Web designer

Web designers plan, create and code web pages, using technical skills to produce websites that fit customers' requirements

As a web designer, you'll be involved in the technical and graphical aspects of website building, determining both the look of each page and how the website navigates and feels overall. You may also be responsible for the maintenance of an existing site.

The term web developer is sometimes used interchangeably with web designer, but this is misguided. Web developing is a more specialist role, focusing on the back-end development of a website, using programming languages to make the web design a reality that works well.

The growth in touchscreen phones and tablets has dictated a new way of designing websites, and web designers need to ensure that web pages are responsive no matter what type of device is being used. The need to test websites at different stages of design and on a variety of devices, has therefore become an important aspect of the job.

Responsibilities

As a web designer, you'll need to:

• meet and liaise regularly with clients, to identify their needs
• draw up detailed website specifications
• work on website navigation and usability
• design sample page layouts including font, text size and colours
• design graphics, animations and manipulate digital photographs
• register web domain names and organise the hosting of the website
• present initial design ideas to clients
• work with different content management systems
• consider search engine optimisation (SEO)
• meet relevant legal requirements such as accessibility standards, freedom of information and privacy
• keep up to date with new technology and trends
• design the website's visual imagery and ensure it's in line with company branding policy or the requirements of the client
• use data analytics to track website visits and page views
• proofread content and make changes where necessary
• re-touch images and work on logos
• edit content, debug code and re-design web pages
• work with other web specialists, including web developers and graphic designers
• liaise with outside agencies
• test the website to ensure it's working
• hand the completed website over to the client
• provide post-sales technical support
• train the clients' staff
• research current design trends.

Salary

• The average web designer salary is between £27,500 and £29,000.
• Starting salaries vary and can range from £18,000 to £24,000.
• With four to six years' experience and more, salaries can rise up to around £40,000.
• Those in senior roles can earn upwards of £46,000.

Salaries tend to be higher in London and the South East, depending on the size of the company and its location. Increased salaries may be available to those who specialise in emerging technologies.

Additional benefits might include pension schemes, parking and life assurance, but it's not unusual for small companies simply to offer a salary.

Freelance web designers tend to earn more per hour than those employed by a company. However, work is not guaranteed and additional benefits such as a pension or holiday and sickness allowance are not usually included.

Income figures are intended as a guide only.

Working hours

You'll generally work 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, but you might occasionally be required to work extra hours in the evenings or on weekends to meet deadlines. Some jobs may involve being on-call to deal with unexpected problems that need solving at any time, day or night.

The only equipment you need to be a web designer is a computer, software and high-speed internet, meaning you can work from almost any location. This lends itself very well to freelance work, being self-employed and working remotely, from home or other locations. More companies are offering remote positions for web designers and the demand for web design skills is continuing to grow.

What to expect

• The job involves spending hours at a keyboard and demands high levels of concentration. To prevent eye strain, a bad back or other related health problems, regular breaks from the screen are recommended.
• Web design work requires creativity and a good eye for detail, as well as really understanding your clients’ needs and preferences.
• This profession is currently male-dominated, but steps are being taken to redress the balance. For information and jobs geared towards women entering the industry, visit Women in Tech.
• Work is essentially office based. Travel to client sites may be required especially when working on a large and complex project, and you may be based there for the duration of the project. If you're self-employed or freelance you'll often work from home but may work in your client's offices from time to time.
• The top location for web design jobs is London, with the south east of England also providing a good number of jobs. Other hot spots include Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow and the M4 corridor around Slough and Reading. However, vacancies are available throughout the UK.

Qualifications

There are a number of entry routes into web design. A formal qualification is not always necessary, as some employers place greater value on creativity and experience.

However, larger employers, especially those who offer graduate training schemes, may require a related degree at either undergraduate or postgraduate level.

Relevant degree subjects (with either a creative or technical element) are numerous, but could include:

• computer science
• digital media production
• fine art
• illustration
• graphic design
• information technology
• multimedia design
• software engineering
• web design and development.

Many universities offer web design with additional subjects, such as communications, technology, advertising, management and languages. These can be useful should you wish your career to go in a specific direction, such as advertising, moving into management or working abroad.

Information on degrees and degree apprenticeships for those wanting a career in the digital industry is provided by TechSkills.

Entry with a Level 5 qualification (foundation degree, HND or a DipHE) is possible but a relevant subject, work experience and a good portfolio will be required by an employer.

A postgraduate qualification is not necessary to get into the job, but it can be helpful, particularly for jobs with a high level of competition or if the qualification provides you with a particular specialism. It may also be useful for advancing into positions that have some management responsibility.

