Apart from designing and maintaining websites, a web designer has several other roles and duties that are often overlooked by clients. Since a website represents the virtual face of every brand, it is necessary to build a responsive, optimized, and visually appealing landing page. This is when a professional web designer can help. They are proficient in integrating the values and image of every brand on a new website and provide a hassle-free experience to users. And because they’re responsible for several tasks that they have to work on simultaneously, the demand for this profession is increasing with time.
The list mentioned here describes the important duties and responsibilities of a web designer.
1. Visualizing Creative Concepts
A web designer starts by conceptualizing ideas for the client’s new web page design.
The duty of creating visual imagery for brands often falls on a web designer as they can determine whether the design can be integrated with the website or not. Every web designer should be aware of the new trends in web design as they change every year. They should also know how to integrate the trend within their design. The profile of a web designer also demands graphic design and branding. They create visual designs based on the brand’s image and values. Even though most web designers work with graphic artists, clients often take suggestions from the former to comply with the development stage.
2. Preparing Wireframes and Process Flows
A website or mobile phone application displays certain features such as a search bar, shopping cart, filter options, flowcharts, etc. that make the tool informative and functional. Before the website is created, web designers create rough illustrations of these elements, which are then converted into a blueprint to visualize the look of the website. This blueprint is known as a wireframe. Even though UI designers are primarily responsible for this role, web designers need to learn this task to make their process easier. Every web designer should learn certain tools such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Dreamweaver, and Paint Shop Pro to create wireframes, prototypes, and process flows.
3. Integrating E-Commerce Platforms
Since the demand for online shopping is increasing, brands are looking for competent web designers who can integrate e-commerce platforms into their existing website or build one from scratch. The UK-based web developers at https://www.envisagedigital.co.uk/ strongly suggest learning e-commerce web design as it is in demand today. In fact, a majority of your customers will approach you to develop their online store. E-commerce platforms like Magento, Shopify, Squarespace, etc. are gaining traction.
4. Testing the User Experience
Supervising and testing the user experience design of a website is important as it can make or break your site’s credibility. This niche covers the study of human behaviour, ergonomics, and the usability of an entity to test a particular tool or developed product. When a user arrives at a website, they should be able to interact with the features and fulfil the intended tasks. Whether it’s searching for a product, looking for informative content, or buying products, the website should allow the user to follow an easy path and checkout with ease. This will imprint a pleasant experience and the user is likely to return in the future. Without the knowledge of user experience design, a web designer cannot integrate the features that will make the site usable and relatable. They ensure that the developed website is user-friendly, responsive, and optimized for every device.
5. Optimizing the Site with SEO and Other Tools
Every web designer should have some basic to complete knowledge of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategies as they are increasingly used in optimizing the rankings of web pages. Search Engine Ranking Position or SERP is a related technique applied to web pages to comply with the algorithm of search engines and increase the visibility of the site they are working on. Ultimately, a web designer’s role is to drive more organic traffic on websites, which can be majorly achieved by optimizing the site with SEO tools. At times, web designers optimize existing pages to improve their ranking. However, if integrated from the beginning, websites have a higher chance of gaining online recognition right after they are launched. It also determines the loading speed of the page, which is another important factor that affects page rankings.
Apart from this, a web designer should possess soft skills like planning, communication, organization, analysis, and teamwork. If you are aspiring to be a web designer, now is the right time to switch careers as the demand for competent web designers is rising with time. If you have a creative side with a knack for technology and strategies, web designing is the right career choice for you. The job provides an opportunity for steady growth and is monetarily rewarding.