Designs on the internet: how to cast your own web

"Web design is not just about making use of the internet. It is about the future," says Tony Drewry, senior lecturer at the University of the West of England. "Just as the discovery and development of the printing press changed history, so the current digital information revolution is setting the stage for developments in human science and knowledge which will radically alter the world in which we live. Web designers are at the very heart of this revolution."

When people think of web design, they mostly think about the graphical side - the images, the presentation, animation and language. But there's a lot more to web design than the visuals - and the other aspects are just as important, if not more so. Web designers have to consider who is going to use the website, what the user needs to use the web for, how easy is it to use (it is vital to make web pages accessible for everyone), how to deal with human-computer interaction, information hierarchy, database management and content management.

It is not always obvious just how much work goes into the design of a website. So what goes on behind the screen? If you work in web design, you need to work out the navigation, which means how users will make their way round the site. You will have to ensure that your website is accessible to people all over the world with different browsers, or who don't have the latest high-spec computers. Composition and programming must be spot on. Then there are search systems and help systems to think about. Writing for the web is a special skill: short paragraphs with headings make text far easier to read than dense slabs. How much audio, video and animation will you include? All of these aspects need a high degree of technical skill and knowledge.

Take a look at some of your favourite websites and form opinions about which elements you think are successful and which parts don't work so well. In www.myspace.com, for instance, what grabs your attention on the first page? Do you find it a nuisance to have to log in to a site? Is there too much information to fit on your screen? Does the video play well on your computer? Try www.ifilm.com. Do the flashing elements fight with each other? How do you feel about scrolling down to read what's on the bottom of the page? How about www.grand-illusions.com? You might think that a site showing optical illusions should have lots of animation and flash. Does it make it more boring not to have any moving elements on the first page? Is it easy to find what you're looking for? Then there's the question of pop-ups. How do you feel when advertisements for loans or mobile phones suddenly pop up instead of the page you were looking for? Or your screen fills with downloadable emoticons?

If you've got strong opinions about these issues, training to be a web designer could be a great option. As a web designer, you'll work on the way a website functions and the way it looks, and web design courses give you a really interesting combination of both those elements. Courses will focus on the methods, skills and knowledge you need to design information for the web. There will be a balance between information design and the application of technology and software. Alongside the central web design theme, you are likely to study media technologies and authoring, programming, web development tools and protocols, information architecture and services, and information systems applications and practice.

And as the world wide web is just that, it truly is an international career. So when you look for a web design course, it's worth choosing one that offers a placement year. That way, you can become part of the bigger picture work in any kind of organisation, putting theory into practice - and getting paid for your efforts. As Tony Drewry adds, "the experience of working in a company is an excellent preparation for your future career. You will come back in your final year full of good ideas for your dissertation or final year project."

Where do I log on?

So what does it take to be a web designer? The main qualification is that you should be interested in everything to do with the web. You may already have developed your own web pages or created your own computer graphics.

Although many courses do not require you to have particular subjects at A-level, it will help to be familiar with computing and IT. You will need to have an interest in developing your technical knowledge. You will need to be able to think creatively and have a good sense of design, although you will also need to accept that you may have to work within existing company guidelines, so your creativity may sometimes need to be restrained.

Demand on the rise

Look at any job vacancy list and you will see that there is terrific demand for web developers and designers. Graduates in web design go into all sorts of job sectors: there are very few businesses of any size that do not have a website. A company's website is vital for marketing, promotion, providing information and doing business. And there is a range of specialist areas within web design, such as e-business, systems analysis, web architecture, web editing and graphic design for the web. Salaries in web design/web development range from about £20,000 to £35,000. A lot of graduates choose to start their own web development business and the successful ones could earn more than this.

Which Course magazine is now available online at http://www.independentezines.co.uk/whichcourse/. Contact Joshua Gilbert - tel: 020 7005 2283; fax: 020 7005 2292.