What it Takes to Become a Successful Web Designer

Web design takes into account a lot of tech skills seamlessly tailored to give birth to a website. However, it takes more than just tech skills and good programs to become a success in this field. But just when you start thinking all this is intricate stuff, here are a couple tips off the web design book you need to incorporate. A combination of these skills and the tech skills you have picked, success is inevitable.

This article is meant for the designers out there struggling to get a breakthrough in web design and for you that is new to web design.

Planning

Just like everything else, web design too requires thinking and organizing of different elements to achieve a particular goal. Planning helps you achieve effectiveness and efficiency.

Before you dive into web design, plan and research well. You need to know:

  • What you need to learn (if you are new to web design) and the order in which to.
  • What the client’s needs (those developing a project).
  • The time frame which you will be working with.

Figuring the above elements, will save you money, resources and time. Most designers skip this process and end up stumbling into a design process with the slightest clue of the issues they might ran into. Planning gives you forecast of what the end product might look like. You are therefore prepared for all the scenarios your plan predicted.

The process of planning might be boring and hectic but it is worth every minute and second you invest. It will go a long way in marking your spot in the web design world.

Passion

This should not be confused with a gift or talent. Confusing the two might discourage those who think that they are not gifted in web design skills. Passion is an emotional pursuit of something. Passion compels enthusiasm and desire to achieve something.

As a designer you should figure out what compels you. Which excites you more, is it web design or is it graphic design? There are very few professionals who have bridged the gap between graphic design and web design. The two fields are very much different from each other: a web designer cannot be a successful graphic designer overnight and vice versa. If the answer is web design, you are on the right track. Focus on it and specialize in each and every aspect of it.

Design Software

Like every other artisan, web design is a skill that requires you to make use of the right tools. Know your way around the available design tools and how to make use of them. Some of the commonly used tool by web designers include; Photoshop, sketch, WordPress etc. Get them in your toolbox and study them.

Interact with others.

Web design is not a skill that requires you to be a lone ranger. Join coding communities, twitter chats, Facebook groups and other platforms with web developers.  Ask questions. Do not be afraid to ask questions that might be deemed as stupid. That’s the only way you will learn.

While in the quest for interaction, don’t leave out business platform and social groups. After all, these are the people who will hire you, not your fellow website developers. Learn everything you can from them. Learn the basic business skills, social skills etc. They will help you a great deal in acquiring skills that you may be in need of in the near future.

Create a Portfolio for Yourself

Inspirational Web Design

Sitting and waiting for people to notice you will not make a significant improvement in growing your career as a web designer. You need to create an up to date portfolio stating the projects you have been involved in. Don’t just boast about the projects, show the world what you are capable of.

Portfolios showcase your abilities as web designer and they are the perfect mediums to inform potential clients that you are active and relevant. Make sure your portfolio includes all the aspects of web design; content management, layout, color, typography and design rationales. If your portfolio is good enough, clients or potential employers will come to you.

Experience

What counts more than your qualification skills is the experience. Your experience as web designer matters a lot. Potential clients and employers want to know who you have worked for and what you have done. From their perspective, having experience will hasten the process with which you identify design solutions to problems presented to you. This is the major reason they will want to hire you. Your reliability.

Even if you have to work for free to gain some experience do it, it will be for a short period of time. At the end of it all, the time you invested working for free will go a long way in building your career as web designer who is experienced.

Growth

SEO

Many a times, we get comfortable with the skills they have amassed forgetting the fact that the technology world changes almost on a daily basis. As a web designer you should be in tune with the changes in the industry. Find out what is new, what is failing and what is trending.

Don’t be comfortable with what you learnt a couple of months ago. Your competition will overtake you. It will not be just overtaking, they will take your business away from you and your relevance in the industry. Strive for relevance.

Lookout for new trends that customers are looking for. Check what is popular in a theme or template. Keep learning. Don’t limit yourself to a single set of skills

Web Design Soft Skills

It is important for you as a web designer to be up to speed with skills like: modern html coding techniques, java script user interface techniques, SEO techniques and CSS for browser compatibility. As trivia as they may sound, if you closely look at these soft skills, they are the major building blocks for a modern, functional site.

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About The Author
Freddy Muriuki
Freddy Muriuki

Freddy is a WordPress theme reviewer at WP Theme Raves, writer, web developer and founder of Vista Media Enterprises, a nice place dedicated to the online entrepreneur looking to boost conversion rates using effective web content.