[narekm]

Hello there .
I am a beginner web developer. And you definatly know the value of having a good portfolio for working as a
freelancer . I have already learnt many things related to HTML,CSS,Javascript+jQuery,PHP,MySQL,SQL.
Right know I think its time for me to build a portfolio web-site. But when it comes starting to build I face basically
following two issues .

1...So my FIRST problem is related to the external look (the design) of the web-site . .
In general when people make-web sites what kind of tools they use for the design of sites ?(the starting point)
I mean do they start building the HTML+CSS code from scratch ? or they use special tools for designing the web-sites.
I have already heard about Dreamweaver that it will handle HTML and CSS for you .
But in general do professional web-designers use Dreamweaver? If not , what other kind of tools
(I mean what are the most famous tools ) do you know that professional designers use to design the interfaces
of web-sites ? (just the external look)
I really need that kind of tools since i want to build a poritfolio web-site and i think my main problem is the design of the site.
And i want to have that kind of tools in order to organize colors,texts,images,videos in the way that looks a little good .
To be honest I am not that much talanted designer so the need for that tools is really huge.


2...My SECOND problem is related to the site's administrator panel(if I am not mistaken also called control panel)
Does adminstrator panel is somthing similar to a basic CMS(Content Managment System)? And in general does every
web-site is "obliged" to have a control panel ? Or maybe that control panels comes with the design tools? I dont know...
Please help me to understant how can i build an effective control panel . And if my following question is right ...
please then answer..What are the tools that can be used for making control panel to control the structure of the web-site


Please be gentle and hel me!!!

I deeply appreciate your time spent on reading my problem and really really hope to hear your suggestions soon!!!

Thank you!!!

[maniacalsounds]

To give my routine as a solution for your first problem, I typically hand-code the XHTML/CSS. Although it is very good to know how to use IDE software, you still need to be able to hand-code everything, as that truly allows you to practice your skills.
Professional designers typically use a mix of Photoshop (or other image editing software), a color wheel/software. It's really up to the particular designer. I'm sorry to inform you, but there's no "software that will organize colors,texts,images,videos in the way that looks a little good." It takes practice.

For your second question, no. Not all websites are required to have a CMS/Content Panel. In fact, hardly any websites use them unless they update frequently or are huge. If you are wanting to make a Content Panel (properly named a Content Management System), you need to use your PHP, MySQL, and SQL skills in order to edit a database, and have it automatically generate the website per visit.

Happy Coding. (I hope this helped.)

[digitalsoularts]

I agree with maniacalsounds ,but I would like to add just one thing. My advice to you is this; if you don't see yourself as a designer, don't even start. You can go long way with just good html/css skills (if you can produce clean , validated and optimized files) and also its a great advantage that you know php/mysql and javascript/jquerry. There are a lot of people out there that can make a great design with photoshop or any other software , but don't have the skills that you have. So if you just keep on learning in your own field , you can have lots of work without trying to learn to be a designer. And for the portfolio thing , it would be better that you pay someone to make the design for you, cause by what you wrote here I guess you are far from capable of designing a web design portfolio , as a web developer the first thing that your client will see is your portfolio. thats just my opinion, I hope it will help.

[narekm]

Thank you !!! Your suggestions definatly helped!!!

But by the way one more question!!! If you suppose to hire someone to do the design of my portfolio web-site so in that case what is the purpose of the web-site ?
I thought portfolio is supposed to show only that particular person's skilles!!!

This post has been edited by narekm: 26 June 2011 - 10:24 AM

[Jstall]

You can show your skills by providing work samples. If designing is not your strong suit show some samples of code to be viewed/downloaded. That will still showcase your abilities.

Having a gallery with some pics of programs you wrote in action could be a nice addition.

If you, like me, have a strong grasp on HTML/CSS layout and such but just don't know how to make things look pretty you could try googling for some website templates, they may help you pick out a color scheme.

Either way you go I think making a portfolio is a great idea, they can be an asset, especially for newer developers. Good luck and have fun

[digitalsoularts]

http://www.slicejack.com/ check this out, their business model seems to be exactly what you need.