What Are Web Designers and Where Do They Work?
There are a variety of careers on the digital arts and sciences. Let’s break down what web designers are and where they work in more detail.
These days, there are a variety of professional careers focused on the digital arts and sciences. Digital marketers, programmers, and IT techs are just a few. But the job of a web designer is a relatively unique career that combines the technical aspects of computer programming with more creative aspects from web design and art. Let’s break down what web designers are and where they work in more detail.
What’s a Web Designer?
Let’s start with the first part of the question.
A web designer is both a creative and technical professional that uses both sides of the brain. To create, edit, or rebuild websites depending on their clients’ needs. Web designers use a whole host of skills, ranging from artistic and thematic skills to programming skills, to bring a new digital landscape to life.
What Do Web Designers Really Do?
Web designers mostly, as their job title suggests, design webpages or websites. This is a lot more complex than you might initially think.
Conceptualizing, designing, and then implementing webpages or website features often involves:
- Selecting what themes or outlines go with a website and its purpose or function
- Choosing other aesthetic details, such as the appropriate fonts or colors that lend themselves to the website’s personality as a whole
- Figuring out how the website’s various functions will shake out about the above outline or theme. For instance, where will the contact page be? How can clients sign up for services using a given website? Etc.
- Determining how a website can attract traffic and keep it over the long-term. People have relatively low attention spans these days, so web designers have to make sure the content they create really pops.
- Ensuring that the website is easy and intuitive to access and navigate. Clunky or hard to navigate websites are ignored more often than not
- Of course, the web designer has to implement all of those decisions promptly and make any changes or edits that clients might suggest.
All of this means that web designers usually have their hands full when they’re working on projects. But this career can be incredibly lucrative and rewarding from both a technical and creative perspective.
Where Do Web Designers Work?
The nature of web designers’ work means that their workplace arrangements are relatively flexible.
For instance, web design companies may hire different web developers. To do consistent work for larger clients like big enterprises or organizations. Many web designers work in local agencies that are based around big cities, such as FreshySites Washington DC.
Local design agencies and web designer companies allow newer web designers to gain experience and collaborate with other professionals in their field. They become better at their craft, help a wide variety of clients along the way, and can earn quite a good living while doing so.
Other skilled web designers may take the freelance route. They normally work from home or may head to a shared office space instead. Either way, they take contracts with clients using their own business initiative, effectively acting as entrepreneurs selling their services to those who need them.
Freelance entrepreneurs set their own hours. But also have to take on additional work relating to finding and communicating with clients. But this path can also be rewarding for more independent-minded professionals. Who have a lot of experience already under their belts.
Summary
All in all, web designers are talented professionals that bring a lot of value to online organizations. So, enterprises that need top-tier websites to capture traffic and sales. Any business looking to maximize its success in the online sphere will need to hire. At least one web designer to help them build an excellent website or edit an existing website.