Web Design Course from an Education Institution or a design agency

Following our previous article ‘Web Design Course: Where to Go and What to Do’ comes the second instalment of our ongoing investigation of web design. As the title suggests, this article will only focus on the training offered by higher education colleges and universities and wed design firms.

Before we begin, it’s best to clear things up. Anyone thinking that both mediums offer the same education... they sadly do not.  One is best suited to provide immediate skills, while the other is a gradual building of expertise over time. However, when it comes to education, it is your attitude and commitment that will determine the right training for you.

Colleges and Universities

Universities

Universities provide wide-ranging web design training. An in-depth UCAS search will bring up all the universities offering web design related degrees; some stand along, some joint degrees. Enrolling in a university is very useful (both personal and career wise) if you have time and money. Since full-time learning is carried out over a year or three (undergraduate and graduate, correspondingly) or longer for part-time students, you’ll need to spend a lot of time on your studies to ensure the best results possible. In addition, you will have to apply for a student loan for undergraduate degrees, and either self finance, gets a company sponsor or secure a bank loan to pay for a post graduate course.

A highlight of universities is the structured learning they offer. Every subject degree will have easily accessible module information and lecture/ seminar times. Your degree will however consist of many assignments, tests and projects (some you may find irrelevant). There will also be large class sizes to contend with.  Since web design is a popular course, anticipate packed auditoriums and seminar rooms. However, each university will have an extensive library full of course related literature and there will be several lectures around to answer any queries you may have.

Higher Education Colleges

HE colleges offer features similar to university degrees, but include much shorter courses. Classes are small and tutors are usually part-time, self taught career personnel or retired professionals. In addition, HE colleges have fewer resources and limited funding compared to universities. Courses usually run from a few months to a year and are more career-oriented compared to purely academic. This helps students to quickly attain qualification and (re) enter the job market as soon as possible. A big plus for HE colleges is the low course fees, which on average, cost a fraction of what you would expect to pay for a post or undergraduate degree. Nonetheless, before enrolling make sure to check that the qualification you’ll receive will be professionally certified by various companies and organisation i.e. Adobe and CIW.

Web Design Firms

In order to get the best web design knowledge, the wisest choice would be to learn from professional web design companies; professional website designers who work in web design each and every day. Unlike colleges, web courses are managed and delivered by industry workforce. Web design firms provide focused training that is easily transferable to your personal or business requirements. Whatever you’re level of skills, you will be able to find an appropriate class is suits you. With short weekend or evening classes, you can earn a living while quickly learning and acquiring the necessary skills. Consequently, DotPeak provided first rate weekend and evening web design courses that run from four to ten classes costing £550 or £750 if you combine two related courses; a fair price for high quality industry teaching. Here are some of the skills you will be able to learn:

·         HTML

·         CSS

·         JavaScript

·         Dreamwaver

·         Web browsers

·         Publishing/ uploading

·         Coding/ structuring

·         Buying domain names