Web Design Training and Resource Guide

Web design skills are highly valued in today's Internet-focused economy. According to Salary.com, an entry-level web designer with an associate's degree and a couple years of experience can earn over $47,000 a year. Top web designers can easily earn twice as much.

Your particular web design salary will depend on your training, experience and talent. Other ways you can increase your salary are the following:

• An impressive portfolio goes a long way toward helping you find a job with the salary you want.
   
• Company size and job responsibilities are also important factors in a web designer's salary.
   
• Geographic location can make a difference too, as skilled web designers earn more in major metropolitan areas.

Read more about web design jobs and web designer salaries

Web designers are artists who work with pixels and pointers, instead of brushes and paint. And the great news is that web design software programs like Photoshop and Dreamweaver have advanced significantly over the past decade, giving you more creative flexibility.

"Web software programs are now as easy to use as Word or PowerPoint," explains Dustin Hunter, a self-employed web designer with 10 years of experience in the field. "It's not about looking at code. I've used Photoshop for years, and I treat is as a piece of paper."

A good web design degree or certification program will give you the computer skills you need to bring beautiful web pages to life. You'll also enhance your natural creativity with a solid foundation in visual art technique, color theory and usability.

Learn more about web design training

A career in web design is more than just sitting in front of a computer making pretty pictures. "You meet interesting people and hear great ideas from individuals wanting a website," says Julie Gau, a professional graphic web designer.

"So many clients wanting different things with different goals in different situations somehow all come to you with a website as the solution to their problems. It's always a challenge, but if you love it, the challenge is all part of the fun."

Read the full interview with a graphic web designer

The field of web design changes every day, and web designers never lack for new inspiration. Few careers offer so much flexibility and creative opportunity:

• Work for a company or strike out on your own.
   
• Explore in-demand web design specialties like user interface design, or master cutting-edge software programs such as Flash.
   
• Best of all, you and everyone else in the world will be able to see the results of your work online.

Get started today by learning more about attending web design school. And if you're looking for the fast track to a new and exciting career, find out about online web design courses today.