What does it take to become a web designer?

Designing a website with the aim of making it successful goes much further than just looking good. Surely you have entered a website and have not lasted more than a minute on it because it took longer than usual to load or you simply could not find what you were looking for, haven't you? It is because of these kinds of details that it is necessary to be clear about what it takes to be a web designer and what their functions are, there is a lot to cut for a web project to be successful!

What is web design and what is it for?

Although from the name of this discipline we might think that it is limited only to aesthetic aspects, the truth is that web design goes much further than just choosing an appropriate typography and colour palette. Of course, it does have to do with the appearance of the website, but it goes beyond that, focusing also on aspects such as usability and user experience.

This is where the concept of layout comes into play, which is nothing more than planning where each element will be placed and, more importantly, why. In other words: it is not enough to offer information visually, it must also be distributed coherently and efficiently guide visitors to the page, as well as adapt to any type of device or screen size (responsive or adaptive design).

Nowadays, Internet users take just a few milliseconds to identify whether or not they want to continue browsing a specific website. The task of the web designer, therefore, is to ensure that the perception of visitors is positive and to achieve the highest possible conversion rate with their work.

What are the functions of a web designer?

As we have already mentioned, apart from offering the best look and making sure that it perfectly reflects the brand image that you want to transmit, a good web designer must also know how to cover other types of needs.

User experience (UX)

UX design is fundamental for any type of web project nowadays. This is where the concept of 'usability' comes in, which is nothing more than making sure that all users, whatever their type, can find what they are looking for easily and intuitively. If a person accesses a page and gets what they want quickly, without complications, their experience will be positive, which will make them not only repeat, but also recommend it with total confidence.

User interface (UI) design

UI design focuses on making everything planned in the UX design phase a reality. That is to say, if it is proposed that visitors must go from point A, for example the home page of a website, to point B, the online shop, the UI designer must find the best way to facilitate this at the level of use.

This is achieved with the inclusion of buttons, drop-down menus, the texts that are integrated, working with transitions... Every element of a web page must be thought to be useful in order to fulfil the UI objectives.

Study and design of graphic elements

In addition, a web designer must know how to find the balance between text and graphic elements of a website in order to keep the attention of visitors and not exceed the thin red line between interest and saturation.

The secret is that everything is well integrated into the page, but without disturbing the user on their way to conversion, whether we are talking about a purchase, a data registration or any other type of action.

What do you have to study to become a web designer?

To work as a web design professional, the first thing to be clear about is that it is necessary to master both HTML and XML, mark-up languages with which to set up any type of project, and CSS, which is responsible for the visual part of a web page.

Degrees such as our Bachelor's Degree in Multimedia and Graphic Design or our Master's Degree in User Experience for the Design of Digital Products and Services (UX) will allow you not only to learn everything you need to develop in a world in constant evolution, but also to acquire the necessary tools and knowledge to be able to adapt to the changes and evolutions of the future and become a sought-after professional for any type of company.

And now that you know what it takes to become a web designer, what are you waiting for?