Web is touted as one of the most lucrative
careers for young aspirants. And rightly so. However, there are many aspects of
web that you need to consider before choosing a course or a training program.
Broadly the website can be segregated into
two major parts. The Front end and the Back end. Let us elaborate and explain
both these aspects of a website.
The
Front End
The front end of the website is what the
user sees on his device when he or she visits your website. It deals with the
visuals, the navigation, the design, content and forms and other interactive elements.
To design the Front End you need the skills of a graphic designer, a HTML &
CSS3 coder along with visualization skills and ability to comprehend and
translate the user requirements and validations.
The skills of a graphic designer include
the skills required to manipulate images and vector graphics and the ability to
create unique icons and representative elements required on the web page. The
design and layout of the website is extremely important and it will determine
whether the user sticks to the website or bounces out. Understanding of color
and contrast is also a very important skill required by the designer.
The HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript coding is an
absolute must for the front end developer in order to make the website
responsive or in other words adaptable to the device of the end user, be it a
tablet, mobile phone or a desktop. The design should have the ability to adjust
to the screen size of the end user and give him or her a wholesome experience
while viewing or navigating the website.
There are many more things about designing
the website, but in this article I am just focusing on the very fundamental and
basic things.
The
Back End
By the back end, we refer to that side of
the website which is hidden from the user. It includes handling of the
information that is generated by the website and the actions that needs to be
taken on such data and requests. The database is also stored in the back end
and the ability to store data generated on the website, like form data,
requests and other information needed or supplied by the webpage is an
essential skill required by the back end developer.
To illustrate this point, let us take the
simplest aspect which is a Form which is filled up and submitted by the user
and may contain fields like Name, Phone and Email ID. This data is stored in a
database in the back end for further processing by the website user.
Often the user may supply variables like
his account number and may ask for some information regarding the account. The
back end coding would validate the data and supply the requested information to
the end user which would be displayed on his screen. An example being asking
for Bank Balance or flight arrival status etc.
Since we are dealing with the fundamentals
here, I would like to restrict myself to vary basic things even though the back
end processing has many other elements. For simplicity, let us restrict our
knowledge to the fact that the back end deals with databases.
There are many other aspects of Website
Design & Development which includes things like:
- · Hosting the Website
- · Search Engine Optimization
- · Analytics
- · Optimization of the Website
- · Constant Monitoring & Updation
- · E-Commerce
Again, being a very fundamental article, I
am not getting too technical and restricting the information to a basic level.
Both the Front End and the Back End can be
designed and developed using a wide range of technologies. It could be Java,
Microsoft .Net or Open source technologies like PHP along with database like My
SQL, SQL Server or Oracle to name a few. It all depends on the end use of the
website and the volume and nature of transactions that one wishes or expects to
conduct from or through the website
In order to choose the right training
program, one has to first determine whether you want to specialise in the Front
End or the Back End aspects of Web Design & Development. You may decide
that both interest you and you would like insight into both the aspects.
Some of the Web Design & Development
Courses that you can look at are:
Graphics Web Design & Development
Offered by Arena Multimedia – Park Street
This course deals mainly
with the Front End design coupled with aspects like Search Engine Optimisation
and Analytics. It is a 15 month program in part time mode and the details of
the same can be viewed at http://arenaparkstreet.com/courses/graphics-web-design-development
· Aptech Certified Web Developer
Offered by Aptech Computer Education –
Chowringhee
This course deals with both
the Front End and mainly with the Back End using My SQL and open source
technologies. This is a 12 Month program in part tine mode and the details of
the same can be viewed at http://www.aptechchowringhee.com/web-design-training
Please keep in mind that advanced knowledge
of Web Design & development can only be had in real time and on job. No
course or training can fully prepare you for the vast and constantly evolving
world of Web Design & Development.
However, both these courses are good enough
to get you an entry level job in the Web industry. You need to choose any of
these based on your interest and other factors like fees and duration.
All the best ;)
