Here are the elements I’d recommend to be a Web designer (as opposed to a Web programmer):
-Learn the *design* aspect. There’s much more to making websites than throwing code together. Check out The Non-Designer’s Design Book or The Non-Designer’s Web Book for information on layout, typography, colors, and much more.
-Get a decent grounding in basic programming (X)HTML and CSS; it’s not hard to pick up. Next, learn a bit of JavaScript, then check out basic PHP commands such as include()/require() and for loops.
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Image via Wikipedia
Find a good graphics program(s). Fireworks and Photoshop in the Adobe product line are excellent, and many have 30-day trials. I’ve also used PaintShopPro to good effect, and it’s a fraction of the cost. Some ability with Flash helps round out the arsenal.
Seth Godin; Image via CrunchBase
-Study website creation from a marketing/promotion standpoint. An example resource would be Seth Godin‘s The Big Red Fez.
You’ve heard my opening thoughts on the matter. What other aspects would you include?
