Web designer: description of the profession, education, requirements and responsibilities

Professions related to working on the Internet (for example, development or design of online sites and web pages) have been very popular in the past few years. It should be borne in mind that not only school graduates and applicants, but also people of more impressive status and age - those who want to change their lives - pay attention to such a career opportunity.

At the same time, the profession of a web designer is of increasing interest. Who is this, what exactly does this specialist do in the course of his professional activity? What are the pros and cons of work? How much does such a specialist earn, what career prospects exist? You can find answers to these and some other questions in our material.

Web design is a relatively new, but at the same time, demanded and popular field of professional activity. Specialists who work in this area are engaged in the development of design and layout of sites, applications and computer programs. Thus, if we give the shortest possible description of the profession, then we can say that it is the web designer who is responsible for the appearance of a wide variety of Internet products.

The activities of a web designer are located on the verge of the professional work of a person who is engaged in graphic design. In this regard, very often many employers impute the responsibilities of a web designer and the tasks that a graphic designer must perform (for example, it concerns the development of a corporate logo). It can be concluded that during employment, it is very important, not at the first stages, to familiarize yourself with the requirements that the employer puts forward to applicants for this position.

A web designer never carries out his job as an independent specialist. He definitely works with other professionals: marketers, layout designers, programmers, etc.

The main task of a web designer is to form an individual image and style. In the course of his professional activity, he solves a number of tasks that help the site to become the most convenient and comfortable for the user, but also to have its own unique external design and design. Thus, a web designer is a specialist who is responsible for the visual perception of a company, brand, etc.

Despite the high demand for specialists in this field, as well as a high level of material remuneration, it should be noted that the profession associated with web design has not only positive characteristics, but also negative aspects. In this regard, in the process of vocational guidance and the choice of a specific profession, it is very important to assess your abilities and willingness to sacrifice certain things in order to perform your professional activities with high quality.

We will begin our analysis of the web design profession by examining the advantages of this specialty.

• High wages. This characteristic of the profession attracts many. After all, it's no secret that most people work to provide for themselves and their families. The salary of a web designer belongs to the category "above average", so all the efforts that you spend on training and obtaining the skills necessary to carry out work activities will fully pay off.
• The creative component. The daily work of a web designer, at first glance, may seem routine and uniform. However, this is not at all the case. So, in order to be a successful specialist and be in demand among employers, you need to have developed creative thinking and a creative character.
• The remote nature of the work. When analyzing the vacancies of web designers that are posted on Internet sites, one can note the fact that most employers offer the possibility of remote or project work. This means you don't have to waste time commuting from work to home (and vice versa). In addition, you can get a job in a metropolitan company, while living in the province, thereby significantly increasing your salary.
• Career. Very often, web designers, even though they start their careers as employees, open their own companies and become businessmen. At the same time, when choosing the profession of a web designer, it is very important to evaluate not only the positive aspects, but also the negative characteristics of the job. Only in this case you will not be disappointed with your future professional activities.

So let's take a look at the cons of being a web designer.

• There is a lot of competition in the personnel market. Due to the fact that the profession of a web designer in itself is very popular among young people, every year a large number of schoolchildren enter universities and institutes in this area of ​​training, and a large number of students graduate from universities and are looking for work.That is why you will have to spend a lot of effort in order to stand out from the crowd of applicants. To do this, it is necessary to have not only key, but also additional knowledge, skills and abilities.
• High stress levels... In the course of his professional activity, a web designer communicates with a large number of people: colleagues, boss, customers, etc. It is no secret that any work related to direct interpersonal communication is accompanied by a lot of stress: conflict situations, quarrels can arise , misunderstandings, etc.
• Irregular working hours... For the most part, this drawback will cause inconvenience to those specialists who are engaged in a remote type of work or work on separate projects. The thing is that often customers require immediate changes (regardless of the time of day) - in this regard, you will have to work early in the morning or late in the evening, as well as on holidays or on vacation.

The responsibilities and work tasks of a web designer may differ depending on the specific place of work, as well as on the wishes of the employer and customers. That is why when applying for a job, it is very important to familiarize yourself in advance with the job description that the employer offers you. Traditionally, this document contains the following points:

• analysis of the behavior of visitors to an online resource;
• determination of their tasks and wishes;
• creation of design sketches, which will subsequently be finalized to create the final website;
• finalization of existing templates, designs and layouts;
• work on the creation of navigation buttons;
• creation of layouts;
• writing technical specifications;
• development of a color scheme, the choice of a specific palette;
• visual design and decoration;
• design work;
• creation of individual design elements (for example, banners, covers, etc.);
• registration of accounts (both public and personal) in social networks and much more.

In order to be a successful web designer, you need to have a lot of necessary qualities (both professional and personal). Their absence can significantly complicate the performance of work duties.

There are a number of professional skills that every professional should possess. Among them are the following:

• knowledge and ability to work with specialized computer programs and applications;
• knowledge of usability;
• knowledge of HTML and CSS languages;
• knowledge of the principles and rules of layout;
• knowledge of internet marketing, etc.

In addition to the key professional qualities, there are other characteristics of a specialist that the employer pays attention to. Among them:

• perseverance;
• creative and creative thinking;
• good memory;
• striving for self-education and self-improvement;
• tolerance;
• politeness;
• patience;
• sociability, etc.

As stated above, The web designer's salary is quite high. However, it should be borne in mind that this statement mostly applies to more experienced and professional professionals. So, web designers who have extensive work experience, possess not only key, but also additional skills and abilities, have a wide range of diverse knowledge and are engaged in prestigious projects, can receive more than 100,000 rubles a month.

As for newcomers to the profession, the material reward for their work can vary in the range from 20,000 to 40,000 rubles. Besides, the salary of a specialist may depend on the region of residence - Metropolitan specialists, as well as those employees who work for large foreign private companies, earn much more than those who work in the public service or live in the provinces.

In order to become a professional web designer, you need to enter a university or college, successfully complete your studies and receive an appropriate education diploma. A specialist who has documentary evidence of his skills and abilities is highly valued in the labor market and is in demand among employers. It should be borne in mind that upon admission, preference should be given to the capital's universities.

After you decide on a specific educational institution, you need to find out what subjects you need to take in exams and begin a thorough preparation. At the same time, remember that you will have to study in a specialized educational institution from 3 to 6 years. In addition, there is the option of completing specialized courses. That being said, both online courses and traditional refresher courses may be suitable. Regardless of your basic education, you will have to undergo regular training, constantly monitor new trends and tendencies. For this, it is recommended to attend thematic master classes or trainings.

An aspiring web designer with no relevant work experience can apply for initial (or starting) positions in companies. It should be borne in mind that you can choose both office work and work from home in a remote format. Depending on your natural talent, as well as diligence, you can be in the initial position from several months to several years. In this period it is very important to build up your professional portfolio in a variety of areas.

Specialists who hold the position of web designer, can develop their professional careers in several different ways. First of all, they can move up the career ladder as employees, occupy leadership positions. In addition, there is the option of starting your own business - in this case, you yourself become employers. You can also engage in consulting work.

It should be borne in mind that each of these options has both advantages and disadvantages, and may also require additional skills. For example, if you want to start your own business, then leadership skills, knowledge of business processes, etc. will come in handy. It should also be noted that many successful web designers work as teachers (for example, at universities). They can also create their own copyright courses or engage in other educational activities.

Thus, you were able to make sure that web designer is a popular and demanded profession in the modern world. It attracts young people for a variety of different reasons: high wages, creativity, the possibility of remote work, etc.