When Canadian consumers are contemplating purchasing a good or service, this is the question that – increasingly – first comes to mind. We are relying more and more on the World Wide Web to find the suppliers that best suit our needs. In fact, statistics from Internet World Stats reveal that there were over 25-million Internet users in 2009, or approximately 75 percent of the Canadian population! It is expected that Internet use will continue to grow over the next several years.

This trend is of vital importance to business as online sales — which doubled between 2003 and 2006 — are expected to increase in the years to come. Even though the Internet retail market is still under 10 percent, e-commerce continues to record double-digit growth and has a vast potential of still untapped customers.

With the growth of e-commerce comes the demand for web page designers. The web page is the “face” of the company on the Internet. It can entice consumers to contact the company for more information or it can repel them if it seems confusing or lacking in information. Even if the company sells a good product, a poorly designed web page can drive potential customers to the competition; and if the company has no web page at all, it might never realize how much potential business it’s losing—until it’s too late!

The National Occupational Classification lists some of the major employment opportunities for web page designers with advertising and graphics firms, company advertising and marketing departments, multimedia production companies, and non-profit organizations. Salaries — from Ontario statistics — range from $15 to $32 an hour. This is an exciting, rewarding career for anyone with an interest in technology and a creative flair; however, the right training in web design is essential to success — training that can be achieved through the ICS Canada Web Page Design Program. The ICS Canada Web Page Design Program is a comprehensive program that prepares the graduate for entry-level positions in the field by imparting the vital techniques to ensure success. Students are instructed in the elements of design, e-commerce, computer graphics, cascading style sheets, and Internet security. Using Adobe® Dreamweaver® software, they are given graded projects and “hands-on” exercises which build their technique and enhance their design ability.

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