In addition to qualifications, a portfolio of web design work to show prospective employers will be essential. This could be in hard copy form or using a digital platform such as a website to showcase your work. You can build your portfolio even without work experience using personal projects.

Entry without a degree is also possible. If you are self-taught, have developed some websites and have a portfolio then an employer may be interested in hiring you. Or you could become self-employed and set up your own business working freelance, once you have built up a good client base.

It's also possible to undertake courses offered by non-university organisations. Numerous training providers offer web design courses which can be studied in different ways, such as in a part-time capacity or via distance learning. These providers include:

• Distance Learning Centre
• Pitman Training
• ELATT
• Learn Direct

Skills

You will need to show employers evidence of soft and technical skills.

Soft skills include:

• attention to detail
• creativity
• analysis
• listening
• teamwork
• team leading
• problem solving
• delivering presentations
• ability to teach yourself new technical skills
• communication skills.

Technical skills include:

• Coding - HTML, CSS, Javascript, jQuery, Dreamweaver
• Programming - .net, XML/XSLT, ASP, PHP, Python, Django
• Design and graphics - InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Flash
• Content management system (CMS) - WordPress, Adobe Business Catalyst, Drupal, Joomla, Ektron, Zope, Google Web Designer.

It's best to show a combination of technical skills from each of the categories. You'll also need to demonstrate you understand SEO and online marketing. However, the specifics of what's expected from you will vary depending upon the employer, the technical level of web design in the job you're applying for and the level of job role for which you're applying. You may also specialise in a particular web design aspect, in which case your skills in that area need to be strong.

Work experience

Your web design experience doesn't need to be extensive and any experience, whether paid or voluntary, is useful. You could design websites in your own time for family, friends or a local charity, or embark on a summer internship or a placement year. The important thing is to develop a portfolio of work that can be shown to prospective employers and to keep up to date with the latest trends in web design.

Joining clubs or societies at university can be helpful. Particularly, those involving computing, web design or multimedia and where the opportunity for creating websites might arise. Ensure, if only at a basic level, that you can perform all the tasks of a web designer.

Find out more about the different kinds of work experience and internships that are available.

Employers

The variety of industries that might employ web designers is potentially very large, as any organisation that has a website will have the need for a web designer at some point.

Employers may have their own in-house web design team, or they may use external web design agencies, freelancers or a combination of all of these.

Web design agencies are a good source of vacancies.

Other sources of work include:

• public sector organisations such as universities or the police force
• private sector organisations like design agencies, banks, supermarkets, online retailers and law firms
• third sector organisations large and well-known charities.

The main difference between employers is the type of work that might be expected. For example, working for a design agency will mean working on a variety of projects, with a range of clients in different industries. So the work will be very changeable and varied.

Working for an in-house team may mean less variation as you could be working on just one large website.

Working freelance or being self-employed could also mean that the work is varied, but the amount of work may be unpredictable with peaks and troughs throughout the year, which could impact on your income level.

You can find help and advice on freelancing from The Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE).

Look for job vacancies at:

• BCS (The Chartered Institute for IT)
• Bubble Jobs
• Design Week Jobs
• Networkers
• Technojobs
• CW Jobs

The British Interactive Media Association (BIMA) provides information about the digital industry. BIMA members can list their freelance services on the site for potential clients to view.

Specialist recruitment agencies such as Hays Technology and Talando commonly handle vacancies.

Professional development

Keeping up to date with new technical developments, as well as new design concepts and trends is essential for developing your career. Your employer will normally help you to do this by offering in-house courses, arranging for you to attend off-site training courses, or by providing you with the facilities to train yourself.

Adobe Digital Learning Services offer certification in use of their industry-standard software. There are also numerous other training providers offering professional development courses.

You can maintain your knowledge of current design trends by following web design award websites such as CSS Design Awards, joining design communities, reading professional web design magazines such as .net magazine and reviewing other websites.

Career prospects

As web design is a multi-faceted role, the first few years of your career will be spent developing the variety of skills required to do the job. This may take four or five years, at which point you could be promoted to senior designer.

Once you've identified your strengths and which aspects of the work you like the most, you could move into other roles with responsibility for large-value projects, managing high-profile clients, leading project teams, usability, consulting or even become a director of the company.

If you feel that you would rather concentrate on the creative aspect of web design, you could specialise in areas such as:

• graphics
• user interface design
• interactive design
• front-end development
• information architecture.

Alternatively, you may decide that you prefer a more technical role and so you could specialise in the more technical aspects of coding and develop a speciality in that area.

Another option is to obtain a teaching qualification and teach web design at a further or higher education institution. You could also work as a private tutor, teaching individuals or small groups.