The fast-paced growth of the internet over the last few decades has created new career opportunities in Web Designing and development. The rising popularity of the internet has motivated a lot of people to learn web designing and make a career out of it. Today, you can find web designers in every nook and corner of the world. More the number of web designers, more is the competition, and that’s why it is important to differentiate yourself from the crowd and be a good or great web designer.

So, what do you do to differentiate yourself? You learn and master a specific set of skills. What are these skills you ask? Let’s checkout.

The skill set is not purely technical, it is a blend of personal traits, soft skills and technical skills. First things first, the technical skills:

1. HTML

HyperText Markup Language is the most basic requirement for a web designer. It lays the foundation on which the websites are built. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that a web designer is proficient in HTML. Even if you intend to use editors or a CMS for most of your time creating websites, knowledge of HTML will give you an understanding of how those tools work and you will be much more in control over what you do.

If at all in future, you need to work outside these editors, you won’t be in a tight spot. Take a look around, you will notice that all the pro designers have a solid understanding of HTML.

2. CSS

Another important aspect of web designing is knowledge of CSS. While HTML dictates the structure of sites, Cascading Style Sheets or more commonly known as CSS handles their visual appearance. Therefore, its a vital tool for web designers, especially front-end designers. If you learn and develop your skills over HTML and CSS together, it will be much more useful to you, as these two languages are really the magical combination that builds the structure and style basis for any web page.

3. UX

UX stands for user experience, and it is one of the most influential factors that define a website’s success in today’s world. It is the feeling that a visitor gets from interacting with a website. UX plays a vital and decisive role in determining if the user will stick onto your website or not.

A web designer who understands UX practices will approach his designs from a user-first perspective. Every designing step will be lead by a question – How can I make the user feel wonderful at all times on the website?

The navigation, content, colors, CTAs and many other factors play a role in determining the overall user experience. An improvement to any or all of these factors can elevate the user experience. If you’re good with UX, you will be appreciated across the market as a multi-purpose web designer.

4. Javascript

JavaScript is an important interactive element of a website and web developers should have a basic understanding of it, especially how it interacts with HTML and CSS. Although, web designers need not master JavaScript, unless they are doing front-end development, but a basic understanding of it gives them an upper hand. Anyone engaged in back-end development is likely to be very comfortable with JavaScript.

JavaScript works with XML files and communicates asynchronously with a web server through an approach called Ajax. With Ajax, websites load faster and various embedded objects may update without requiring a complete page reload.

5. Programming Languages – PHP, ASP, Java, Perl, or C++

In order to program web pages, you must learn at least one or two programming languages. PHP is the most common programming language used across the web today, mostly because it is an open-source language and is embraced by a strong community. It is strongly advisable to learn more than one language, however, if you choose to learn and master only one language, it should be PHP.

You can opt for a converse approach as well. Look out for languages which are less popular than PHP, but bestill are in demand across the world of web. If you are proficient in one of these languages, chances are that you will become a premium asset.

6.Design Sense

Technical skills can be learned with all the resources available to you. What really is difficult is to develop traits which can’t be learned from a book, open source, or a repository. Having a good sense of design is very important for web designers. Web design is more than just making pretty-looking websites. You must have an understanding of design elements such as typeset, images, and other basic design tools such as grid systems, typography, color psychology, web fonts, type hierarchy, and color palettes.

7. Proactivity and Creativity

An employer or client will always want inputs and proactive actions from his designer. A good web designer never fails to take the first step and contributes with his own ideas and solutions. Proactive and creative web designers can take away a lot of responsibility from the project manager, and that is exactly why they’re so appreciated.

As a professional web designer, you should understand the project’s purpose and standards, understand and fulfill a client’s expectations, and constantly come up with out-of-the-box ideas.

8. Problem-solving Skills

Working on web designing tasks you will always face roadblocks, challenges and problems. You may think of a brilliant visual element, but it might not be practical enough to be implemented. A logical problem-solving approach is a key to be a successful web designer. Every aspect, the pros and cons, usability, compatibility, synchronization between various elements etc. must be duly considered before deciding on the solution to a problem, to get the best possible solution.

9. Attention to Detail

A web designer must keep an eagle eye on every minor design element across the website. It is important to understand that even the smallest of the design elements may be decisive in determining a user’s experience and success of a website. Always be careful and give due attention to each and every element so that nothing escapes from your watchful eyes. Successful web designers pick things which average web designers fail to spot.

10. Never stop learning

Yes! It’s absolutely true for web designers as much it is for any other professional. The day you start thinking you know everything, your career starts moving southwards. The web design world is fast-paced. New technologies, design patterns, design principles and trends keep emerging at the scene every single day. A successful web designer never stops learning and keeps enhancing their knowledge to flourish and grow more.

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