Before starting as a web designer, you need the right kit. We have our own personal list here, but keep in mind that everyone has different opinions on what software is the best, with a million different suggestions for each type of employment.
Our list includes what are generally considered the most popular tools. They offer also the largest amount of help and tutorials, so that they are perfect for beginners.
Equipment
You obviously need a PC for web design. You may think that you already have a PC read this, but is good enough? A slow or old PC will work against you as a designer.
If you can afford the price, many programmers prefer to use a Mac. If you are on a budget or simply prefer Windows properly, you will be not any disadvantage that many popular tools work on both platforms.
Having a large amount of RAM is the most important factor for designers. You will find often yourself opening several intensive programs in memory at once. With these programs to communicate with each other eat fast memory, so you will need at least 2 GB to work effectively. Something more than 4 GB tends to be overkill now.
Because you often working with 3D graphics and video editing, you do not need a particularly fast processor. If you are on a tight budget, you can upgrade the memory in your computer for about £ 30, which should give you good speed boost if your computer is several years old.
Other extras, you should consider are a graphics tablet and dual monitors. These will greatly increase your productivity, but can be expensive.
Software
o of graphic editing: the jury is still out on which program is best for beginners to learn graphic editing. The argument is generally between Adobe Fireworks and Adobe Photoshop. There are a variety of training manuals for both, and it is worth your time to become familiar with both anyway. Adobe Illustrator is also a very useful to have on hand.
o Web browsers: a major challenge for Web designers is to make their site the same look on every single web browser. Because each browser interprets different things, you must ensure that they act as you expect. Download Chrome, Firefox, IE, Opera and Safari, because these are the browsers that will be used by your customers. Fortunately, all are free!
o Design: hands down the best tool for Web designers is Adobe Dreamweaver. Dreamweaver let's you mess with all kinds of page elements visually, so you can actually see the effect of your changes. Other features as a system of color for your code and your auto-completion will come very handy for beginners.
The cost of the software will be the main problem for many young designers. There are expensive alternatives to Adobe products, however. Nvu can replace Dreamweaver and GIMP substitute Photoshop. Both on Windows and are completely free, but will be able to offer the range of tutorials and guides available for the largest programs of name. Adobe often offers tests of 30 days of their products, so you can try to see if they are worth the high initial cost.
Although there are several other programs needed (or desired) by designers, with a few major programs, you should be able to learn a lot on trade.
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