A web designer is the lynchpin for a company’s online presence, responsible for creating an attractive and fully functional website. These creative geniuses work behind the scenes to ensure a website’s layout, colors and fonts are on-point, Buttons, icons actually the whole website’s awesomeness. To become a web designer you need much more than being creative and technically inclined, you must also learn how the web design industry works. This article will take a look at what it takes to become a qualified web designer, where they are employed most often in today’s business sector as well as their outlook for future prospects.
What Are the Job Responsibilities of a Web Designer?
Web designers master the art of composing content, creating compelling and engaging visuals to effectively communicate a message across different platforms. Although there is often a divide between those who create design layouts and programmers who program functional websites from scratch, many modern-day web designers have great coding skills too so they not only come up with an eye-popping web design but also know how to code it. There are many other key responsibilities that include:
When creating concepts, web designers must take care of the needs and expectations of their clients.
- Build functional and engaging websites utilizing state-of-the-art web development technologies.
- Ensuring the navigation through a website is as easy as clicking on the menu button.
- Be capable of transforming the design into a brand using carefully crafted visuals.
- Using a powerful language such as HTML to create interactive web pages.
- Work closely with clients and other designers to ensure the project is finished from start to finish.
- Recognizing opportunities for improvement of an existing design.
- Knowledge of the latest design trends.
- Making sure the design is SEO-friendly.
Although the above mentioned skills are important for a web designer but having an eye for detail is one of the most important skills required by web designers.
How to Become a Web Design Professional?
To become a successful web designer you need to understand the basics of computer science such as computer programming, database management, or mathematics. Although a web designer can be self-taught but getting formal training from accredited colleges is always recommended. You will get an in-depth knowledge of the requirements of this career and gain exposure to live projects which will look more impressive on your resume. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), for example, offers many free resources aimed at helping beginners to get started.
Just like most career fields, web design has a lot of competition, which is why getting a Bachelor’s in Graphic Design or Computer Science is a good idea. But getting a degree you will also become proficient at coding and understanding the web and computer graphics in depth. You can also choose a shorter course such as a diploma go for an internship or work preferably with a big company because they are likely to get more out of you than smaller companies.
How Is the Job Market and Career Prospects for Web Designers?
The web design industry is booming and there are plenty of opportunities for professional growth and career development. The Web Design Industry has never been more exciting than it is right now- with so many different business models, platforms, and technologies emerging by the day, a lot many businesses are going online. Web design jobs are available for beginners, entry-level and experienced professionals. In fact, this is one of the top ten most rewarding fields in terms of both pay and employment opportunities. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment prospects for web designers are growing day by day. The estimated ten years job market growth is projected at 8 percent from 2019 to 2029. The unparalleled growth is driven by the rise of smart devices.
How Is the Web Designers Working Environment?
Web designers can work from their homes or offices, just like many other jobs they might also choose to go the freelance route. Web designers should be able to work both independently as well as in an environment that is highly collaborative. The ability to work under pressure, meet deadlines and strict quality standards are important skills for web design professionals as they will have to deal with a lot of client requests at the same time.
Due to the fact that web designing requires close collaboration, web designers may have to deal with difficult clients. They need to build up their communication skills, negotiation and dispute management can be some of the most challenging aspects for web design projects. Freelance web designers are mostly hired by local businesses to build their websites. These companies cannot afford the high costs of hiring an in-house team for designing a website, so they hire freelancers on a contractual basis instead. Larger companies usually have technical teams or outsource work to leading agencies with highly skilled developers who will help them design and maintain the company’s online presence. Web designers can work for a variety of different sectors, ranging from financial institutions, hospitals, hotels, schools, software development agencies, or voluntary organizations.
How Much Do Web Designers Earn?
Salaries for Web Designers depend on their experience, the region, and the company they work for. In general, salaries mostly vary from $40,000 to $80,000 per year. How creative and original you are – that’s what matters most when it comes to web designer salary. However, employers often have minimum qualifications for the starting salaries including a degree in design or computer science.
Freelance web designers working on online projects can get paid as much as $200 per hour but usually earn $30 to $70 per hour. Senior web designers may get paid up to $150 per hour and mid-level designers can make between $100 to $120 dollars per hour. Entry-level web designers usually receive between $40,000 to $60,000 annually.
