In short, yes, web design is a good career option.
Web designers are the creators of the digital soul of a business.
The website experience entices customers to stay and click on the different web page links. A business can be great, but if their website can’t give a pleasurable experience, the customer will carry on to the next. Websites are becoming essential to everyone, not just corporations, and good web design will be sought-after.
Pros working as a web designer
Independence
As a web designer, you can choose to join the corporate world or freelance. Both of which can pay very well. Freelance, however, will give you much more control over your life.Work from anywhere
Web design is work that you can complete on your personal laptop. Portability like this is especially beneficial as a freelancer. Imagine being able to travel the world as you work.Web design has many applications that get a career started earlier
Such as landing pages, portfolio websites, blogs, or simply website converting.The web design field will grow! Grow! Grow!
Web design is growing more than other industries; 27% by 2024, to be exact.Great Pay
$52,000 for the average corporate salary $56,000 for the average freelance web designer.Web design can branch off into other in-demand professions/services
Professions such as web development or UX design allow people to maximize their value to clients.Varying paths to start a web design career
Go to college. Take online courses, workshops, or attend boot campsWeb design has the perfect freelance platform to work on; Legiit
Legiit maximizes the flexibility and profit that Web Design and freelance offers, and Legiit accomplishes this better than other platforms by being more seller-oriented.Examples of web design jobs/gigs
The great thing about web design is that the skills needed for web design can fall under specific services that one can offer on Legiit. Instead of providing a web design service, a seller will instead offer gigs such as:Wordpress design
Design a website using the website creating platform WordPress.Wix design
Design a website using another website creator called Wix.Website conversion
Converting websites between different website platforms. E.g., from Wix to WordPress.A website’s landing Page
A landing page is simply a single webpage to encourage potential customers to perform a specific action, call to action.Portfolio Websites
A website to display a freelancer’s work to gain the attention of potential clients.Blogs
A regularly updated website, used as a public journal or a method for a business to inform its customers.E-commerce websites
A website that sells products online8 Freelance Web Design Jobs For Beginners
Demand for web designers
The demand for web designers is high and will only grow.
There are over 30 million businesses in the US, and all of them need a functioning, attractive website.
Today, to run a successful business, it is almost a requirement to have a website to be relevant. On top of a website, companies opt for their own mobile applications for better user engagement. Web designers and developers will fill these needs. Also, as the workforce becomes more attractive to freelance work, freelancers will need their own websites to rise above the competition.
Salary
The average salary in web design is $52,000. With a starting salary is at an average of $36,000. The high end of salaries for a web designer is at an average of $85,000, with the highest salaries being around $114,000. These are corporate salaries.
What about freelance web designers like those on Legiit? The average salary for a freelance web designer is $56,000. On the high end, freelance web designers make up to $109,000. It is worth mentioning that with freelancing services becoming more beneficial, salaries can be harder to calculate. Similar to bartending, where the average salary is around $20,000. However, the bartender’s well-kept secret is that they make three times that amount due to how well people will tip for good service.
It is also worth mentioning that the great potential observed while searching for services on Legiit does not consider the add-ons that increase the average of what the buyer actually makes. We also never see the tips that buyers leave. We just see the pile of 5-star reviews that sellers collect.
Web design can lead you to a more expansive career
One could learn web design and stay in the field as their career, or add to those skills and expand one's career. Developing one's career will make you more marketable as a designer and allow you to be more in-demand versus other web designers. The more in-demand you are, the more you can charge for your services.
Other professions that you can move into are web development, or you can move into UX design. These professions will require more dedication to learning more technical skills, such as other programming languages and advanced coding techniques.
Web Design vs. Web Developer
The short of it is that web design is the website's visual look.
Hence the title "web design." Web design is where website building platforms such as WordPress, Wix, or square space come in handy. These platforms make it easier to create websites. You can see that a typical web design service offered by sellers on Legiit is WordPress web design.
Now web development involves more work because the main focus for web development is the functionality of a website. Web developers do not worry about how the visually appealing elements come together; they just make sure all elements come together. Web Design vs. Development: What’s The Difference?
Web design vs. UX design
UX, User Experience, design focuses on optimizing a website with the user in mind.
