did you study web design in order to start your IM career?

No, I am self taught. I went to college for anthropology. hehe.

Spend the next week on this site and you'll be off to a good start:

Codecademy

You definitely don't need to learn that stuff. In fact you shouldn't. If you try to learn/do everything yourself your progress will be painfully slow.

No, web design is not required to do IM well. Try using simple landing page builders like WYSIWYG Web Builder 8. Super fast, easy, and great quality landers. It does help to learn some php for the more advanced stuff, but you can't learn that while you go.

Most web designers do not understand Marketing.

So I learnt about Direct Response Marketing first and then learnt how to design a website.

This meant my website was an effective lead generation tool, rather than a pretty online brochure.

I'd rather have a crappy looking website that converts, rather than a sexy website that makes me nada, zilch, zero!

Abul

Learning web design is a very good subject to learn to become successful in IM. A lot of marketing secrets depends on the webpage's design. Your site itself will be responsible to attract the visitors.

I do my first design by copying HTML code and doing past. Next I learn HTML for learning PHP. I wand to build my career as a web designer.

I taught myself HTML even before entering internet marketing
so when i did I could do basically everything for myself. My
first ebook project found me as writer, graphic designer,
copywriter and marketer. I'm still a DIY kind of person
which is NOT the best approach all the time.

I think it was helpful for me to have those skills when
I entered the market so I could always make the
adjustment I needed to make on the fly rather than
asking someone else to do this.

-Ray Edwards

Shudder..thinking back when I started out.

Anyway, my first site was using Xsite Pro...and Wordpress came much, much later.

Although i can do HTML, PHP etc..yes I "handcoded" a couple of my very first sites based on existing templates - but I wouldn't call that studying. To be honest, I think your time would be better off to learn Wordpress rather than going down to code level....although knowing HTML/PHP will help big time.

WP all the way, otherwise.

I didn't--I started out as a personal blogger so I learned just enough about CSS to pummel my themes and templates into the shape I wanted them to be in and now WordPress makes things so easy with their plugins and easy widgets that setting up client sites really isn't that difficult a thing to do. Over time I'm learning what I need to know as I need to know it because I don't have the time to really sit and learn the skills top to bottom.

If I could go back, though, I would have taken some time to actually learn web design and coding properly. It's definitely a skill set that can be applied pretty much everywhere in IM. Knowing how sites work and function helps you stay independent and gives you something else to offer to your clients and buyers.

Knowing code isn't needed to be a good Internet marketer. However, I suggest having knowledge of at least a little html and css. It makes it so easier when there is a problem with your site to be able to go and work it out yourself.

Building sites and graphic design is what I do primarily, so it's something I've always done. I taught myself. But if it's not your business model, I wouldn't spend much time on it when you can outsource it cheaply. I would learn installing and setting up a Wordpress blog, which is what most people do rather than learn web design.

I used WP theme,for the logos and designs I used fivver,although I do know the basics but it was a long time ago and the software costs to much

I did a 17 week course in web design with adobe dreamweaver..

Basically HTML and CSS.. then I discovered wordpress so the course was kind of a waste of time..

Far from it. To be honest, I strongly suspect that nobody in this forum knows less about the technical side of "web design" than I do.

I honestly still don't really know what "code" even means, let alone what it actually is. This stuff passes me by completely. Fortunately, it's never been relevant to me.

So do I. I use dead simple "point and click" stuff that's far easier even than Wordpress is, and it can do everything I ever need. I'd hate visitors to my many websites to know that they're sites belonging to a "professional internet marketer" so I'm very happy for them to look clean and simple and "underdesigned". The sites and the visitors, if necessary ...

It all depends what you want to do, if you want to create a simple website without any customized functions then you don't need to learn how to use HTML/CSS/PHP..ETC

If you have a great idea and you want to do it then you have 2 options, either hire someone you trust to do it for you or learn how to do it, I recommend doing it yourself because if you run into issues then you will be able to fix it without spending more money and you can add more functions and make changes without wasting time and freaking out when something breaks down.

Alot of marketers will say it is a waste of time but trust me it is not, when you know how to do things by u r self then you don't need anyone and if a company is managing your business then you will live under their mercy. You can come up with new ideas and execute them and bring something new to the world, once you create something great then you don't even need to market it and people will visit your site without the need of backlinikg or creating articles/promoting... because you have created something useful and you are not trying to market BS and just sell thro affiliates to make few bucks, you can actually become a millionaire

I started with friends on BBS (back in the dinosaur days), later taught myself HTML, and I disliked every minute of it! I do some of my own stuff in Wordpress now, because it is so easy. I don't want to do any of it now, it isn't my skill set and so many others are so much better and more efficient than I - it makes no sense for me to do any of that...

I studied html from a book in order to build my first web page. I spent maybe 3-6 months learning html before I was decent crafting a page to look like I wanted it to.

Before i came to the internet i was pretty useless

I learned everything i know now by just jumping in and "doing stuff" and learned as i went

I have pretty much only ever used wordpress to create sites which always work great for me

I have been building sites for offline clients for quite a few months now and all my clients love them. I use a free theme on wordpress

I would not even bother these days with all the html rubbish there is just no need, wordpress is plenty good enough

Paul

There were no classes to take other than basic computer science and programming if you were privileged enough to afford school, so most of us had to learn on our own and from each other at the time. There was almost no way that a regular person could make a website without learning how to be a real Webmaster, and that meant I/T and Programming and Web Design.

