Web design is the process of arranging the content for the World Wide Web. The goal of web design is to create a site that’s engaging and easy to navigate.
A good website should be visually appealing, provide enough information so users can make informed decisions, and load quickly. Whether you want to build your own site or are looking for a career change, this guide will show you how!
What Is Web Design
Web design is the process of arranging the content for the worldwide web. The goal of web design is to create a site that’s engaging and easy to navigate.
A good website should be visually appealing, provide enough information so users can make informed decisions, and load quickly. Whether you want to build your own site or are looking for a career change, this guide will show you how!
Web design can be broken down into two major roles: front-end and back-end. Front-end web designers are responsible for the site’s “look,” while back-end developers create how it functions. Learning both skills would be ideal and necessary in this field.
Front-End Web Designers use a variety of tools to bring their vision to life: Wireframing Using simple shapes, you need to plan out exactly where everything will appear on the page (including text). A wireframe is like a blueprint your site will follow—it’s very rough and only shows elements in their most basic form.
You don’t need much knowledge or experience with coding to work with wireframes; just some creativity and artistic ability.
Once you have the site mapped out, it’s time to design it!
You can do this manually in Adobe Photoshop or Figma, but there are a lot of advanced features that take some time to master using those programs (like layer styles and fill effects).
Luckily, there are plenty of online resources available to help get your designs looking just how you want them.
Vector graphics or Vector images are made up of points called vectors, which can be manipulated with mathematical functions as a grid. They look great at any zoom level without losing quality and make responsive web design possible.
CSS best practices As more designers focus on cleanliness and efficiency through CSS techniques (rather than simply appearance), we can expect higher quality in the websites we use.
Creating well-structured websites makes them more maintainable, easier to update, and faster for visitors to interact with—all important considerations for any user experience.
CSS frameworks hold your site’s code together so you can focus on creating its design. They give you a structure that allows you to build your styles without worrying about anything below the page’s fold (i.e., anything that won’t show up when scrolling). Bootstrap is currently the most popular framework out there, and it’s free!
Back-End Web Developers use languages like PHP, Ruby on Rails, ASP .NET, Python, and Java to create different parts of the site’s functionality.
This includes databases, server-side coding, and the site’s content management system. Back-end developers work in a team setting alongside designers and front-end developers to produce a complete site.
Web Design Education And Training
Web design education and training typically include computer programming, information architecture, website design markup languages, user interface design, interaction design, graphic design, and visual communication.
You can take web design courses online through a variety of universities to help you learn. Universities such as Stanford University offer a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Design with a concentration in Interaction Design or Graphic Design.
Courses include Website Development for Social Media Campaigns and Brand Identity Systems; Interactive Storytelling & Participatory Media; Introduction to Computer Programming for Educators; Introduction to Computer Science (CS) for CS Majors; and more.
If you're looking for hands-on experience right away, many web design workshops will teach you how to get started, where you will learn the basics of HTML and CSS.
You can also get involved with web design jobs to gain hands-on experience.
Upon graduating from college, students are inundated with employment opportunities in education, sales and marketing, human resources management, accounting, and insurance fields.
A small number go into finance or information technology. So what about people who major in design?
They do have options too – including graphic design for print projects such as flyers and posters; designing packaging for consumer goods; visual merchandising; illustrating graphics for T-shirts; creating multimedia presentations (including videos); environmental design/interior decoration; toy and game design; producing commercials for TV or radio advertisements and!
The Skills You Need To Become A Web Designer
If you are going to create a website, you need to have a computer with internet access and know-how to use basic computer programs such as Microsoft Word and Adobe Photoshop.
You should also learn about HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to design your website.
If you are not already proficient in these programs, it's time to take a class or at least familiarize yourself with the basics. Y
ou can practice on your own computer using free software such as Notepad (for HTML), Paint (for graphics creation), and Audacity (for editing audio).
Once you have learned the basics of web design, you will need to get online and familiarize yourself with other professionals who work in the industry.
Learn about their lives and experiences by reading blog posts written by them. Networking is crucial for any aspiring creative professional.
Next, create an account on LinkedIn and start building your contacts within this social network community. Use this platform to find potential employers and employees who may be able to give you a leg up.
You should also attend industry events in your area which are likely to be posted on this site, Meetup.
Remember: at the end of the day, you need to have an excellent portfolio/resume and be able to present yourself well during job interviews.
This means knowing how to speak confidently about your abilities and having some great samples of your previous work ready for viewing.
Don't forget! Always follow up with potential employers after submitting your resume or application.
