Are you interested in becoming a web designer? Have you always been attracted by the allure of being responsible for what Internet users see, experience and absorb when surfing the web? Well, then you might want to become a web designer. Of course, you just may want to pick up a thing or two about web design, and that's completely fine, too.

You don't have to want a professional career in web design to make good use of a design course. You could just be an amateur hobbyist who wants to expand his web-design knowledge a little bit. Maybe, you're just a guy with a little too much time on his hands, and you love trying new things.

So whether you want to make sense of coding or want to learn how to use a content management system (CMS), the following courses have you covered. They're listed in no particular order.

Lynda.com

Learning by way of video-based tutorials is the claim to fame of this site, on which you can also find tutorials on other subjects not specifically related to web design. These courses will teach you how to design your own websites in a very accessible and easy-to-understand manner. Other tutorials on the site will also teach you the finer points of more complicated, web design-related topics.

All this access can be yours, for a monthly fee, of course. So if you don't mind spending a bit of money in order to gain some web-design knowledge, then Lynda.com is the site for you. The site comes complete with some free tutorials, so you can give those a try to see if you're comfortable with paying the monthly fee.

Code School

Any design course that calls itself Code School is bound to be good. Code School sets itself apart from the rest of the competition out there by encouraging people taking its courses to learn by simply doing. It throws people right into the subject material by interactive video as well as coding in their browsers. This course charges people a fee as well, but it's quite reasonable: For only $ 25 per month you will be able to enjoy access to all parts of the online school's training content. All of it! Not bad for $25, huh?

Peer to Peer University's School of Webcraft

The Mozilla School of Webcraft happens to be a part of the open-education program that's found at Peer to Peer University, an online community for learning. You can look forward to a host of free web-design courses on this site. Some of the many topics that it covers include CSS, HTML and PHP. As a neat, little bonus, it features different tests that will challenge your burgeoning skills. For instance, Challenge 101 is going to prod you to build your own site from scratch.

W3Schools

Almost a complete no-brainer to include on this list, W3Schools provides lessons that start from the very beginning of web design. We're talking about very basic primers about CSS and HTML. However, don't fret, as the lessons do end up getting increasingly more complicated and sophisticated. A great feature of the lessons on this site is that they allow you to actually experiment with markup, right on the site and live! Of course, W3Schools has been exposed in the past for some errors appearing in its lessons, but this aside, the site still offers one of the best resources for web design on the entire Internet.

Don't Fear the Internet

Okay, okay, we promise not to be afraid of the big, bad Internet if you promise the same thing. The project of one Jessica Hische, a freelance illustrator and typographer, Don't Fear the Internet meant to help non-professionals understand all the fundamentals of HTML and CSS. The site, very efficiently, relies on short tutorial videos that feature lessons about WordPress. You'll be taught all that you need to know concerning how to manipulate HTML, CSS and even a tad of PHP on any WordPress blog. This site is free, but, if so inclined, you can always donate to keep it running!

Smashing Magazine

Sure, Smashing Magazine isn't exactly your traditional web-design course or even a traditional magazine, but hear us out. It deserves to be on this list since it is a fantastic and very thorough repository of web-design knowledge. As such, it is literally bursting with tutorials on virtually each and every aspect of the web-design process.

You're interested in coding like JavaScript and CSS? Check. You want to know about WordPress fundamentals? Check as well. Be forewarned, though: Many of the lessons and tutorials on the site are directed at those who are already on the intermediate to advanced side of the design spectrum.

Indulge in Your Web-Design Dreams

Thanks to the above courses, you can start to explore your web-design dreams with more depth. Have you ever had a hankering for coding? And who hasn't since it's long hours with no breaks in front of your PC! Now, you can learn the very basics of HTML, CSS and maybe even a little bit of PHP, too, just thrown in for good measure. Even if you don't want start your own professional web-design firm, it will still be interesting to be a bit more web savvy.

Have you ever tried a course like this before? Have you ever tried any of the ones specifically on this list? Tell us all about it in the comments section belowâ?¦and happy coding.