Posted by Kevin on 11/12/07 14:07

On Nov 11, 3:15 pm, Travis Newbury <TravisNewb...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> On Nov 11, 7:56 am, Kevin <kevinlen...@lakeareawebs.com> wrote:
>
> > I think that part of the problem is so many people out there claim to
> > be web designers and developers which indicates an advanced level of
> > expertise in coding which they do not possess.
>
> No the problem is many web developers can not see there are more than
> one way to skin a cat.

Well I don't know about any of you in here but I have to say it was my
opinion that the term "webmaster" by definition implied no specific
level of knowledge. The term Web Developer however implies a large
programing skill set. The term web designer was used to refer to the
people that would create the IMAGE of the web site on paper or
electronic file and turn it over to the web developer to make into a
functioning website.

Therefore I think web developers being of the programming nature
probably know far more ways to as you put it skin a cat then any non
programing personnel. IMHO There are far more graphic artists out
there claiming to be web designers and web developers then there are
the other way around. You can go get a college degree in graphic arts
without even taking a programming course at all.

Maybe we should be more like they are in Texas with the term Engineer.
There in order to advertise your self as any type of engineer you must
possess an engineering degree. Similarly, if you want to promote
yourself as a web developer you should have a degree that has a heavy
web programming curriculum. Another point if you want to promote
yourself as a designer you should be proficient in the minimum skills
(HTML, XHTML, CSS, JavaScript) to design dynamic web pages without the
use of WYSIWYG editors. You should also be able to write any of these
following the International STANDARDS.

I know that for some people learning CSS may be difficult but it is
far superior then HTML 4.01 when it comes to managing larger groups of
web pages. People resist change in general but when you think about it
CSS has been out for 11 years now. That is more then enough time to
learn it if you were willing to send any time at all trying to learn
it. It is now a part of the international standards and we should be
prepared for customers to require compliance with those standards on
our web projects now and in the future.

Anyone who cannot write compliant code should not be advertising
themselves as web designers or developers. They just do not have the
skills to do the job on a professional level.

Graphics artists that disagree should stick to doing what they do best
creating logos, images, fliers, catalogs, etc.. for print on paper,
and vinyl and other physical media. Web work requires the knowledge of
web languages both markup and programming. It is hard enough to try to
make a living building web pages and having to compete with foreign
programmers willing to bid out web design work at 5 dollars an hour.

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