The user is not the same as the client. The client will hire a web designer to create a website that will attract customers and show off the client’s brand in the best way possible. But what if the customers or users of the client have issues using the website?
The client may want to hire you again as a UX designer on Legiit to optimize their website to be more user-friendly. Being able to offer UX design services is an example of how learning another profession on top of web design can help earn more money on Legiit.
Many paths for progress
Web design is a career in which you can start small and allow your skills to grow through work experience.
For example, let’s say you take a course on creating a landing page. After taking the course, you can provide your new services on Legiit. Then when you’re ready, you can learn more advanced techniques or learn a new web design skill. Offering newly acquired skills will allow you to gain experience quickly and build your portfolio as you work on orders.
How to learn web design
There are a few routes one can take in order to learn web design. A more traditional route for learning skills like this is going to college or university.
There are a few pros and cons to this, but this might be a more appealing route for some. Another route that requires more discipline is the self-taught route. There is an abundance of resources on the internet that can quickly take a motivated and dedicated person to grand heights. This route can allow a person to start working a lot sooner, for themselves and as a freelance web designer.
The College or University route
Going to college is a guaranteed way to get onto a guided path to learning the more intricate parts of web design. This route includes learning the theory of design and learning how to code in a classroom setting. There are pros and cons to this, of course, and here they are:Pros
College courses are only low-cost if you are attending a community college. Community colleges are well known for being a money-saving option, and they often employ passionate professors that really want to help their students learn. Colleges will have students spend full semesters contemplating design theories. Achieving a degree is no small feat. It takes dedication, and for many corporations, it will probably require a degree for a candidate to be considered for a position. Classwork and lectures do force students to carry out the necessary practice needed to become proficient in programming languages. Students are assigned more challenging assignments that encourage growth. As courses progress through the semester, programming work does become progressively and cumulatively more difficult.Cons
Falling behind can force students to turn in the bare minimum to pass. Just getting by is not a good learning technique. Especially in University, college tuition will put students in debt while professors test on subjects they knowingly did not cover. When having to work and study, usually study time is sacrificed more than work time. If a student has previous knowledge of a subject, they have to stay at the pace of those who don’t. Students are required to take General Education, GE, courses that do not have to do with web design. A common complaint of going to college is taking courses that don’t have to do with a student’s major.The self-taught route
Many online sources can give in-depth lessons that are more geared towards the actual job of web design. There are online boot camps, free courses, and YouTube, which can cover practically everything a person would need to learn to start a web design career.Pros
There are many free courses on the internet, including YouTube videos that one can watch repeatedly. One can spend as much time as they want to really focus on a deficiency. You could learn as you charge for services on freelance platforms such as Legiit. As one is learning a new skill, they have the flexibility to freelance. Colleges focus on the parts that make up web design, whereas online resources often focus on starting a career in web design as soon as possible. Bootcamps focus on specific skills, and the reason they are called boot camps is because they are fast-tracked courses.Cons
You don’t have an alarm waking you up to attend class or a class assignment that pressures you to work. While there are great free resources, some courses can cost hundreds of dollars. Don’t have a direct line to an instructor who can answer a question almost instantly. It is very frustrating to spend hours looking for an answer to a question with a simple solution. Some boot camps are at physical locations with a commute and designated time for instruction. For example, UCLA offers a web design boot camp, but you have to drive near the UCLA campus to attend.Learn More: How To Learn Web Design and Find Clients – A No BS Guide
Importance of programming in Web Design?
I know some will have this question, so do not skim this part over if you have this question. When it comes to web design, there is no way around programming. Learning to code is “the” requirement of a web design career. Do not be afraid of learning how to code. Learning to code is not difficult; it just takes time, and when I say time, I mean practice.
Just as the saying goes, anything worthwhile takes time and effort, and the resources on the internet make learning that effort easier. Once you become proficient in one language, learning the other languages are much more manageable; it mostly comes down to the slight differences of syntax and semantics. And once you run your first “Hello World” program, you will experience how great it feels to create something from nothing but some code.
The real success of freelance Web Design on Legiit
Freelancing has evolved since the days of the stereotypical freelance reporter tracking down leads to fulfill their passion for truth-seeking. Today anyone can find a side gig to help them make extra cash or replace their 9 to 5 job. Freelancing's true home is at Legiit, where sellers make a good living with very niche services.
