Web Designer

 

A Web Designer

A web designer has the necessary skills and qualifications to design or redesign websites. They build all the elements of a website. They make sure that websites are functional and responsible. They are responsible for the layout and appearance. A web designer programs a website to be functional and user-friendly. They aim for both engaging and responsive landing pages. To become a web designer you need a combination of creativity, critical thinking and technical skills. You need to learn how to optimize websites for maximum speed. 

Web designers have the ability to take an idea and bring it into reality. They understand the significance of each piece of the puzzle. Images, text, colors, space and art must come together to create a unique user experience. They ensure website functionality and responsibility across all kinds of devices. They check for safety and security on the website.

Steps To Becoming A Web Designer

Like any other gig, there are steps to becoming a successful web designer. If you are interested in pursuing this career, here are a few steps to consider:

• Develop and cultivate your skills
• Earn certifications
• Create websites
• Build your portfolio
• Market yourself
• Search for gigs
• Join communities

Cultivate Your Skills

As a web designer you need to always be learning. Always evolving with the trends. Stay updated within the community. Here are some skills to consider when building websites:

• Optimise loading speed
• Optimize web graphics
• Keep it clean and simple
• Optimize navigation
• Use fonts wisely
• Create theme colours
• Master coding
• Designs responsible
• Build user-friendly pages

The Benefits of Being a Web Designer

As with any profession, web design comes with both benefits and downsides. Here are some of the benefits:

• You can work on your own
• You’re not confined to a standard office
• You’re not limited to one specific industry
• You have the flexibility to work the hours you wish
• You develop, cultivate and enhance your creativity 

The Downsides of Being a Web Designer

Being a web designer comes with a few downsides. Here are some:

• You need to keep up with trends and technology
• You have to be continually learning and implementing
• You will be working really long hours
• You have to multitask all the time
• You might have to work on boring content

The Requirements

The requirements set for a web designer vary from gig to gig. While some jobs might not require any level of prior experience, there will be some clients that will want to see a portfolio and require some prior experience and proof of work. Here are some of the requirements clients might be looking for in a web designer:

• Visual Design. Master elements such as color, layout, logo, images, animations, fonts, and headings.

• Front-End Basics. HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. UX/UI and visual design.

• Search Engine Optimization. Master search engine optimization.  Research title tags, meta tags, keywords.

• Web Designer Tools. Such as Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator.

• Responsive Design. For all devices such as desktop, phone, iPad.

• Content Management Systems. In short CMS allows easier management of website content. Many clients use this.

Create Your Portfolio

Creating a professional portfolio is a perfect way to showcase your skills to potential clients. This is where interested clients can find your abilities and experience. This is where you show some examples of your previous work. Most potential clients will not care about your education or certifications. They won’t even care about the years of experience you have in web design. What they care about is your portfolio. When a client approaches you, they’re going to ask to see some of your previous work. That’s why your portfolio is alpha and omega. Do some free work if you have to. If you are having trouble building your portfolio, reach out to businesses and offer to design them a website for free.

Make sure you host your web design portfolio on your own website. This signals to potential clients that you’re an actual web designer. As you create websites for clients, update your portfolio regularly with all your newly obtained experience and work. Include examples of your work. Make sure you ask for client client testimonials and feedback that you can present on your portfolio.

Your Web Designer Rate

The salary of a web designer varies depending on the designer’s background, experience, and skills. Location also is a factor. A good web designers can earn a salary of around $50,000 to $60,000 per year. Different web design projects will require different amounts of work and time. Hence, setting a rate for your web design projects can be a little tricky. But, if you want to get a basic idea about the right price, go online and do your own research. Go to competitors websites and look at their rates and prices. Find a web designer with the same experience as you in the field. Check their rates. Web design agencies have expensive pricing because they have teams of designers. So don’t use their rates. You need to come up with a reasonable price for your service. A rate that’s realistic. Not too expensive. Not too cheap. A price that will make your clients hire you.

Learn SEO

Learn about search engine optimization. This is an essential part of this job. This is what ensures a website good ranking on Google search pages. SEO is the process of optimizing a website to rank as high as possible. Clients expect this from a web designer, as SEO capabilities are often built into the foundation of a website. Becoming a SEO expert will help you become more in-demand as a designer. It will improve your clients interest in picking you as their web designer. Take time to study on-page and off-page SEO in the context of web designing. A simple Google search will provide you with plenty information. 

Know HTML

HTML is one of the most basic building blocks of every website. Hence, it's crucial to know the basics of HTML if you want to have a career in web development. Hypertext markup language (HTML) is what provides the directions for how website content, images, navigation, and other elements display within a visitors web browser. Even though you don’t need to be an expert in HTML, you need to know how it works. HTML are documents sent from web or local server and processed by web browsers, which translate the HTML into web pages. HTML tags are the instructions a browser uses to generate the website. The headings, links, and images are controlled by tags. Header tags are important in how web crawlers classify a design and affect how they show up in search rankings. HTML is commonly used alongside CSS and JavaScript.

Understand CSS

Knowing how CSS works is essential as a web designer. CSS (cascading style sheets) is not a programming language. CSS is a style sheet language which is used to style HTML elements. CSS provides styling and additional instructions on how an HTML element is going to appear. Applying fonts, choosing colours, and even creating grids are all possible through CSS. Knowing how CSS works will give you the skills to create unique looking websites. It will give you the tools to customize existing templates.

UX and UI

To become a successful web designer you will have to master the craft of enhancing the UX (user experience) and UI (user interface). According to research, around 75% of people form an opinion about a website, based completely on its look and feel. So you have to design a website that is visually appealing. Make sure that the website is responsive to all kinds of devices. This will give the visitors a positive experience.

Graphic Design

Clients will most likely expect you to take care of some graphic elements during a gig. So having a little know-how and learning how to design logos will get you a long way. You can team up with a freelancer to design these elements for you. However, you’ll make more money if you take a little time to learn to do it yourself. You can easily find tutorials on YouTube and Google.

Join Online Communities

If you don’t already enjoy designing websites, cultivate and grow a habit of enjoying all the hours of working. Find inspiration and motivation from other web designers. Join an online community. There are various of benefits to joining an online community for web designers. An online community will help you obtain tips and tricks that can spare you headaches and a lot of time. An online community is an excellent place to network and learn about trends. You can see what kind of work others are doing. You’ll get inspired and maybe even make a few friends. Friends can help motivate you on your journey to becoming a professional web designer.