How To Get Your First Job As A Web Designer
If you're thinking about how to become a web designer and you're still in high school, don't worry. There are plenty of ways to get your foot in the door.
One way would be to create your own website. Make sure it's something that has traction on social media channels, and then ask those followers for feedback.
Put the link in a few job boards and see who bites! Another approach is to reach out to people who have websites or are building them as part of their business, and offer your services for free.
You can also find an internship at a design company or online startup.
Surprisingly (or not) there are a lot of websites out there that have open job listings. Some of them include Women Who Code, Dribbble, and Authentic Jobs to name a few.
Additionally, try searching through some job boards like Indeed and CareerBuilder.
If you don't find anything from those sources, consider reaching out to someone in your network for help with your search.
That could be anyone from family or friends who knows someone looking to fill the position, or even an online community you belong to that may have leads on where to look.
Another great way is by going through GitHub's job board as they post all jobs from their users in one place; this opens up the opportunity for many people who use GitHub regularly.
You'll also need to have the basics like some computer literacy, having knowledge of relevant programming languages, and familiarity with design software, as well as thinking about your personal interests and strengths.
Keep in mind that you can always hire someone to help you build your personal website if it's something you're truly struggling with or don't have time for, but creating your own "portfolio" is absolutely imperative if you want people to take notice of what you've created.
It shows employers that you're willing to put yourself out there and can handle criticism.
Don't get discouraged — if becoming a web designer wasn't easy then everybody would be doing it! There are plenty of great resources out there to help you along your journey if you're willing to put in the time, hard work, and effort.
Where To Find Freelance Work As A Web Designer
Of course, the internet is the easiest place to find a freelance web design job. You can try Craigslist, Upwork, or Fiverr. However, most of these sites take a percentage of work done or a fixed payment for work and the payout isn't great.
Tools like WordPress are extremely easy to use and can be used by those with no experience in web design. In fact, you don't even need to know how to code to create your own website using WordPress!
If you do have coding skills, you can further personalize your site through CSS and HTML customization.
However, there are cons to this method as well, since it's not an efficient way of creating a unique layout (since themes are made for multiple websites).
It's also difficult to edit plugins if they aren't coded correctly so time must often be spent correcting them or finding another one. The best way to figure out which web design tools are best for you is to try them.
If you don't have coding skills, but want a website that looks unique, then the easiest way to create one would be by using a WordPress theme. Themes can be installed and customized through a dashboard on your site. You can pick any color scheme imaginable and even include custom page layouts if need be.
There are also thousands of plugins available so chances are high you'll find what you're looking for! If not, creating a plugin may be an interesting project as well (some companies offer training).
However, this method isn't without its cons since updating or customizing themes in the future could become difficult bugs that will need to fix when they arise.
The best way to figure out which web design tools are best for you is to try them. However, if you're looking to start your own business/freelance career through your site, then the possibilities with WordPress are endless!
You can also expand it by selling products or services directly from your website. Web design is a great skill because there are so many ways to get started and personalize your website.
So really, it all boils down to what type of site do you want? Do you want something easy to create, or something unique? The choice is yours!
What Are The Best Tools For Designing Websites
Some tools that are used by web designers are Adobe Photoshop, Figma, Axure, Sketch, InVisionApp.
There are many more tools you can use to design a website. These are just a few examples.
If you want to become a web designer, you need to learn how to design. There are many different courses available online which will teach you the basics of design, from photoshop skills to coding and responsive design. Here is a list that may help: links
One way of becoming a web designer is also by learning HTML&CSS through CodeAcademy (it's free too). Once you have learned basic coding skills through websites like this, you can use what you've learned with your current skill-set as a graphic designer/illustrator/motion graphics artist, etc... and transfer these skills over into the world of web design.
Once you have all of these elements in place, you can start to think about how you're going to market yourself and what kind of portfolio websites or online platforms work best for your type of clientele. There is a comprehensive list of web design inspiration websites here: links
To become a web designer, you need to learn how to design. There are many different courses available online which will teach you the basics of design, from photoshop skills to coding and responsive design.
Here is a list that may help: links One way of becoming a web designer is also by learning HTML&CSS through CodeAcademy (it's free too).
Once you have learned basic coding skills through websites like this, you can use what you've learned with your current skill-set as a graphic designer/illustrator/motion graphics artist, etc... and transfer these skills over into the world of web design.
Once you have all of these elements in place, you can start to think about how you're going to market yourself and what kind of portfolio websites or online platforms work best for your type of clientele.