Web designers are among the most sought-after professionals of today’s modern workforce, so it is a wise decision to start a career. Moreover, with so many cool resources at your disposal, it’s not even hard to become a good designer! We listed the main 5 steps you need to make in order to get started.
Web design is one of the most lucrative career choices nowadays, and it will be in demand for as long as the World Wide Web exists. Furthermore, with the skills you learn as a web designer, you can always make a career switch towards greener pastures such as mobile app development.
Overall, if you’re pondering the pros and cons of being a web designer, there are plenty of points in the pros section. For instance, if you like learning on your own rhythm, there are a lot of information and resources available online. Moreover, this is one of those domains where you learn more through practice, so it is highly recommended that you get your hands dirty and see where it takes you.
Also, anyone with a bit of inclination towards graphic design and coding can be a web designer, regardless of age, background, or overall aspirations.
Does it seem too good to be true?
Well, we didn’t say it won’t require a ton of work and lots of effort from your side. But, with the right motivation, it can be done! So, have a look at the steps you should take to become a guru in this niche.
#1: Know the Skills You’ll Need
Web designers need both coding and graphic skills, which is why it may look a bit more challenging than other professions. You need to know languages such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, jQuery, some SQL, but you also need to know how to work with the Adobe Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, and more).
Still, you won’t need all these skills at once and you don’t need to master them to perfection before staring the first projects. You just need to know the basics and how to use the resources at your disposal to find the right answer. In time, as you work on various projects, you’ll continue to learn new skills and improve the existent ones.
#2: Find the Right Resources
While there are plenty of good resources available online for free (sites like w3schools.com), it is best to combine them with courses where you can get feedback from a teacher or a specialist. Besides, an online course of web design from a reliable platform offers access to specialized materials created by experts in the field and a strong community that provides tips and advice.
Keep in mind: you will need to include resources for both design and coding!
#3: Understand the Theory of Web Design
As a beginner, you may think that a site is just a collection of pages interconnected via links. However, as you learn and improve in your skills, you’ll come to understand that there is a theory of design behind all those pages and elements.
To create beautiful sites, that attract users and make them reach towards the goals behind the design (buy the products, order the services, and so on), you need to know how to create a natural flow. This can happen only after you get a basic understanding of good design and color theory.
#4: Learn About User Experience
User experience teaches young web designers to create for real-life customers.
A site should serve its audience. This means that it should attract people who are interested in the offer and it should do so in a manner that’s pleasing and entertaining.
Everything must move and react in a way that creates a connection with the user and invites them to stay longer on the site and browse. So, starting with page loading speed, responsive designs, search, navigational flow, and more, everything must be flawless and smooth.
The user must feel satisfied with using your site in order to move towards the shopping cart or leave an email address/contact information.
#5: Learn from the Masters
It’s always a good idea to understand how the best sites work and why people love using them. So, look for the pages that show up first for your search terms (sites from different niches are different and address different audiences).
Study the menus and the navigation first, but don’t ignore the use of colors and graphic elements. While the pages may look simple at the surface, such a design requires a lot of work and ingenuity, so try to understand how the designer managed to put everything together!
Wrap Up
Through some study and practice, it’s quite easy to become a good web designer and improve your financial situation. However, if you want to make sure the big guys come to you with amazing offers and projects (instead of you chasing them) you need to be fantastic at what you do.
Continue learning and always work on improving your work and observing other masters of the craft. As a wise person once said, it may be difficult to reach the top, but it’s even more difficult to maintain your position once you get there!
Oli Kang
Oli is a working mum who has a passion for teaching and all things educational. With a background in marketing, Oli manages the digital channels and content at Courses.com.au.
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