Web Design Business....Should I?

are you a graphic designer or computer programmer?

I think it's very possible to teach yourself web design but you have a long road ahead of you... I've been doing it for roughly 10 years and I'm still learning... in fact after I had been doing it professionally for 4 years at a design agency we had a half dozen students for a day who were in there final year of a web design course at university and they weren't very good.

How old are you and whats your motivation / sudden interest ... I ask because my fellow designer friends have grown up with it as opposed to learning it from scratch at school.

as Graphicism said, long road ahead... not impossible, but it's a tough market on the web, especially since there are a lot of open source stuff (design templates, code etc)

good luck!

If you don't have any experience yet, I'd pursue other options unless you're really drawn to web dev. There is an immense amount of competition, and because of that, the compensation for basic websites is hardly lucrative.

Not trying to discourage you man, but it sounds like a long uphill climb to me.

It's very possible, but expect to work long and hard (24/7 for a couple of years) to get anywhere. I started a pc business in the same way; with little knowledge, just out of circumstance.

Ignore the hell out of people who say you shouldn't. If you shouldn't, you'd already be sure of it and you wouldn't post here. If nobody ever pursues the 'impossible' nothing will happen and we'd all be pretty pointless. Not that starting a web design business is going to change the world... Although it might, but there's no point thinking about that and things that 'might' often don't. You'll gain a lot of very valuable knowledge and experience no matter what. For me, a lot of things that seemed impossible 2 years ago turned in the biggest pieces of cake ever.

Oh, and here's a free piece of very valuable info: Like me, you'll automatically become a geek in the eyes of all the people you're attracted to because you sit behind a computer a lot.

This sucks, but they're right. You have to be very self critical and keep your social skills up to scratch. Don't be an actor though! People pay a lot of money to geeks with a nice personality because they are very rare and everyone will think you're some kind of insane talent. Sometimes I pull this off and when I don't, I feel horrible. When you're the person a couple of influential people go to to get things done you will start to earn real money.

And 'sound like a long uphill climb to me' is a pointless remark in the eyes of the true entrepreneur If it's not long and uphill, what's the point?

Dude, I was trying to be polite to the guy. For someone that admitidly knows nothing about it, is not a graphic designer, and is not a programer, it is a long uphill climb. I don't know how things are in the Netherlands, but over here we have an abundance of web designers. I would bet that a very large percentage of them started doing it as a hobby when they were at least in middle school or junior high. Hell, I live in what you would call rural America and know a couple of dozen web designers.

I'm just saying that from my personal experience, the attitude you're putting forth doesn't work if you want to start your own thing. It's not some sort of attack.

And what you said about junior high hobbyist's is exactly right, over here as well. And it's also the reason why you shouldn't be scared of the particular market. Most of 'm aren't very good, to put it mildly.

take a course in programming and graphic design first. if you decide that you really like it and can see yourself doing then go for it. it isn't for everyone and will be difficult for someone with little to no experience. most web designers i know are also hobbyist that started at a very young age; expect a lot of competition.

What are you into right now? What do you do? Are you studying, working (fulltime or part time), sitting at home? How old are you, how much computer knowledge do you have, are you generally comp savvy and tech savvy, how artistic are you, have you taken painting or art classes? Is art and design something like a hobby of yours?

These are questions that might be relevant to this pursuit of yours. Will help identify strengths and possibly find ways to maybe start slowly and get into it in a big way if you really enjoy it. Its definitely not impossible, but its something you might not want to jump into right away unless you are already trained in computer programming and design. I'd suggest taking it slow, get the right tools in hand, get some proper training and then get some clients based on contacts (relatives, friends, etc) try your hand at it and see how it goes and then try and make it a business.

But don't you think they will get better? Whatever you want to think though, it doesn't matter. I've been around a long time and it has been my experience that to do good in your own buisness it works out a lot better if you have an apptitude for it.

I have a web design business. It doesn't pay terribly well and took a lot of time and effort to learn.

Yes, they might, but at the moment they're not. You have to know you're better then them, of course. If stats show that 99% of the starting web developers fail in whatever way, you have to presume you're a part of that one percent, else starting a business is not for you. Average is not good enough. Above average makes you some money. If you're way, way better then everyone else you'll have a solid income. And 'better' isn't just about web design. It's also about social skills, craftsmanship, innovation, discipline, dealing with heaps of bad luck and not getting screwed over. And forget about a social life. You have to be attracted to the long and uphill struggle, I guess.

But there are definite pro's as well. You can do what you believe makes sense and nobody will stop you. You're never stuck or bored, you can always go do something interesting and useful. For me, that makes up for anything.