For almost all web designers, Adobe Dreamweaver is the starting point of study. It is thought to be the most utilised web-development platform globally. For applications done commercially it's important to have an in-depth and thorough understanding of the entire Adobe Web Creative Suite. This includes (though it's not limited to) Action Script and Flash. If your goal is to become an Adobe Certified Professional (ACP) or an Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) then these skills are paramount.

In order to develop into a professional web-designer however, you'll have to get more diverse knowledge. You'll need to bolt on programming skills like HTML, PHP and MySQL. A working knowledge of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and E-Commerce will help when talking to employers.

Make sure that all your qualifications are current and commercially required - don't bother with courses which end up with a useless in-house certificate or plaque. To an employer, only the top companies such as Microsoft, Adobe, CompTIA or Cisco (as an example) will open the right doors. Nothing else makes the grade.

So, why might we choose qualifications from the commercial sector and not the usual academic qualifications obtained from tech' colleges and universities? The IT sector now acknowledges that to cover the necessary commercial skill-sets, certified accreditation from companies such as Microsoft, CompTIA, CISCO and Adobe most often has much more specialised relevance - for much less time and money. In a nutshell, only that which is required is learned. It's slightly more broad than that, but the most important function is always to master the precisely demanded skill-sets (alongside some required background) - without overdoing the detail in all sorts of other things (as academia often does).

As long as an employer understands what areas need to be serviced, then all it takes is an advert for the exact skill-set required to meet that need. Commercial syllabuses are set to meet an exact requirement and can't change from one establishment to the next (like academia frequently can and does).

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