What Does the Perfect Web Designer Profile Look Like

The perfect web designer profile

TECHNICAL SKILLS

Let’s first look at the technical side of the perfect web designer profile, what you need to know. All those strange acronyms and terms can seem intimidating, but they’re actually quite easy — and super fun! — once you know them.

1. Visual design

It seems fairly obvious that you need design skills as a web designer. But what this covers in the digital realm can be different from what you expect. In this case, design principles shape the look of a site. It ranges from proportions to typography, grid systems to color theory, and it’s your chance to dive into creating moodboards, typing hierarchies, and experimenting with web fonts and color palettes.

2. UX

Here come those funny abbreviations! UX stands for user experience, or how people feel (calm, frustrated, etc.) when using a website. Naturally, you want the users of your sites to feel as happy as a puppy playing with a dandelion!

To achieve this, you research your users and create “personas” (profiles of imaginary ideal users). You map out pages and content with a sitemap. You trace the path users follow on your site in user flows. Do they, for example, always head straight for your social media? Or are they just looking for contact information? And you’ll build wireframes to sketch out the key parts of each web page.

3. Design software

Like any craftsperson, to do your job you need the right tools. And knowing the industry standards will certainly come in handy. While designing a site can now be done in a web browser, tools like Photoshop and Sketch are what nearly all designers use for key parts of their work, such as creating mockups, designing items like logos and images, and of course editing and enhancing photos. So you should add these to your toolkit too.

4. HTML

You might not have imagined that a web designer with the perfect web designer profile should be able to code. But nowadays it’s an expected skill for most design roles. And hey, it’s a pretty easy way to grow your tech chops and actually build websites from scratch! HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language, the coding language used to place content on a web page and give it structure. That means you turn a bunch of words into headings, paragraphs, and footers. And it’s also how you get the “cool” content like photos, videos, and images onto a website.

5. CSS

And then there’s HTML’s partner, CSS, or Cascading Style Sheets. CSS is the code that tells browsers how to format and display HTML for a web page. In other words, it’s what makes all the text and other content look good. With CSS you can adjust the colors, change the fonts, or add a stunning background — and much more! This is where your eye for design really shines and how you put your creative stamp on every site you build.

Bonus! JavaScript

While you can code your designs with just HTML and CSS, if you can also program with JavaScript, you’ll have a big advantage over the competition. With JavaScript you can take static elements on your site and make them interactive. Think of Twitter feeds that update automatically, websites that look different when you’re logged in, image sliders, and more!

SOFT SKILLS

Now that you no longer need to worry about the design and technical part, all you need to add is a bit of management to keep yourself organized and effective in your web design work.

6. Time management

Whether you go freelance or work for a company, you always need to stay on top of your schedule and your projects to be an outstanding web designer. This might mean learning productivity apps like to-do lists or calendars, or, especially if you work in a large organization, learning project-tracking tools like Trello or JIRA. Whatever the tools, mastering the art of prioritizing and tracking your work is essential to your success (and sanity!) in the busy world of web design.

7. Communication

Staying in touch and getting your point across are also indispensable skills for a designer. You keep clients up to date on their project’s progress, plus pitch ideas and explain your creations. And you might even be called on to do some copywriting or editing for sites, especially if you run your own one-person shop. So sharpen your writing and your speaking, and you’ll be sure to make your point clearly in any situation.

8. SEO / internet marketing / social media

The skills of SEO (search engine optimization), marketing, and social media might seem more suited to a salesperson than a web designer. But since the internet sells so many businesses today, and you also need to sell your own web development talents (whether you’re looking for a job or for freelance clients), you should wrap your head around these too. Even if you just know the basics of each, keeping them in mind both for the client and for your own sites will already take you a long way on your web design journey.

9. Business / client management

If you understand the bottom line, you can make sure you or your company stays profitable and sustainable. You don’t need to go back to school, but you should have a sense of your employer’s or your own company’s goals and finances, so you can use them to guide your work. And if you design directly for clients, you need a plan to keep your cash flow and project backlog healthy and manageable, both in the short and long term.
As you can see, there’s nothing mysterious or overwhelming about the skills you need to become a web designer with “the perfect web designer profile”. A foundation in the technical side and a solid grip on the organizational parts will both get you going and get you out of a jam, as you keep building your knowledge and your career in web design.