Best Free Web Design Resources & Tutorials

Many professionals are eager to learn web design but hesitate because of the perceived up-front costs. While coding programs and languages are free to use, visual design skills will require users to purchase. In addition, training costs can be intimidating for new students. However, a surprising amount of free resources are available to help beginners get the hang of this exciting program. 

Read on to learn more about the different types of free resources and tutorials available to help you learn web design. 

What is Web Design?

Web design is the process of creating and maintaining websites. It covers a wide range of topics, including web architecture, user experience, information architecture, and web development. The primary goal of web design is to create a website that is easy to use, informative, and visually appealing. The skill set required for web design is constantly evolving as new technologies and trends emerge. However, some core principles remain constant.

Web design is a process, not a product. The term “web design” refers to creating a website or the finished product itself. A Web Designer is someone who specializes in this process by using their creativity, technical skills, and experience to craft websites that meet the specific needs of their clients. This means that web design is not a one-time event but an ongoing process that should be regularly updated to keep up with the latest trends and technologies. 

Read more about what web design is and why you should learn it.

What Can You Do with Web Design?

As the name suggests, learning web design skills will teach you how to design, develop, and maintain web pages. This means that whatever you can do on the digital canvas of Web 2.0, you can learn to do with web design. You can learn to build professional working websites as a career path or build your own personal brand using elaborate WordPress designs. Students can build a digital CV to make themselves more attractive to employers, or they can launch a digital art project hoping to advocate for a cause that is important to them. Students can turn their passions into a business by building a digital marketplace to advertise their wares or get an idea off the ground with a rhetorically appealing pitch website. The sky's the limit for talented web designers.

Web design also covers a diverse field of specializations and skills so that individuals can create even more specific niches for themselves within the field. Programmers can enter a vibrant community of like-minded designers who iterate on and improve programming languages, making them more versatile and accessible to new users. Developers may find themselves specializing in a specific programming language for things like data science and SEO purposes. User Experience Designers will make web pages themselves more accessible and easy to navigate. Given the amount of time individuals spend online each day, there is no shortage of unique opportunities for skilled web design students.

Cost of Web Design 

Web design has no directly attached cost, save for the incidental price of hosting a web page, which can cost a negligible amount. Almost all programming languages are free and open source, meaning that anyone can use them, and while students will need a coding application, there are many excellent free options, so new students who aren’t picky about the compiler that they use will have access to free applications. Students looking to learn complex visual design skills for web pages will need to license programs such as Adobe Illustrator, XD, or After Effects, and these programs will cost about $20 a month. There are both free trials available and numerous free alternatives (though free alternatives are likely to have fewer professional training opportunities than these industry-standard programs).

Free Tutorials

For students who are interested in learning web design skills but aren’t confident that they want to enroll in a professional training seminar, free online tutorials can be a great place to figure out if more advanced web design training is right for you. Noble Desktop offers students a selection of free online courses that are the perfect introduction to the tools and techniques they will learn in a web design course. In Noble’s Getting Started in Web Design course, students will learn the basic principles of designing web pages, including the difference between visual and technical programming elements. This course is a perfect fit for students who aren’t entirely sure what aspects of web design they want to specialize in since it covers all those elements. Noble also offers more detailed videos covering topics such as visual design, HTML/CSS, WordPress, JavaScript, and more on the Web Design and Development playlist on the official YouTube page. These classes aren’t a substitute for professional skills training but are the perfect place to take the first step to become a professional Web Designer. Students can learn more about web design resources on Noble’s Learn Web Design page.

Students may also wish to consider the free training options available through service providers such as Udemy and Coursera, or YouTube. Since web design is such a wide-ranging field of computer science and is essential to making the internet functional, many solid, free options exist. This is particularly true for introductory material covering skills such as HTML/CSS. It is assumed that most students who learn these fundamental skills will eventually move on to more advanced training.

Learn Web Design with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

Students looking to master web design skills should consider the hands-on training options available to them through Noble Desktop. In these courses, students can learn how to design and code web pages using a variety of platforms and programming languages. These courses, which are all taught by live instructors with years of experience in their respective fields, give students the opportunity to interface directly with their instructors, ensuring they can receive the assistance and feedback they need to succeed. Students can enroll in a web design class or bootcamp either in-person or online.

Students looking to start off their web design and development career without investing too much time into their training may want to consider Noble’s Web Development with HTML/CSS course. In this class, which requires no prior coding knowledge, students will learn the fundamental skills that go into designing and developing web pages using the HTML/CSS programming languages. This class will teach students how to design basic web pages using the coding languages that form the basic infrastructure of a modern web page. Students will learn how to use HTML to build basic web pages and how to use CSS to add a visual flair to their designs. While anyone wanting to design web pages that look up to modern standards will need more training in other, more advanced programming languages, learning HTML/CSS is essential for anyone wanting to build web pages.

Noble offers a Web Design Certificate program for students who want a more immersive, career-focused experience in their training course that aims to take students from novice programmers all the way to professional designers in just a few short weeks. In this course, students will learn how to code web pages with HTML/CSS, JavaScript, and through the WordPress hosting platform. They will learn how to build elaborate, multi-page websites that replicate the kinds of projects they will be hired to work on as professional Web Designers and Developers. In addition, since these are career-focused courses, students will receive extra professionalization training, including one-on-one career mentorship sessions and seminar time dedicated to helping students construct a sample design portfolio that they can take with them onto the job market. For students looking to start a new career in the field of web design, there is no better way to prepare themselves.

Key Insights

• Students looking to learn the basics of web design without having to enroll in an expensive skills training course may wish to consider taking advantage of free training options.
• Even though programming languages are free to use, students who want to learn visual design tools and applications will likely need to find a way to acquire the necessary software.
• Free resources are readily available for novice web design students, but students aiming to design web pages professionally will need more advanced training.
• Whether you are looking for free resources or to enroll in a professional training program, Noble Desktop is available to provide you with comprehensive skills training.