Back in the spring of 95' it would take me about 2 weeks to crank out a semi-multimedia 1.0spec, HTML, Java and CGI site that could collect form data because there were usually a lot of issues of various sorts from computer and connection speed to technological limitations that had to be coded around. I used my regular merchant account to manually process and physically shipped everything. There were very few websites so AOL Search, Compuserve Listings and Yahoo worked as directories pretty much so there was no SEO and no competition in most cases, therefore once the site was up, you were done.

Since 2007 using my own technology, it takes about 1 second (literally) to create a full blown multimedia+social website, and about 5 mins to add my pics, vids, blog entries, audio files, contact form and paypal buttons (IF I have collected everything I need already like pics, text etc.). Then about 5 mins to do the basic onpage SEO, metatags, sitemap and then submit to goog,yah,msn. Then about 15 mins for the domain to resolve if I am using one.

Today I could easily do a site in less than 15 mins (IF I had my content already together). I don't have to manually process anything and everything that I would be interested in selling is either drop shipped automatically or instantly delivered via download.

The eVolution has been DIGITIZED and 2012 = Web Design Automation.

-h

Nope, just picked up on what works well as I went along. In my mind, knowing the purpose that a design is for will drive you to do it and find out and in the process you learn more than you ever do in the confines of an artificial environment like college that is often divorced from what clients look for in the real world.

0 minutes. I used a free website building tool. Very easy, took me only 24 to put up my first sales letter page.

No need for web design unless it is an area you like to provide service for. Definite not a requirement to succeed as an internet marketer.

knowing how to do webdesign would help quite a bit for IM but no i did not. I just learned it along the way as I got into IM, but i did get into this when i was in college so...

I got very frustrate when looking at other websites, wondering how did they do that? I mainly use komposer which makes it easier, but sometimes the program does something I don't understand, I was a complete shall I say Idiot? when it comes to the code and layout. With wordpress it is easier, and I haven't manipulated a theme, no need to, but on a sales page or squeeze page it is good that I know at least the basics of html and css.

I did a couple of months membership with treehouse.com, and it is indeed standing me in good stead. I agree with the other marketers, you don't need it for IM, but I think it gives you a good background to know the basics if you don't want to outsource.

My two cents

"Web design" didn't get me started. "Direct response" marketing did.

I know almost no coding. Wordpress made learning how to put a website up pretty easy for me. I may not be making any money online, but putting up a website is a piece of cake thanks to Wordpress. I agree with the previous posts. Marketing is more important. Who cares if you can put up a great site if you can't market it.

yeah I was silly enough to purchase various courses and learned website and graphic design my first 3 months. However, I succeeded in doing that. Then I created a cool content site and got started but never made any sales - LOL. That's why people tell you to focus on marketing than all this design stuff that can be outsourced dirt cheap. I made a BIG mistake.

However, now it is dam easy to spit out solid content sites using the power of blogging and recently I even started a free website design service using the power of wordpress which is going great and helping me to build my hosting clients - LOL. Knowledge pays off but I would advice newbies to not learn website design when they get started and outsource this stuff, get themselves created a wordpress blog that can be managed by a non techie to add content once the initial template and setup is done...

Web design didn't get into my plans at first, so I never learned it to realize the initial success in IM.

I've however used some resources online to learn the ropes and code a few things. My knowledge of HTML is still basic,which is all that is needed to handle small projects for now.

You can throw up a simple wp blog in 5 minutes. focus on content and marketing. I have found the more I focus on looks and appeal of a site, the worst it does. As soon as I focus on writing great copywriting, then my sales go through the roof.

Been designing sites since teenage years, and been professional designer for over 7 years now, indispensable in gaining an IM background IMO

learn by doing....

when get stuck with something, ask for helps.

Here is an awesome post about creating "visual scandal" and "story appeal" with your design.

I wish to learn coding so that I can build my own websites and take pride in them. Using templates and themes are alright however i find most of them lacking. With a little coding i guess i can customize them with adequate permission to what i want.
However i would still enjoy building them from scratch its just the way i like to do things. Besides there are ideas I have which requires me to learn how to build my own websites because there are no templates or themes for them out there.
Just starting my journey to learn coding. I did teach myself basic html like half a decade ago so that I could build a website for my girlfriend. The website still exists and reminds us of some fond memories when we visit it sometime.

I know nothing about coding a site but I can surely promote one.

This questions up there with "Which is better, Wordpress or HTML?"

Back in the day I used all the free programs and even a php program that another warrior sold, they all done the job as I am far from a web designer to say the least. Programs such as XsitePro and wordpress make it easy for anyone with limited skills to get a site online.

They have year long courses on web design at college but I have no idea what the real benefit would be as you have advanced tutorials and tips online now that cover everything you need to know. Of course that's not to say you would be able to build stunning websites but the information is out there if you have the skills and desire to learn.

I'm a programmer, but it took me over 2 years before I was really comfortable with WordPress.

vBulletin is even harder

We went to the School of Hard Knocks. Works pretty good too--although we wish we were better at coding CSS and WP stuff at times. The hard knocks can kinda hurt after awhile