Web Designer | Responsibilities and Skills Required

Web Designer – These days Web Design is a niche field with very specific roles and responsibilities. where professionals focus on creating visually appealing and user-friendly websites. People who have a keen eye for aesthetics, understand user experience (UX) principles, and are proficient in design software can start their careers in Web Design.

In this article, we will discuss what a Web Designer is, Web Designer Skills and what are the specific roles and responsibilities of a web designer that you must know before entering the field of web design.

Web Designer

What is a Web Designer?

A Web Designer is a professional who creates the visual interface of a website. Web designers are responsible for designing the User interface, and the visuals of a website. A web designer creates a website design that is visually appealing, user-friendly, and effectively communicates the mission of the website. You can call a web designer someone who stands at the intersection between a UI/UI Designer and a graphic designer who creates Branding, layouts, animations, navigation elements, and graphic elements.

Web Designer vs Web Developer

Web Designer	Web Developer
A web designer’s job is to build the visual appeal for a website.	A web developer writes code and builds the back-end functionality.
Proficiency in programming languages like HTML, CSS, and sometimes JavaScript.	Proficiency in programming languages like JavaScript, Python, PHP, etc.
A Web Designer creates mockups, wireframes, and prototypes to visualize designs.	A Web Developer is responsible for back-end functionalities, performance, and security.

What Does a Web Designer Do?

Web Designers are essential for a website for several reasons and the process that a Web Designers follows can be divided into three phases.

Phase 1: Analysis:

• Analyzing the target audience in the first step of the process. A web designer has to prepare for the research, write the interview guidelines and scripts, create documents that outline how research should be conducted step by step. This role is taken by UI/UX designer if we have a UI/UX designer specifically.
• Web designer than defines the website goals coming from the goals of the company and the product/service they are offering.
• Deciding the purpose of the website also has to be decided in the first step.

Phase 2: Planning:

• Sitemap and website structure is the next step of design process. Creating Sitemap and website structure is the responsibility of a web designer.

Phase 3: Design:

• In the final step, the web designer creates the Wireframe models, visual style elements and finalizes the design communicating with the frontend team. Web designer emphasizes on the UI part and after phase 3, the Web Design is ready to be implemented
• The frontend developers than continue this process and implement the design provided by the design team.

Web Designer Skills Required

Some of the skills that are required from a web designers are:

Web Designer Technical Skills:

• Graphic designing tools (Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, etc.)
• Wireframing and Prototyping using tools like Figma, Adobe XD, Sketch, etc.
• User research & testing.
• Typography and color theory.
• Responsive designing.
• Frontend technologies like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, etc. (depending upon company and the job role)

Web Designer Soft Skills:

• Communication & collaboration within the team.
• Empathy for others.
• Time management and punctuality.
• Critical thinking.
• A passion for web design.
• Being up-to-date with new trends and technologies in the market.

Web Designer Roles and Responsibilities

Some of the roles and responsibilities of a Web Designer are:

1. Researching and Analysis

Web designer is responsible for researching and analyzing the target audience/users. A Web designer must write the research guidelines about outline how research should be conducted. Then the web designer also presents the data to the business team in a presentable way. This helps the business team to analyze the target audience and come up with marketing strategy as well as this helps during building of the User Interface and Experience.

2. Creating wireframes and prototypes

Web designer create wireframes and multiple prototypes with tools like Figma, Adobe XD, Sketch, etc. Wireframes are detailed structural sketches that illustrate structuring and navigation of the website. A wireframe for a digital product is similar to a blueprint for a house. Wireframe clearly illustrates how the product functions and the core elements of its design. As a web designer you will be expected to create wireframes and prototypes to be implemented by the frontend team. Figma is a very popular tool used for prototyping the website design.

3. Handling the UI/UX and graphic design

Web designer has the responsibility to design graphics and logos for the website. Web designer also works on the user interface and user experience of the website. A Web designer utilizes the data and analytics from conducting research in making design decisions. All the branding and logos that appear in a website are the responsibilities of web designer. A web designer has to create visual elements in software like Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Lightroom etc.

4. Constantly measure how designs are performing

Responsibilities of a web designer goes beyond the completion of the design, web designers have to constantly measure how designs are performing for target customers. And Iterate and improve those experiences as needed. After the website in running in production, a web designer have to monitor it and take feedback from the users and again follow the 3 phases of web designing to implement those feedbacks.

5. Collaborating with marketing, frontend and business team

Collaboration and not working in silos is important for better implementation of the design. Web designers collaborate with marketing, frontend and business team (if any) for better insights and ensuing the correct implementations of the design. For this collaboration, continuous communication and giving and receiving of feedback among different teams in a company is very important.

6. Staying updated with the latest design trends and new tools for UI/UX Design

Design is an ever evolving field. And changes happen very frequently in the field of web design. As a web designer, you are expected to know what’s happening in the field, what are the latest design trends and new tools in the market. For someone who is genuinely interested in the field of design, this is more of a habit than a responsibility and for others, you must remember that this is an informal responsibility, this depends more on your passion for web design but will help you in longer run.

Conclusion

The role of Web Designer has a lot of perks and a very handsome salary as well. But they do have a set of roles and responsibilities to take care of to justify those perks. Web design can be a great career for someone who loves to design and want to work in the field of technology but is not much into coding.

The skills required from a Web Designer is a combination of graphic design and UI/UX design, while the roles and responsibilities might vary from location to location and from company to company. But most of the items in the list of roles and responsibilities we provided you in the article remains more or less the same.

We will conclude this article by saying that analyze the role and figure out where your passion lies. And after that make the decision to enter the field of web design. We Hope that this article will help you make an informed decision for your career ahead.

Web Designer – FAQs

What does a web designer do?

A web designer is responsible for creating the visual elements and layout of websites, focusing on aesthetics, user experience, and functionality.

Is a degree needed to get a job as a web designer?

A Bachelor’s degree in web design or related field can be advantageous, but practical skills, a strong portfolio, and relevant experience often weigh more heavily in landing a job as a website designer.

Is web designer a high demand job?

Yes, web designers are often in high demand, particularly as businesses increasingly rely on digital platforms for their operations and marketing.

What is the salary of a web designer?

The salary of a web designer in India varies from ₹2,00,000 to ₹10,00,000 depending on factors such as experience, skills, location, and the specific company they work for.

Does web designer use coding?

Web designers utilize coding languages like HTML, CSS, and occasionally JavaScript to create visually appealing and functional website layouts and design elements, ensuring compatibility across different devices and screen sizes.

How can I become a web designer after 12th?

After completing 12th grade, B.Sc in Multimedia and Web Design (3 years), Diploma in Web Designing (2 years), and Diploma in Web Designing & Software Development (2 years) are the best courses (2 years) to do along with learning HTML, CSS, and design principles through online resources or courses, then practice regularly and build a portfolio showcasing your skills to pursue opportunities in web design.