Careers In Web Design

There are many opportunities for careers in web design. Web design is the process of making a website from beginning to end. The first thing to be done is to come up with a plan for what the website is going to look like. Then programs are used, which are given by the company, to actually make the page. The web designer has to make the page so that it appeals to the people that visit the website. Most users respond better to more color and animation in a website, but if there is too much the visitor may become distracted from what is wanted for them to see.

If someone desired to become a web designer then there are some basic educational requirements that are needed to be completed. Most employers will be looking for a bachelor's degree in computer science, graphic design or digital media (Web Design Careers 1). However if someone had a marketing or advertising degree combined with advanced computer training that person would also be prepared for a career in web design (Web Design Careers 1). Most Website designers earn a salary of $60,000 to $70,000 a year or $100 an hour for major companies (Killeen 1). Newer employees will make around $40,000 to $50,000 a year (Killeen 1).

There are multiple programs that a web designer can specialize in, such as HTML, Hyper Text Markup Language, and CSS design, Cascading Style Sheets (Web Design Careers 1). In these programs the designer can layout how the website should look and how it should operate. Even with all of the development tools that are out there the designer still needs to know how to make that website user friendly. Some designers have online surveys to make sure that the website is user friendly and easy to understand. Some of the ways to make a website more functional for the visitors is to use e-commerence features, forums, mailing lists, credit card processing ability, visual design, search engine optimized copy, strategic layout, and appropriate platform, advertising, etc (Web Design Careers 1). It is recommended that web designers specialize in multiple areas so that if they are asked to create a web page with any of the applications they will be able to do so.

There are some important things that all good website designers should know. One is that when writing in active voice the audience understands it better than if it was written in passive voice. An example of passive voice would be the baseball was hit by John, when in active voice it would be read as John hit the baseball (Leavitt and Shneiderman 167). A successful web page should have the second most important thing at the top left of the page. The third most important thing should be at the top right of the website and that pattern stays the same all the way down to the bottom right. But the most important thing in a website is the text. One study found that content is the most critical element of a website. Other studies found that content is more important than navigation, visual design, functionality, and interactivity (Leavitt and Shneiderman 22). Another key thing to remember when creating a web page is to tell the user what to do, also known as affirmative statement, and not what not to do, known as negative statements. For example someone would say avoid skipping a dentist appointment if a tooth is hurting. It should say go to a dentist if a tooth is hurting (Leavitt and Shneiderman 167).

There are many different types of companies that are hiring people right now. Most major companies will have several designers working for them. An example of a place someone might work with others is eBay because there are a lot of pages that need to be constantly updated. Also there are a lot of people working for Barak Obama and John McCain on the election pages. Also websites can have favorite interest or hobbies incorporated with a career in web design. For example one could create a web page for a favorite sports team. If someone chose a career in web design that person would need to have the ability to constantly learn new thing. There will be new technology and development tools to make websites faster, easier to use, or maybe all together better.