Almost exclusively, Adobe Dreamweaver is the first base for all web designers. It is probably the most used web-development environment in the world. We'd also suggest that students get an in-depth understanding of the full Adobe Web Creative Suite, including Flash and Action Script, to have the facility to take advantage of Dreamweaver professionally as a web designer. Having such skills can result in you subsequently becoming an ACP (Adobe Certified Professional) or an ACE (Adobe Certified Expert).

The 'Adobe Creative Suite' is regarded as the most commercially popular design-environment used by web-site designers today. These essential applications are currently ('10) on Version 4. Dreamweaver is the software program that builds websites, with 'Flash' delivering usage of animated and interactive 'graphical' content. 'Dreamweaver' might be looked at as a glorified Word-Processor in a great many ways. In accordance with specific rules and parameters, it allows you to place text and graphics, & then through a method known as page-linking you can produce basic interactivity throughout the site. Like other web design environments, Dreamweaver produces the program code 'HTML' behind the scenes ('HTML' is short for 'Hyper Text Markup Language'). 'HTML' is a 'script' which basically 'draws' and controls the web page on your monitor. It's the language of browsers. Along with HTML are the layout tag 'languages' - like XML & CSS. These tag languages allow more stream-lined 'HTML' code and more effective lay-out techniques, which will work on multiple platforms (as they are 'standardised'). The theory is that the page will appear the same on any web browser, be it 'Mozilla Firefox', 'Internet Explorer', 'Safari', Opera or whatever. And so although you are laying graphic-blocks and adding text, behind the scenes, Dreamweaver is converting this in to 'code'. A well-rounded understanding of these various 'languages' is critical if you're going to be a commercially-viable web-designer.

Having knowledge of how to design a website is only the beginning. Creating traffic, content maintenance and programming database-driven sites are also required. Think about training with additional features that cover these skills (such as PHP, HTML, MySQL etc.), along with search engine optimisation (SEO) and E-Commerce skills.

A lot of training providers only give support to you inside of office hours (typically 9am-6pm) and sometimes a little earlier or later; most won't answer after 8-9pm at the latest and frequently never at the weekends. Beware of institutions who use 'out-of-hours' messaging systems - where an advisor will call back during office hours. This is no use if you're stuck and need an answer now.

The very best training providers utilise several support facilities across multiple time-zones. They use an online interactive interface to link them all seamlessly, at any time you choose, there is always help at hand, with no hassle or contact issues. Never compromise when you're looking for the right support service. The majority of trainees who can't get going properly, just need the right support system.

Of course: a training itself or a certification is not the ultimate goal; the career that you're getting the training for is. A lot of colleges seem to completely prioritise the qualification itself. You may train for one year and then end up doing the actual job for 10-20 years. Don't make the error of finding what seems like a program of interest to you and then put 10-20 years into something you don't even enjoy!

You'll want to understand what industry will expect from you. Which precise qualifications you'll need and how to gain experience. It's definitely worth spending time setting guidelines as to how far you think you'll want to build your skill-set as it will force you to choose a particular set of certifications. Before you embark on a training course, trainees are advised to discuss individual career needs with a skilled professional, to be absolutely sure the study program covers all that is required.

A key training program will undoubtedly also include wholly authorised simulation materials and exam preparation packages. Students regularly can get confused by practicing questions for their exams that don't come from authorised sources. Sometimes, the terminology in the real exams can be quite different and you need to be ready for this. Practice exams will prove enormously valuable in helping you build your confidence - then when the time comes for you to take the real deal, you don't get phased.