If you’re considering starting a new career in tech, there’s a huge list of niches and job roles to consider, and even more paths to getting there. But one of the first choices you’ll likely make is pretty straightforward: design or development?
There are some big differences between web development and web design, but to put it simply, developers work on the behind-the-scenes code that makes a website or app function, and designers work on the look and feel — aka the colors, the style, the typography, and everything that goes into creating a brand experience.
If web design peaks your interest, you’re in the right place. Web design is a huge field with a variety of specializations, but they all start with fundamentals such as color theory, typography, wireframing, and more.
In this post, we’ll look at what it means to start a web design career in the broader sense, so you can get an idea of the high-level steps you need to take to get started in this field. This guide covers what you need to know about getting started in web design, from what skills to learn to the best strategies for landing your first web design job.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- What Is a Web Designer, and What Do They Do?
- The Skills You Need to Get Started
- Salary 101: What Can You Expect to Make in a Web Design Job?
- Landing Your First Web Design Job
- Freelancing as a Web Designer
- How to Learn Advanced Skills
- Final Thoughts
1. What is a web designer, and what do they do?
WEB DESIGNER: A DEFINITION
Not to be confused with web developers, web designers are creative, digital professionals who craft the overall vision and plan for a website. Web design is less about using code to bring a website to life, and more about determining a site’s layout, color palette, fonts, and visual themes.
There are some other differences between web designers and web developers as well, but that’s the “short story” answer. Another way of understanding web design work is to consider what projects web designers work on, which brings us to…
WHAT DOES A WEB DESIGNER DO?
MediaBistro defines it(opens in a new tab) (charmingly) like this:
“These visual architects are responsible for the overall awesomeness of a website’s look—its layout, colors, fonts, icons, buttons, the whole shebang.”
Anywhere online that you see elements of visual design, it’s likely a web designer has played a part in the process. The web design role might include the following tasks or responsibilities:
- Designing web pages or whole websites
- Designing site navigations
- Mocking up mobile-first and/or responsive websites that look good on all sizes of screens
- Coding pages or sites using HTML and/or styling those projects via stylesheets and CSS (this is increasingly part of the role, though not universal—see the next section on skills)
- Project managing, including overseeing teams and/or clients
2: What skills do you need to become a web designer? And how can you learn them?
Web design skills can be broken down into hard and soft categories. Let’s start with the necessary tech and visual design skills, which fall firmly into the “hard” skills camp:
- Layout and navigation principles
- Color and typography
- Design software such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Sketch
- Wireframing(opens in a new tab)/prototyping approaches, practices, and software
- HTML & CSS*
- Javascript*
Additional soft skills to consider:
- Time management/project management skills
- Client relations/communication skills
- Knowledge of digital marketing best practices
Want to dive deeper? We recommend everyone interested in the profession master these nine key web design skills. You can also take a look at the curriculum for our Visual Design course.
* While some might argue that HTML & CSS aren’t requisite skills for web designers, companies increasingly include them in hiring requirements in order to find “unicorn” team members, i.e. professionals who have working knowledge of both design and web development practices. Meanwhile, Javascript takes your resume one step further because it allows web designers more hands-on access during the build process. Plus, all three are great skills to have when you’re working on teams where you’ll need to communicate with front-end web developers and the like.
3. Web designer salaries: What can you expect to make in a web design job?
According to Indeed(opens in a new tab), as of January 2019, the average web designer salary in the U.S. is $46,346 ($23.30/hour).
We’ve broken that number down further in our Web Design Salary Series article, but keep in mind that it will vary according to certain elements — including location, experience, expertise, etc. Another thing to consider is that not all “web design” jobs will have the job title “Web Designer.” In New York, NY, a “Visual Designer” makes $79,246, on average (Indeed(opens in a new tab)). (Web design is a subcategory of visual design.)
📌 Related: What *Exactly* Is Visual Design?
To determine what you can reasonably expect to make as a web designer, Glassdoor’s Know Your Worth(opens in a new tab) tool is a great way to plug in specific details about your own circumstances to calculate a likely salary (and the right number to give when asked your salary requirements). You may also want to explore how to calculate your rate for freelance web design work.
The truth of the matter is that web developers on average do make more money than web designers. But if you’re a creative looking for a financially stable career, shifting into tech as a web designer is a smart move long-term. Here are some other helpful reads:
1. What is a web designer, and what do they do?
WEB DESIGNER: A DEFINITION
Not to be confused with web developers, web designers are creative, digital professionals who craft the overall vision and plan for a website. Web design is less about using code to bring a website to life, and more about determining a site’s layout, color palette, fonts, and visual themes.
There are some other differences between web designers and web developers as well, but that’s the “short story” answer. Another way of understanding web design work is to consider what projects web designers work on, which brings us to…
WHAT DOES A WEB DESIGNER DO?
MediaBistro defines it(opens in a new tab) (charmingly) like this:
“These visual architects are responsible for the overall awesomeness of a website’s look—its layout, colors, fonts, icons, buttons, the whole shebang.”
Anywhere online that you see elements of visual design, it’s likely a web designer has played a part in the process. The web design role might include the following tasks or responsibilities:
- Designing web pages or whole websites
- Designing site navigations
- Mocking up mobile-first and/or responsive websites that look good on all sizes of screens
- Coding pages or sites using HTML and/or styling those projects via stylesheets and CSS (this is increasingly part of the role, though not universal—see the next section on skills)
- Project managing, including overseeing teams and/or clients
2: What skills do you need to become a web designer? And how can you learn them?
Web design skills can be broken down into hard and soft categories. Let’s start with the necessary tech and visual design skills, which fall firmly into the “hard” skills camp:
- Layout and navigation principles
- Color and typography
- Design software such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Sketch
- Wireframing(opens in a new tab)/prototyping approaches, practices, and software
- HTML & CSS*
- Javascript*
Additional soft skills to consider:
- Time management/project management skills
- Client relations/communication skills
- Knowledge of digital marketing best practices
Want to dive deeper? We recommend everyone interested in the profession master these nine key web design skills. You can also take a look at the curriculum for our Visual Design course.
* While some might argue that HTML & CSS aren’t requisite skills for web designers, companies increasingly include them in hiring requirements in order to find “unicorn” team members, i.e. professionals who have working knowledge of both design and web development practices. Meanwhile, Javascript takes your resume one step further because it allows web designers more hands-on access during the build process. Plus, all three are great skills to have when you’re working on teams where you’ll need to communicate with front-end web developers and the like.
3. Web designer salaries: What can you expect to make in a web design job?
According to Indeed(opens in a new tab), as of January 2019, the average web designer salary in the U.S. is $46,346 ($23.30/hour).
We’ve broken that number down further in our Web Design Salary Series article, but keep in mind that it will vary according to certain elements — including location, experience, expertise, etc. Another thing to consider is that not all “web design” jobs will have the job title “Web Designer.” In New York, NY, a “Visual Designer” makes $79,246, on average (Indeed(opens in a new tab)). (Web design is a subcategory of visual design.)
📌 Related: What *Exactly* Is Visual Design?
To determine what you can reasonably expect to make as a web designer, Glassdoor’s Know Your Worth(opens in a new tab) tool is a great way to plug in specific details about your own circumstances to calculate a likely salary (and the right number to give when asked your salary requirements). You may also want to explore how to calculate your rate for freelance web design work.
The truth of the matter is that web developers on average do make more money than web designers. But if you’re a creative looking for a financially stable career, shifting into tech as a web designer is a smart move long-term. Here are some other helpful reads: