Web designers Career Outlook

A web designer spends his or her time creating website layouts and designs. To do this, they take into consideration the pages of a website, creating each page with specific customization in mind. For example, a home page of a website will be designed entirely different than a blog page of the same site. Businesses depend on their websites to attract consumers and sell products/services, making the job a web designer extremely important. There are many types of design tools used by a web designer, and with technology becoming more advanced day-by-day, these tools also become more advanced.
One of the most important parts of effective web design include proper coding. Without coding, a website won’t be easy to read by viewers, nor can it be viewed across different web browsers. Since not all people use the same browser to surf the Internet, proper coding is of the utmost importance. In addition to knowing the ins-and-outs of coding, a web designer must have a good understanding of marketing principles and branding; this helps to ensure the sites they create will bring forth profits to the businesses they create them for.

A web designer must keep in mind, unless given complete control over the development of a website, that his or her duty is to create a website that meets the needs and wants of clients. If clients aren’t happy, they won’t recommend a web designer to other businesses; this will of course have a huge negative effect on a web designer’s career.

Knowing How to Become a Web Designer

A web designer can become self-employed, or if he or she prefers, it is possible to work for a web design firm. When working for a firm, employers tend to prefer a person to have a four-year degree from an accredited web design college. If a person doesn’t have this type of degree, there are some smaller companies that don’t mandate it. In fact, with a strong portfolio, a job as a web designer can be obtained almost anywhere. For the most part though, a four-year degree or higher will be of the most benefit when it comes to securing a job as a web designer.

There are two types of basic degrees that can be obtained to become a web designer: a bachelor of arts in web design or a bachelor of science in web design. Both degrees bring about the same qualification; however, some employers prefer one type of the other and vice versa. No matter the degree earned, when going to school to earn a degree in web design, students will complete courses that focus on the following topics:

– Web applications programming
– Visual communication theories
– Usability testing
– Multimedia production
– Web publishing
– Introduction to web design
– Web-based interactivity
– Digital arts and design
– Structured systems analysis and design

Web Design Career Options

After earning a degree to become a web designer, there are several career paths that a person can travel down, including that of a:

– Web publications specialist
– Website designer
– Web producer
– Graphic artist
– Media integration specialist

Job Outlook for Web Designers

From the year 2008 through the year 2018, the job outlook for a web designer is expected to increase by more than 13 percent. Those who have specialized experience in website animation can expect to enjoy even stronger job growth. It is because of the ever-increasing use of the Internet that web designers will continue to see their job demand grow. Since all businesses have the ability to advertise their services and/or products via the Internet, web designers can literally find employment within any industry.

How Much Does a Web Designer Make?

The salary of a web designer greatly varies. If a person chooses to work for him or herself, the money earned will be determined by the amount of money charged for services as well as the number of clients the person works for. On the other hand, when working for a web design firm, a web designer can expect to make somewhere around $58, 500 a year. Those working in a management role will tend to make upwards of $100, 000 a year.

Things to Consider

When going into the line of work of a web designer, there are many things to take into consideration. For starters, there are several educational paths that can be followed to enter into this occupation. If a person has family and work duties to attend to, it may be best to take part in a web design program that is offered solely online. For those who want to become self-employed as a web design, it is of the utmost importance to take classes focusing on marketing and branding, as this will help in establishing a self-owed company.

It is also important to consider what type of web designer a person wants to be. For example, certain areas of specialization found within the field of web design include:

– Administration
– Layout
– Graphics
– Design
– XML
– Design
– Programming

After a certain field of study is chosen, it then becomes easier to pick a web design program that specializes in that area of concentration. No matter the school a person chooses to attend to become a web designer, it is of the utmost importance to complete a program through an accredited school.