LimeGreenMatt

Thanks both of you, looks like Treehouse is the way forward. I am committed to learning and believe me this is a career that I really want to make a success of. It's the first time I've actually chosen a career path as such, because it is something I want to do. Prior, I have always just fallen into things more by chance than by design. I had been considering doing a degree along these lines but I'm glad I found this thread as Treehouse seems to be a much better option. Thanks again

Reading this thread has actually helped somewhat thinking about my own career path. I'm kinda at a crossroad right now. For the last 8 years I've worked on my own as an Accident Investigator, prior to that I've worked in Account Management roles for B2B companies and prior to that I worked for Insurance companies. So I'm pretty confident dealing with clients and working with others. I'm also a team captain at my local tennis club so I'm happy enough in social environments. I've been doing some web design work for the last few months and I really enjoy it. I'm not coding sites from scratch though... I'm using Wordpress themes and customising for each project. I read a book on HTML & CSS and now I am doing a Udemy course too. I'm curious about CodeSchool and Treehouse now though as I've seen those recommended on here. It was my plan initially to work freelance, but there is a big part of me that wonders if I would benefit more and learn more (perhaps from a business perspective) by getting a job. So that would put me in a similar position to the OP. To be honest though, I'm not really sure where to even start. I took a cursory glance at a couple of jobs sites yesterday and there didn't seem to be much going. So I'd really like to hear perspectives from others, or any advice/recommendations etc. For example, where are the best places to look? What is the best way to get into web development in a situation like mine... Love to hear your thoughts on this...

I agree. To be honest, the existing company shouldn't even release those details to you without clear authorisation from the client anyway, so it just makes more sense for the client to get it.

Personally, I think you created a bit of a rod for your own back by starting design work with no clear direction in place. As soon as you do that, then you're opening yourself up to doing a lot of unnecessary work in revisions. I think most people tend to have an image in mind, but a lot struggle to articulate it. Therefore my starting point is always to do as much discovery work as possible. Put a LOT of questions to the client so that you fully understand not just the design brief, but the business itself. Get examples of styles that the client likes etc. That way, you're not shooting in the dark. That said, I don't think that I could personally walk away from a project knowing that the client wasn't satisfied. But that's why I think the discovery process is so important. Does that mean you take an equity stake as part payment? I definitely agree that the real money is getting a regular income from clients.

Hi Daniel I take it your client owns the domain? Which bit do you need help with exactly? Just ask your client for the login details for their hosting company if the new site is to remain hosted by them. If you're asking where the new site should be developed, you'll have to create the site away from the existing site so as not to disrupt their business and then transfer the new site after. I usually use a subdomain of either the clients existing website e.g. dev.myhotelwebsite.com or a subdomain of my own website. HTH Matt

Wow that's high praise and you've really made my day! Honestly though I've got a lot to learn. I started in June (albeit I've tinkered in the past), learned some HTML and CSS from a book and now learning Javascript. If I can get by and make a living from this for now, I'll be happy. Longer term though I'd love to develop this into a decent business and get a team together.

Hi Richard Thanks for your kind words! I've just taken a look at this... It looks like the client has decided to make some modifications and has made a mess of the images

Hi Everyone, I'm new to the group and pretty new to web design too. Joined hoping to learn a bit from others and to get a little support when I invariably get stuck from time to time. Recently started learning so I have a long way to go yet, but I've done a few client projects using Wordpress. Here's what I have done so far (from starting to most recent): http://www.lawclaim.net http://www.aviationaudiobooks.com http://www.bigsportsdiary.com http://www.mrboothy.com.au For some reason, designing my own site seems to be a lot harder. I feel that I am getting better but I'll let you guys be the judge of that! Anyway, nice to 'meet' you all. Hope to chime in where I can Matt