (i.e. Dreamweaver) to generate the necessary code in order to display the pages on the internet.
Web Design Software
There are many programmes out there for web designers to be able to design, build and upload to the internet. Here are but a few examples:
Adobe Photoshop Software - a web designer will use this software to design the layout of the pages of a site.
Dreamweaver Design Programme - this software is what a web designer will use to put together their website. This software generates the code for web pages, but also allows a knowledgeable web designer to adjust the code manually.
FTP Programme - FTP stands for file transfer protocol and is a program which web designers will use to upload their finished pages to a server, where it will then be available for people to view provided all is well with the site.
Flash Animation - Flash is software that allows its users to produce animations that appear in websites.