Tech Skills Web Designers Need
Web Designers designing a website need to have comprehensive knowledge of Web and graphic design software, programming languages like HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, and jQuery. A strong understanding of server-side technologies such as PHP, Java, or Node.js can be very beneficial. Good working knowledge of database management systems like MySQL and Redis is also essential for web designers so they can effectively collect, store and render temporarily stored data. Many modern websites require cache memory for temporarily storing cookies and user-session information. Web designers must also have a good understanding of various payment gateways and how they work for APIs integration.
Must Have Skills To Be a Web Designer
There are many soft and management skills required for the job of a web designer. The most in-demand skill is good design sense, creativity, and problem-solving ability. Web designers should be detail-oriented and passionate about their work. Web designing is an art and like any other artistic field, it requires dedication and patience. Good communication skills are essential for any web designer. The best designers are like artists who have the vision to bring their work to life and turn it into something new, unique, and amazing. Web designing is not an easy job but it’s very rewarding in terms of personal and professional fulfillment. Web designers should be highly self motivated and able to work with minimal supervision. A good understanding of copyright laws, copyrights protection, and privacy laws are also important.
Why Web Design Certifications Matter
It’s also possible to become certified before ever going through university or college first. If you are looking into becoming a successful professional designer, one of the best routes to take would be to get some of the top certifications, even if you are just starting out. Certifications are also very useful for freelancers who are looking to increase their online rate per hour.
All the basic qualifications and skills are important but they don’t guarantee success. An experienced web designer can improve his or her chances of achieving career advancement by certifying their skills. There are different types of certificates available including those from popular organizations like Adobe, Microsoft, Google, etc.
Taking certification will also save you a lot of time and money. The Association of Web Professionals is offering accredited certificated programs. They provide open programs that anyone can join at any time. There’s a certification for the most basic skill sets on JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, including website design basics. For those who want more of a challenge, there are also application-focused certifications available as well to test your ability with specific programs like Photoshop and Dreamweaver. Then you can take an ACE Web Specialist certification test online for about $180 and passing three tests will get you a certification. Then you can add the credential to your resume or post it wherever you think people will find it.
What’s the Difference Between Web Design and Graphic Design?
Graphic design is a form of art that takes creativity and imagination, not only in drawing an image but also using your mind to come up with artwork. Graphic designers use their talent by designing logos, advertisements, posters, etc., while web designers usually have knowledge about HTML/CSS programming which helps them create a user interface for modern-day sites like social media networks and e-commerce stores.
A web designer does not put graphics first. He is more involved in the functionality of a project and how its elements fit together to enhance the user experience. Web designers create images through code or software rather than by hand. They work more on an overall design with individual graphic components being secondary (a header, maybe a footer).
Both graphic design and web design are about creativity and aesthetics. Both require thinking outside of the box, but a web designer will generally have a stronger focus on the usability of their site rather than its visual appeal. A good website is fully functional while also being visually appealing to the customer.
Tips To Find Web Designing Jobs
If you want to pursue a web design career, the first thing to do is to get some hands-on experience through personal projects and online tutorials. Once you have mastered that, it is time to formalize your learning by getting accredited for a certification training program in web designing. In order to secure a job as a professional website designer, you should be able to write clear code (HTML), user interface designs (CSS), and possess an understanding of graphics software like Photoshop, Fireworks, or any other professional level software.
Like other professionals, a web designer’s resume is an important way for them to express themselves both creatively and professionally. Customize your own, showing off relevant projects you’ve worked on in-house or freelance as well as internships at college. List any degrees obtained from the university level, certifications completed such as coding boot camps if applicable, languages that are spoken fluently other than English (e.g., Spanish), skills like programming proficiency which can be highlighted with bullet points of examples demonstrating those abilities below each skill listed along with a list of popular interview questions employers typically ask applicants so they’re prepared ahead of time when it comes down to interviewing face-to-face. Always include any additional qualities you think could make you a good fit for the job such as a passion for user experience, strong communication skills, creativity, and eagerness to learn.
Final Thoughts
Web design is a growing field with many opportunities. As the internet becomes more and more pervasive in our lives, there are new needs for web designers to create compelling websites that meet those demands. That’s why we created this blog post on what it takes to become a successful web designer, how much they earn, their work environment, skills necessary for success as well as tips on where you can find jobs or even looking into certification if you want to stand out from the crowd of job applicants. We hope these insights help guide your path towards becoming a web designer and working in a very lucrative field of work that is trending upwards.
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