Hey people....

I read this really wonderful and really really important article that all kids or i must say teenagers who are wannabe webmasters or wanting to make a living out of web-design must read.

http://www.talkthemes.com/showthread.php?t=29

I thought lifting the entire article from the site wouldnt be a "right" thing to do so I just placed a link instead.....

I again emphasize that it is a must read article for all the "under 20's " on this form.....

I absolutely agree with the article. Making websites is nice, and so is web design, but you have to be devoted to make something out of it. You have to be devoted, but you can't drop out of school. It's a nice hobby or part-time job, but make sure you've got a lot of experience before starting your own "web-company". And no, 1 year experience isn't enough, at all! You'll need 5 at least, 15 is better.

I am under 20 by the way, 16, and I started with webdevelopment when I was 11. I made my own small website, learned HTML, got photoshop, learned PHP and Python and have quite some experience now. In php alone I've got about 3 years experience, and I do have a few clients for which I make websites. I don't make enough money to make a living out of it however, and I won't quit school for another 5 years. I'll see what I'll do after that, but in the mean time, web development is just a hobby for me, just like some others at that forum.

Great article. Thanks for the link...

your welcome......

thought more people should be interested in the article.... disappointing no. of hits...

Nice article i began when i was 17 now 20 and still working on it part time and still learning it is important to keep learning and never assume your better at web design than your competition.

Fully agree with you.. There is always someone who is better than you...

Originally Posted by Orodreth

I absolutely agree with the article. Making websites is nice, and so is web design, but you have to be devoted to make something out of it. You have to be devoted, but you can't drop out of school. It's a nice hobby or part-time job, but make sure you've got a lot of experience before starting your own "web-company". And no, 1 year experience isn't enough, at all! You'll need 5 at least, 15 is better.

I am under 20 by the way, 16, and I started with webdevelopment when I was 11. I made my own small website, learned HTML, got photoshop, learned PHP and Python and have quite some experience now. In php alone I've got about 3 years experience, and I do have a few clients for which I make websites. I don't make enough money to make a living out of it however, and I won't quit school for another 5 years. I'll see what I'll do after that, but in the mean time, web development is just a hobby for me, just like some others at that forum.

So you're recommending 15 years of experience before starting your online business, yet you're 16 and only have 5 years of experience... Seems a bit contradictive to me.

I dont think one can fix a time frame for getting "experienced" ...

Learning is a gradual process... But yes one needs to have a fair amount of experience before one really decides to jump into web designing .... It is not a very lucrative buisness until you get investing into advertising your websites and other ways of promotion. Dropping out of school to earn a living making websites is a prepostrous idea.

Originally Posted by sparshpolly

I dont think one can fix a time frame for getting "experienced" ...

Learning is a gradual process... But yes one needs to have a fair amount of experience before one really decides to jump into web designing .... It is not a very lucrative buisness until you get investing into advertising your websites and other ways of promotion. Dropping out of school to earn a living making websites is a prepostrous idea.

I agree with you 100%, it is absurb. I'm sorry if I came off as rude earlier. Any money that I make from designing goes right into my college fund, I'm definitely not planning on this as a career.

Could I ask you how much money do you earn from your sites. I dare say that I havent profited much from my website in its normal course of running. Though I have earned $1600 once by selling one of my websites.. While selling well completed websites might earn you a little extra money I really dont think it is really worth the time doing a hobbyist web designing than concentrating on college studies which are really important for a good career. .... Anyways.. check out my website http://www.alchemy-education.com .. I do not earn much daily but still developing it slowly in order to sell it for a handsome price.... Plan to turn the entire design into a CSS based thing in order to make it more designer friendly. Do let me know what you think of the site....

By the way are you another teenage webmaster ?
cheers
Sparsh

I would be interested to your website... please do give a link

I only make money by doing graphics, and I've only recently started it for money. I actually don't have a website of past designs yet, I've been too busy, but I have this site on a free host for my programming and other stuff: http://soccerpmn.googlepages.com
I only make money through that from the google ads, and I'm sorry but I cannot tell you how much I make through that, it would be in violation of their TOS.

edit: your site is very cool, very professional looking, I like the general layout. I definitely think there is potential for some big money when you eventually sell it.

Thanks for your comment.. I hope you join the community at my website