What should a web designer know?

[dojo]

I think some HTML and CSS knowledge is crucial. Plus some design issues (colours, image editor skills) ..

What do you think a web designer should know?

[Ant]

I remember the first few meetings I went to and the clients saying what they wated, i would smile and say 'not a problem', we'd negotiate a price and conclude the meeting. Once outside my business partner and I would turn to each other and say 'how the hell do we do that??'

So to answer your question yeah, basic HTML plus the ability to learn fast

Ant

[Jimmy0]

I think a knowledge of how to write HTML and webisites, also a decent ability to create graphics is essential for web designers these days.

[dojo]

I'd add some more: SEO. A designer should know WHAT works for that site, how to best get visitors and how to present the information in the best way.

[n4tec]

I believe a web desigern shoud know [X]HTML , CSS , javascript and PHP. And as dojo said SEO.

[gamesandmore]

Yer i agree with dojo too, php, html/Xhtml and basic image skills and well css and javascript are extra

[EY]

I would say : HTML,CSS,javascript (maybe)

[Gibbon*RS]

Well, my brother is sort of learning webdesign at school and he's got to know quite a lot. If you want to be competent, you need to know:
- Flash, Photoshop & Illustrator
- Javascript, PHP & MySQL
- marketing & communication
in some cases you even need audiovisual skills
Of course, he's doing multimedia, so it's a very big range of stuff he's learning.

I think that these days you're better off knowing Photoshop and PHP. Communication skills are a big plus. You need an excellent knowledge of HTML and CSS, Javascript is a useful option, and you need to stay up to date. Always keep on learning! You'll be most successful if you're good at everything.

Oh, there's another thing: a basic understanding of webdesign, knowing what's right and what's wrong. That's what a lot in this forum is about, and you can learn a lot from that. It may be just a small step from an awful website to a great website, you just have to know the dos and don'ts. There's a lot of philosophy in webdesign, and that's essential.

[bdude]

A web designer needs to have good colour co-ordination skills!

[dojo]

Yeah, communication skills are paramount, especially when you start working with the clients or have forums. If you own a simple site, maybe you can get away a bit from this, but you cannot be a "ogre" and have pleased clients. In my case it's nice to be a woman too. A nice quality perfume and a decent blouse and it's working

I am not advocating trying to play the sex-appeal card too much, but the way you present yourself and talk to the client makes the difference between a meeting that stars a long term relationship with the client or a meeting that's never gonna happen again