Entrepreneurial type seeking web design / development training

jphchase1

Big contradiction, I'm a financial controller in a large successful organisation with a couple of sideline businesses in conjunction with a few successful sponsors/ venture capitalists however I also want to develop a number of web based ideas I have in conjunction with the right business partners. Before exploiting my ideas I would like to get formal training in web design & development so as to have a good overview and understanding of the fundamentals....from HTML to Dreamweaver to Perl. Are there any institutes / courses you could recommend, evenings or weekends in Dublin? Very much appreciated.

Webmonkey

Have you any experience in these before at all?

jphchase1

Embarrassingly Sams Teach Yourself HTML 4 in 24 Hours is sadly the meek extent of my internet programming skills. Just bought Perl for Dummies. Everyone has to start somewhere. Looking for an good overview diploma / certificate as we have what we believe is good business models and the required capital partners / business experience.

TabulaRasa

Fas do a number of courses on web design, .net and java programming.

Also I subscribed to ACM (Association of Computing Machinery) a while back and there are a number of online courses available on their website via a company called Element-K on various development topics.

jphchase1

Appreciate that. Does anyone know any other courses the Universities and city colleges run on weekends or evenings also. Would like to get a good overview quite quickly (next 2 months) and willing to put in whatever time is required. Thanks.

Liam Byrne

jphchase1 wrote: »

Embarrassingly Sams Teach Yourself HTML 4 in 24 Hours is sadly the meek extent of my internet programming skills. Just bought Perl for Dummies.

I'd aim for PHP instead of Perl - the good news is that they're pretty similar - and I'd also suggest getting a grounding in MySQL, because chances are that any decent web app will require a database.

Also, if you can get it, get a grounding in JavaScript (jQuery is a handy framework) and also AJAX.

I'd offer all the above except that I'm not based in Dublin, so I'm no good to you as a result.

Best of luck finding a course that suits!

conorcan2

As Liam Byrne pointed out, PHP is probably a better option than PERL simply because it's more popular.

Practically, that means:

- More learning resources (e.g. books, online support, and courses).
- More development/software resources (e.g. Drupal, Wordpress)
- There are more PHP developers than PERL programmers (if your idea takes off then you'll appreciate this fact).
- PHP is actively developed (there are big companies with invested interest in PHP, such as IBM, Facebook, Yahoo etc.).

Why do you want to do a course? Is it for the accreditation and/or the knowledge? If the accreditation isn't important then you could get a recommended list of topics (perhaps web developers on this board would recommend them) and then study them yourself.

I have a BSc. in Computing in Multimedia Systems from IADT. A thorough education will make you familiar with the principles of computer technology, including operating systems, networks etc. But you won't get that in less than a year.

Any course that is less than two months will only give you a superficial knowledge in a specific niche (e.g. HTML). I think you're better off concentrating on exactly what it is you need to do and then take it from there.

derickmc

Liam Byrne wrote: »

I'd aim for PHP instead of Perl - the good news is that they're pretty similar - and I'd also suggest getting a grounding in MySQL, because chances are that any decent web app will require a database.

Also, if you can get it, get a grounding in JavaScript (jQuery is a handy framework) and also AJAX.

I'd offer all the above except that I'm not based in Dublin, so I'm no good to you as a result.

Best of luck finding a course that suits!

I'd pretty much echo what Liam said here and add - do it in stages. I would leave the JavaScript / JQuery until you are a bit further down the line.

The main skills you need to know are -

1. html
2. MySQL - Database
3. php - server side programming - used primarily for interaction with your database
4. javascript - client side programming
5. css - styling your page, text, buttons

I think good next step would be to pick up the Sams PHP and MySQL in 24 hours. It shows how to set up a development enviornment on your PC, as well as the basics of MySQL and PHP.

The book is well layed out and should tell you if you have a flair for this work.

tomED

jphchase1 wrote: »

Big contradiction, I'm a financial controller in a large successful organisation with a couple of sideline businesses in conjunction with a few successful sponsors/ venture capitalists however I also want to develop a number of web based ideas I have in conjunction with the right business partners. Before exploiting my ideas I would like to get formal training in web design & development so as to have a good overview and understanding of the fundamentals....from HTML to Dreamweaver to Perl. Are there any institutes / courses you could recommend, evenings or weekends in Dublin? Very much appreciated.

If you really want to learn, I too would echo Liam Byrne's comments.

However, I don't really see why you'd want to learn it unless you are doing it yourself?

You don't need to know the ins and outs of how something is done to build a web business.

If you have a vision of these web business and what it is they will ultimately "sell", why not focus your time on developing those ideas into something tangible.

With the right web partner, he/she will be able to direct you as to what's possible, good practice and how realistic it is that your idea is likely to succeed.

After being in this business myself for so long, the client that usually causes the most trouble and turns what could be a good project into a disaster is one who has a little bit of knowledge to feel they understand how things work. The reality is that your strengths are most likely spent somewhere else as in developing the business.

Just my two cents!

jphchase1

Some excellent advice for which I'm very grateful. In terms of the right web partner we need a company with a strong reputation who has the capacity go global with a project when the time is right. The first test idea we have is an original business model which we've run past a couple of highly respected and trusted international investors who genuinely believe its a runner. The web partner would need to be willing to take equity as well as cash finance in excahnge for developing the site to ensure long term commitment. I have to say we wouldn't know where to start in terms of looking for the right web partner for our projects.

tomED

There are plenty of good guys/gals on boards that would be able to help you out then! Myself included!

Seriously though - a decent web partner is unlikely to want to do work without being paid for a lot of what they do.

Most web developers get hit on a weekly, if not daily basis with someone who has a great, new business idea for the web. If you can understand it from their point of view, it's them investing in your business for a little slice of the pie.

So you will find some who will be willing to lower their price a little in return for equity in the business (if they feel it's a runner) and the money is there to grow and market it. But don't expect a massive reduction in their going rate.

Feel free to contact me if you need any advice.

Mr. Loverman

jphchase1 wrote: »

The first test idea we have is an original business model which we've run past a couple of highly respected and trusted international investors who genuinely believe its a runner.

Every idea is a potential runner. It never ceases to amaze me which websites are successful and which websites are unsuccessful.

Best of luck with your idea though.

Question:

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "a company with a strong reputation who has the capacity to go global with a project when the time is right".

Once your website is online it is "global" and no users of your website will care who developed it as long as it looks nice, is easy to use, and does what they want.

I agree with tomED that you will need to pay for your web development. We no longer have a dot com bubble so the idea of being paid with equity is a non runner for most developers.