Become an Effective Website Developer

• Improve your job and business prospects.
  
  
• Learn more about website development.
  
  
• Use HTML, ASP.net, HTML, SQL, Visual Studio.net and much much more.
  
  
• Study at your own pace in your own home. 

Course Duration:   600 hours

COURSE STRUCTURE

Six modules, as follows:

Writing a Web Site (HTML)

1. Introduction to the Internet and HTML
2. The most important HTML Tags
3. Simplification through HTML Construction Software
4. Creating Links
5. Loading a Site onto the Internet
6. Adding Graphics
7. Designing a Website that Works
8. Advanced Features

E Commerce

1. Introduction - what is e-commerce (more than the internet)
2. Success and failure - what makes the difference
3. Promotional strategies - are different on the internet
4. Optimizing website potential
5. Increasing website exposure
6. Automating supply of goods, services and cash flow
7. Managing constant change
8. Dealing with e-commerce problems

Digital Photography

1. Introduction To Digital Technology
2. Equipment
3. Digital Technology - Colour, resolution, sensors
4. Digital Cameras
5. Taking Photographs
6. Scanners
7. Uploading Images
8. The Digital Darkroom
9. Compositing & Imaging - Production & manipulation of images
10. Special Effects
11. Outputs & Applications- Printers, The Internet

Graphic Design

Graphics are a big part of any website and this course helps you understand both the options, and how to effectively use graphics.

ASP.NET

ASP.net is a program used to develop websites. It has very real advantages over HTML (which is more widely used) and other website programs (eg. It will download sites much faster, and search engines are likely to rank ASP.net programs higher than others).

Visual Basic Programming

WORKING AS A WEBSITE DEVELOPER

Website developers work with businesses and organisations to design, create, maintain and manage websites of all types.

Some developers are employed in house by medium or larger organisations, where the website may be a significant part of the organisation's overall business (eg. online retailers, online publishers). In such cases, they may be working on the same small group of websites, so the nature of the work may be more maintenance and improvement, and less development.

Most of the work done by web developers involves a combination of hey work with scripting languages and programming; but it can also involve many other things (eg. graphic design, audio engineering, photography, video production, marketing, search engine optimisation, writing page content, editing, and more).

Individuals just starting into this industry, once they develop some useful skills, will often find part time employment either on a contract or casual basis, developing websites.
 
The most successful web developers are often small business operators, either working alone or employing no more than a handful of specialists (for example programmers, graphic artists/designers).
 
Some larger operations (for example marketing/advertising firms) will employ web developers to service their clients.
 
Self employed web developers can command very high hourly fees if they are able to create and maintain a site that performs for their client. Often the difficulty is in being able to show success though. A site that gets a lot of traffic will not be successful if it is the wrong type of traffic. If your client is trying to sell high priced goods in highly developed countries, traffic from underdeveloped countries, where there are few customers, will be of little value.

Obviously, it is impossible for 100% of programmers to be in the top 10%; but if you can combine skills in I.T., with an understanding of commerce, an awareness of the core purpose of the site, and an innovative approach - you will have a good chance of setting your work apart from the competition, and attracting site visitors that your competitors don't attract.

People who can program fast, without mistakes, and in desirable languages (eg. ASP.Net) are in demand and will get work easier, and should be able to earn as much if not more than other professions (eg. A medical doctor). You don’t walk into the ultimate job without experience though.Your first work is more likely to be irregular and paid at a relatively low rate; but in this field, the opportunity to advance to a highly paid position within a few years of starting out certainly exists for those who can demonstrate appropriate skills.

Risks and challenges
Though there are many people who learn to program computers (and websites), there are many unemployed programmers. Often this is because the programmer has learnt languages which are not in demand. This is an industry where being up to date is absolutely critical!

Other challenges a website develop may face include:

• Meeting Deadlines (Don’t over commit, and remember things can go wrong; so give yourself some breathing space) 
• Not updating programming skills 
• Staying up to date (eg. aware of industry developments, SEO changes, competitor activity, software updates, etc) 
• Network security (eg. virus protection)
• IT or power failures 
• Standard business risks such as cash flow, market competition, staffing, etc. 

Becoming a Web Developer

Finding work is often easier than finding well paid and consistent work. Sustainability of a career depends upon how good you are, and particularly on having a broad base of skills. Programmers who specialize too much may earn big money for a short time; but they must be able to adapt to other things when the industry changes.

Website developers often begin by studying a course such as this. Qualifications rarely matter a lot; but the amount of learning you have matters a great deal.
 
The most successful website developers are likely to be:

• Self employed 
• Good communicators (in writing, verbally, on the phone and in person)
• Technically skilled (eg. writing programming languages, using software); and able to learn new technical skills fast.
• Fast, accurate and focused with their work.
• Aware of the world beyond computers. This is important in order to keep what you do "relevant" to everyone in the wider world who uses your sites.
• Very well networked (being aware of industry developments including new technologies, search engine policies, problems such as spyware and viruses etc). 
• Skilled in illustration (eg. Design, photography, using programs such as photoshop) 
• Skilled in marketing 

Setting Up Your Own Business

This and other such courses will give you a lot of what you need to get started as a web developer; but that isn't the same as getting started as a self employed small business owner. The reality of today's world is however, that most work opportunities are in self employment; and that situation is likely to only strengthen in the years to come.

If you are planning to set up your own web development business; discuss what you should be doing with one of our academic officers, before you complete your course. We do provide free advice to our students, and will point you in the right direction, to help avoid common business pitfalls. We have books we can suggest you read, and we have arrangements in place with insurance companies to help make sure your risks are minimized.  Consider Professional Indemnity Insurance, and discuss other needs pertinent to your situation with an insurance agent.

WHAT NEXT?

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