Like Vasco, a student, who offers SEO, search engine optimization, services and makes over $100,000. Read about his story here; How To Make $100,000+ on Legiit: Insights From a Top-Rated Freelancer. Vasco did spectacular work with his SEO services, but imagine providing a more in-demand service on Legiit, such as design?
Successful Web Designers on Legiit
Web design offers the opportunity to be able to provide many niche services. It is too general just to offer a web design service; there are many specific services that one can offer to maximize their value potential.
Here’s an example. I took the average of the first results of “web design” on Legiit, and the average starting price for the first five sellers was $120. The average number of reviews for these five sellers on this search result was 67. If we calculate how much a person can make using these averages, a person will have made an extra $8040. This example does not take into account the sellers that did not write a review, other services that all these sellers offer, or the add-ons that buyers often add to their order to fit their needs better.
A Freelancing Experts take
Alex Fasulo is a success story of a person who started freelancing with little experience. Forbes, Entrepreneur, Business Insider, Yahoo featured her. Alex Fasulo is a freelancing guru who keeps a close eye on the evolving freelancing world. With about 800k followers across TikTok, Instagram, Youtube, and her podcast, she has led people to take control of their lives and achieve financial freedom.
She has recognized Legiit as the freelancing platform of tomorrow. “Legiit is a…freelancing marketplace platform that is highly promising for 2022. Geared to be more supportive of the freelancer whereas Fiverr prioritizes the buyer, Legitt could become a formidable Fiverr foe next year” - Alex Fasulo
How to start freelancing on Legiit
The best way to get started at a career in web design is to get your feet wet as soon as possible. Even if you want to work in a corporate setting, gaining experience as quickly as possible will help immensely. So, where else is best to start than doing freelance on Legiit.
But before you can start selling your services, you need some skills. First, find a service you think is the best for you as a beginner. Use this as your objective for the first service you want to sell. Next, find the type of course that best fits you. How much are you able and willing to spend?
Start with a goal of a beginner service you want to provide.
For example, a good beginner service for web design is to convert a website to WordPress. This service involves converting the code from one website creator to WordPress, such as Wix.
WordPress offers more customizability that can be very beneficial to a client’s website. Thus this is a typical service seen on Legiit that is in demand. Whatever beginner service you decide to go with will serve as your target to get into Web Design as soon as possible.
Start learning
The next step is to start learning. What should you learn? Well, If you haven’t clicked on any of my well-placed links, you’re missing out. You’re getting first-hand advice from successful web designers on Legiit. However, a great place to start is to:Learn HTML
HTML is a programming language for the internet. For which there are various online resources.
Learn UX and Typography design UX and Typography are theories in design for web design. UX is to optimize the user experience, and typography is focused on fonts and arranging typeface. Code Everyday Practice makes perfect, and just like learning a language, you have to practice often.
Build a portfolio
A portfolio is a must for web designers whether or not they want to work for a corporate company or freelance. As a web designer, one must present their creativity and ability.How do you build a portfolio?
This is a common question, especially for those who just graduated from college or are just starting out freelancing.
One does not have to have already worked as a web designer to have a portfolio. If you went to college for web design, I guarantee you have already done some work that you can either use in your portfolio or modify to be a part of your portfolio. Now, if you don’t have any usable work for your portfolio or if you’re a self-taught web designer ready to freelance your way to independence, there is still hope. Here are a few ways you can build a portfolio: Think of a business that you like and design a website.
Think of it as an imaginary client where you get to show the world your talent. Ask a friend or family member if they need a website or if you can help improve their existing website for free. Go through your friend list, your contacts; there’s bound to be at least one person you know who could use your help.
Community Legiit Facebook group
If you don’t already know, networking is one of the most important things that help one launch themselves into a successful anything, especially in business and freelance.
Networking can help you connect with other web designers, developers to help improve your service. Networking can also help you connect with others who may need your assistance and offer a service to help you pursue your goals. The Legiit Facebook group offers that community to propel yourself into an excellent web design career.
Surround yourself with like-minded people who want to succeed and help you succeed.
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