10 Best Skills You Need to Nurture Your Web Designing Career
It can be safely said that web designer skills have come a long way since the first web design was created by Timothy Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web. Berners-Lee designed and introduced the website of the Swiss research center CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) to the world on August 6, 1991. It had plain text explaining the World Wide Web and other headings like ‘Help’, ‘Software Products’, ‘History’, and more. It was simple and to the point: No banners, no images.
Over two decades later, the concept of web design has changed drastically. There are more vivid layouts, bold texts, images, visuals, animations, and patterns. This blog examines the fundamentals of web design and the most popular web designer skills you’ll need to stand out today.
What is Web Designing?
Web design involves the conceptualization, planning, and execution of electronic media through the World Wide Web (www), which is a collection of all the websites and web pages on the Internet. Simply put, the content, visuals, animations, or other objects you see on a website are collectively called web design. Its elements include layout, color scheme, typography, headers, graphics, and more. The purpose of web design is to not only ensure the aesthetics of a website but also focus on the ease and comfort of the users.
Top 10 Web Designer Skills
In an increasingly digital world and with a steady rise of E-commerce businesses, design is considered to be an integral factor in determining the quality of a website. This has naturally resulted in a demand for more skilled web designers. Here are the most popular web designer skills that you can learn to gain expertise and success in this field:
1. HTML & CSS
The two most important programming languages to know are Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)—the standard markup language used to create web pages—and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS).
HTML serves as the foundation of web design. It provides the structure and content of a web page. On the other hand, CSS describes the presentation of a document written in HTML. It helps in the overall styling of the website and in adding visual elements including typography, layout, and color. In the second webpage you see in the introduction above, all the visual elements are created with CSS.
2. UI & UX
Two other crucial web designer skills that you need are User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) design. UI design includes all the visual elements of a website or application; this includes buttons, menus, icons, and other visual components that users interact with to navigate and use the website. When designing these elements, you’ll need to consider the user’s needs, usability, and preferences.
UX design refers to the overall user experience of a website or application. It focuses on the entire user journey—from the initial landing page to the final conversion or goal. This includes the information architecture, usability, accessibility, and user research.
ALSO READ: How to Become a User Experience Designer: Everything You Need To Know
3. JavaScript and PHP
Important programming languages for web design include JavaScript and PHP. You can use JavaScript to create dynamic and interactive web pages with effects like drop-down menus, image sliders, pop-up windows, and other interactive features.
PHP helps create custom content management systems, e-commerce platforms, and other complex web applications.
4. Online Marketing
As a web designer, you also need to know about online marketing. It involves promoting a website to attract and retain visitors by using various digital channels. The purpose here is to increase the visibility and awareness of a website. You can learn activities like Search Engine Optimization (SEO), social media marketing, email marketing, Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising, content marketing, and more.
5. Web Server Management
You must know how to set up, configure, and maintain web servers to ensure the website is accessible and functional on the internet. This web designer skill is called web server management, which helps ensure that the websites run smoothly, securely, and efficiently.
6. Design Applications
Web designer skills also include knowledge of advanced web design tools and applications such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, WordPress, Webflow, and Figma, among others.
7. Responsive Design
Responsive design refers to designing web pages that adapt and adjust to different screen sizes and devices. This includes designing flexible layouts, using scalable images and fonts, and optimizing the website’s performance for various devices. It ensures the website functions effectively on various devices, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile phones.
8. Critical Thinking
In web design, critical thinking involves understanding user needs, analyzing website performance data, and zeroing in on areas for improvement. You have to focus on identifying problems and finding creative solutions that meet user needs and help accomplish business objectives.
ALSO READ: Top 5 Podcasts That Explore Good Design
9. Project Management
As a web designer, you need project management skills to define project goals, create timelines, and track progress. For this, you should have strong communication skills, attention to detail, and the ability to prioritize tasks and resources effectively.
10. Content Management System (CMS)
Content is an integral web design element. It needs to be constantly updated. This is where Content Management System (CMS) skills come in handy. A CMS is a software application that creates, manages, and publishes digital content on websites. It handles back-end tasks like organizing content, storing data, and delivering content to the front-end of the website. You can use CMS to manage content on the website even if you don’t know HTML, CSS, or JavaScript.
How to Learn Web Designer Skills
Web designing might sound challenging but you can master it with practice. Here are a few tips to help you polish your web designer skills:
Learn Design Elements
To learn web designer skills, you need to be familiar with web design elements. According to research on ‘Website Design and User Engagement’, web design’s seven most crucial elements are navigation, graphical representation, purpose, simplicity, content readability, organization, and content utility.
Other elements like cognitive architecture, categorization, labels, keywords, logos, and icons also play a crucial role in making a web design effective. Hence, you should first focus on understanding the basic elements of web design and how they are used.
Gain Social Knowledge and Information
Research on the best knowledge practices for website design suggests that professionals depend highly on social communications, knowledge, and processes before creating websites. They use this knowledge to adopt a sympathetic and reflective approach toward users while creating website designs. Simply put, professional designers think from the perspective of the users and their ease of use and utility while designing websites. Hence, to enhance your web designer skills, you should gain as much social knowledge as possible to effectively communicate with the audience.
Practice and Consistency
The most basic yet underrated tip is a regular practice. There is no definitive standard or guide to an ideal web design. With rapid digitization, changes in consumer behavior, and new industry trends, web design trends are constantly changing. You must broaden your horizon and consistently practice new styles or web designs to deliver the best results.
Develop We Design Skills with Emeritus
Online courses, of course, are one of the best ways to learn web designer skills and keep yourself up-to-date with the latest trends in the industry. You can sign up for Emeritus’ IT courses which will teach you technical skills like programming languages, CSS, and more, to help boost your web design career.
Write to us at content@emeritus.org
