How to Become a Web Designer Online
If you enjoy tinkering around with the computer, designing graphics and setting up websites, a career in web design may be a match. Web designers are involved with everything from a website's brainstorming through implementing the code and framework to support the site online. Students who prefer to learn web design from home will find a variety of programs offering training through online learning. Begin your web design career by completing a degree online and tackling the job market.
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Instructions
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Education
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Determine the type of degree you're interested in seeking, such as an associate or a bachelor's degree in web design. Review the commitments for the degrees; an associate degree is usually a two-year program at a local community college, whereas a bachelor's degree is a four-year commitment at a standard university. According to State University, there is no one required degree course for web designers; consider contacting a company you'd like to work at to ask whether they have any educational requirements.
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Check the school's admission requirements to ensure you qualify; most schools require a high school diploma, others may accept a GED. Select from an online chapter of a standard bricks-and-mortar school or an entirely distance-only college.
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Set up your home computer or office to fulfill all of the technical requirements for completing your program online. Hardware and software necessities may include the Adobe Creative Suite, Windows Media Player, Adobe Acrobat, anti-virus software, a minimum of Pentium 4 CPU, color printer, DVD burner, digital camera, digital drawing tablet, scanner and Internet connection (high speed may be required). Students in the associate of graphic design online program at DeVry must have a minimum of 2 GB RAM, minimum 160 GB hard drive and minimum 512 MB memory.
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Take online courses such as the ones offered by the Art Institute of Pittsburgh's online division, covering topics such as web imaging techniques, digital audio, fundamentals of design, interactive authoring, advanced image manipulation, introduction to programming, basic web scripting, computer animation, video for interactive media and writing for multimedia.
Job Search
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Imagine the type of web design position you want, such as full-time or freelance. Full-time employees usually work for a single company, have a regular salary without overtime and may get benefits such as healthcare and retirement plans. Freelance employees may be paid by the hour or project, receive no benefits and may work for multiple companies.
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Begin your search for full-time work by checking job databases such as Monster, Career Builder and Dice. Post your resume, with information about your schooling and experiences, on these sites so employers can find you. Narrow job searches to your local area and expand from there.
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Seek freelance work entirely or while you're looking for a full-time position. To find freelance jobs, search sites such as Guru, Rentacoder and Elance, where you may have to bid on a job by quoting how much you'd charge for the web design project or submit your resume and links to any websites you've created.
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Network both online and in your community. Use social messaging and job networking sites such as LinkedIn to let people know you're looking for your next web design project. If you joined any college design organizations such as Lambda Iota Pi, the national design honor society, review their online jobs databases reserved just for members.
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Contact businesses in your neighborhood without a web presence and propose creating their websites for a reduced fee. This gives you experience and portfolio links, plus possible referrals and references for other jobs. Brainstorm stores or organizations you frequent and know well. Set up a quick main page for the site and show the owners how you could help drive business their way.
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Tips & Warnings
Credits at a standard university or college cost more than those from a community college; some students choose to take their first two years of a degree at a community college and apply those associate degree courses to a four-year bachelor's program. For example, a credit of tuition at DeVry's associate degree program costs $350 and there are 67 credits required in the program, which results in a total schooling cost (tuition only) of $23,450. At the Art Institute's bachelor program, tuition costs $458 per credit, with a total program requirement of 190 credits for four years, totalling a tuition cost of $87,020 (this figure does not include a $100 lab fee per course). These figures are valid as of June 2010.
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