You can make money online simply by becoming a website design expert. Every site on the internet has to be designed by someone. It will also require updates and probably redesigning from time to time.

You can generate a lot of online income by learning how to become a web designer or web developer. The few tips in this article will help you get started an excel in the web design field.

You can generate a lot of online income by learning how to become a web designer or web developer. The few tips in this article will help you get started an excel in the website design field.

• Web Designer Job Description
• Skills required
• How to get started as a Web Designer
• How to make money as a Website Designer

Web Designer Job Description

Web designers use their creative and software engineering/programming skills to design, build and improve websites. They understand user experience and are able to build websites that are easy to understand, navigate and use, and adhere to design standards and specifications. They are sometimes known as a front-end developer.

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Primary duties include conceptualizing and implementing creative ideas for client websites, as well as creating visual elements that are in line with our clients’ branding. You will be working closely with our web development team to ensure proper and hassle-free implementation.

To be successful in this role, you will need to have excellent visual design skills and be proficient in graphic design software such as Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator.

• Conceptualizing creative ideas with clients.
• Testing and improving the design of the website.
• Establishing design guidelines, standards, and best practices.
• Maintaining the appearance of websites by enforcing content standards.
• Designing visual imagery for websites and ensuring that they are in line with branding for clients.
• Working with different content management systems.
• Communicating design ideas using user flows, process flows, site maps and wireframes.
• Incorporating functionalities and features into websites.
• Designing sample pages including colors and fonts.
• Preparing design plans and presenting the website structure.

Skills required

Regardless of the stage of your career, you should pay close attention to the marketplace’s trends in order not to get swept aside by history. Indeed, adaptability is a key asset of any web designing professional and not only!

As we can clearly notice, the role of the average web designer is quickly changing, adapting to the client’s needs. No matter which niche you are working in, e.g., it could be a business like bestessays.com or any other one, a web designer should always pay attention to trends.

Of course, these needs are influenced by the industry’s trends and generally by your clients’ competitors. Therefore, as a web designing expert, you need to approach an open-minded perspective when it comes to your self-growth. Here are some of the skills you will need.

• A relevant diploma in related field.
• Proficiency in graphic design software including Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and other visual design tools.
• Proficiency in front-end development web programming languages such as HTML and CSS, JQuery, and JavaScript.
• Good understanding of content management systems.
• Good understanding of search engine optimization principles.
• Proficient understanding of cross-browser compatibility issues.
• Excellent visual design skills.
• Up-to-date experience with international web protocols, standards, and technologies.
• Creative and open to new ideas.
• Adaptable and willing to learn new techniques.
• Excellent communication skills.

How to get started as a Web Designer

Learn Web Design Theory

When it comes to learning a new discipline, it’s essential to learn foundational principles first. Well-designed websites follow strict rules of UX design — they have good usability and nice visual appeal. A good UX design will make visitors stay on your site while a bad one will make them go somewhere else.

Learn to Code

Even though it is possible to create a website using website builders like Wix or Squarespace. But you will struggle to know the possibilities of the web when you work only with site builders. Knowing how to code will give you a lot of benefits. For example, you’ll be able to form a much more accurate idea of whether or not your design is technically feasible.

You need to have the necessary skills in HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). HTML sets the structure and content of the page, while CSS defines the styling options. I recommend tutorials by W3schools: tutorial on HTML and tutorial on CSS.

It’s also preferable to learn JavaScript — it’s one of the most in-demand programming languages. It’ll be much easier to create advances in websites using JavaScript. Major learning platforms provide access to JavaScript courses for free. Check it out an introduction to JavaScript courses by Codecademy and Udacity.

Basic Drawing

Though drawing is not critical for most of the web designer’s job, there is an element of illustration that is needed to express your ideas to clients and peers. Most graphic designers and web designers need to be capable of drawing graphs and grids to help clarify their layout plans.

A designer should have a basic concept of drawing shapes, shading sections, roughing out menus, incorporating basic logos and more in their initial design process.

Focus on creating your portfolio

To hire a web designer, companies or clients need to be sure that the website designer has all the required skills to do the work. That’s why when companies/clients look for a prospective designer they want to see tangible results of their work, not just to hear that in-depth understanding of design theory. The best way to prove your web design skills is to create a strong portfolio.

But what to do if you don’t have any examples for your portfolio? Start this process with creating your own personal site. Make a virtual presence for yourself as a professional — demonstrate your skills and level of craftsmanship. Spice your design with elements of personalization (add something unique to your website, something that can be found only on your website).

When it comes to self-promotion, don’t be shy. Use all available resources — show off your work in a format of case studies on sites like Behance.

Keep an eye on coming trends

Inspiration is vital for all creative people, and web designers are no exception. Website designers should be familiar with the latest web design trends to understand the ever-changing demands of web visitors. It’s recommended to spend 30 minutes each day on watching the best designs.

Here are a few great resources for your inspiration: 

Awwwards is a well-known website for web professionals. The site has a nomination ‘Site of the day’ where designers can find really interesting examples of web design.

Dribbble help designers to be familiar with the latest visual trends.

Behance is an excellent resource for in-depth web design case studies.

How to make money as a Website Designe

Work for a Design Agency

You could work as an employee for a design agency and spend your time working on designing websites for clients. As an employed designer, you’ll be able to focus on the design work without the need to deal with business-related issues like landing clients.

Working for an agency would likely pay you a set salary, and (depending on the employer) you’d probably have benefits like paid time off and health insurance.

Work as an In-House Designer

Another option that allows you to work as an employee is to be an in-house designer. In this case, instead of working on projects for clients, you would be working on the website of your employer. For example, you could be an in-house designer for a financial company and your job responsibilities would involve designing and maintaining the company website.

Freelance

As a freelancer, you’ll also spend the majority of your time on client projects, but you’ll also have responsibilities related to running the business, which includes finding and securing clients, dealing with contracts, bookkeeping (although it can be outsourced), and all aspects of communication with the clients.

One of the really nice things about freelancing is the flexibility that it offers. You’ll have some control over the types of clients that you work with and the projects that you accept. You’ll also have more control over your working hours, although your projects will still have deadlines that need to be met.

Start Your Own Agency

If you enjoy the business aspects, starting your own agency is an option. Instead of working as a solo freelancer, you could hire other designers and developers to work for you.

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If your ultimate goal is to start an agency, a low risk approach would be to freelance first and build up your business slowly. When you have enough of a workload and income to justify hiring someone else, you could expand.

Sell Themes or Templates

There is a lot of demand for website templates and themes for popular content management systems like WordPress and Shopify.

There are a few different ways that you could go about this:

Set up your own shop – Create your own website and sell themes or templates on your own. You’ll need to get traffic and build up the business, but you’ll have full control.

Sell on a marketplace – Instead of dealing with building up traffic to your own site, you could sell at a marketplace like ThemeForest and benefit from their huge, established user base. You’ll have to split the revenue and you’ll give up a lot of control.

Some template/theme creators do both. That way you can benefit from the exposure of a marketplace, but you’re not totally at the mercy of the marketplace either.

As you will have seen from this article, there are a lot of ways to make money online as a website designer. You just have to consider which option interests you and can work for you in the long run. If you put in the right amount of effort needed, you will excel in the website design industry.