Demand for skilled web designers remains strong. Employment for web developers and digital designers is projected to grow through 2032, and U.S. median pay sits in the low‑$90k range. There isn’t a single universal path into the field—your best route depends on your goals and the kind of design work you want to do—but there is a clear set of skills and steps that reliably open doors.
Quick start roadmap:
- Learn the fundamentals: HTML, CSS, responsive design, and web basics.
- Choose your track: visual/UI-focused, UX-focused, or hybrid web designer.
- Master core tools: Figma for UI and handoff; basic CMS (WordPress or Webflow).
- Build a portfolio: 3–4 scoped projects showing process and outcomes.
- Cover essentials: accessibility (WCAG 2.2), performance (Core Web Vitals, incl. INP), and basic SEO.
- Ship real work: internships, volunteer sites, or small paid projects to gain experience.
- Pick a path to income: freelance setup or job search with a targeted resume and case studies.
Understand the Basic Coding Languages
Some of the most basic skills for understanding websites and web design include proficiency in HTML (HyperText Markup Language, the standard markup language used to create web pages) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets, a style sheet language used to describe the presentation of a document written in a markup language).
While it is possible in some very limited circumstances to get work without proficiency in HTML and CSS, you will need highly specialized skills to do so. In most cases, it makes far more sense to acquire basic proficiency with those languages before attempting to get work as a web designer.
What to add in 2025:
- Modern CSS and layout: Flexbox and Grid best practices, container queries, CSS nesting, the
:has()selector, and logical properties for internationalization. - Responsive design: Design and test across breakpoints and devices from the start.
- Accessibility: Apply WCAG 2.2 principles (color contrast, focus states, semantics, keyboard navigation) to every design and component.
- Performance: Understand Core Web Vitals—including Interaction to Next Paint (INP)—and how design choices impact speed and interactivity.
- Basic SEO: Page structure, headings, alt text, metadata, and readable content that aligns with search intent.
- Design tools and handoff: Figma is the dominant UI tool. Learn components, auto layout, variants, design tokens, and developer handoff (specs, assets, annotations).
- CMS/page builders: WordPress and Webflow basics help you prototype faster and collaborate smoothly with developers or clients.
- AI‑assisted workflows: Use tools like ChatGPT or Copilot for component scaffolding, prompt‑to‑layout exploration, accessibility checks, and content placeholders—always reviewing outputs critically.
Terminology at a glance: A “web designer” typically focuses on site look-and-feel, layout, and front‑end considerations; a “UI designer” concentrates on interface components and visual polish; a “UX designer” drives research, information architecture, flows, and usability; a “web developer” implements functionality and code. Many roles overlap, and hybrid designers often know enough HTML/CSS and CMS basics to collaborate effectively.
Is Freelance Work What You’re Looking For?
The qualities you need to become a web designer vary according to whether you seek employment or freelance work, and the type of web design you intend to specialize in.
For freelancers it is very important to be highly self-motivated, ensuring you produce quality work on time and a viable portfolio without a manager to oversee you.
Freelance essentials:
- Clear process (discovery → wireframes → high‑fidelity in Figma → handoff) and timelines.
- Portfolio with scoped projects, before/after visuals, and measurable outcomes (e.g., faster load times, higher conversions).
- Working knowledge of WordPress or Webflow to deliver maintainable sites for clients.
- Reusable components and a lightweight design system to speed delivery and ensure consistency.
- Basic contracts, invoicing, and client communication habits.
For people seeking employment, it is even more important than for most freelancers to acquire specialized skills and an extensive portfolio to demonstrate the value you can bring to a team.
Employment essentials:
- Strong case studies highlighting UX process, UI craft, accessibility, and collaboration with developers.
- Fluency in Figma components, tokens, and handoff; familiarity with Git‑based workflows is a plus.
- Evidence you understand Core Web Vitals and can design for performance and SEO.
- Comfort with CMS constraints and content models when designing templates and components.
Make it a Career with Formal Education
There are many formal qualifications available for web design. Some are available for free and others are paid. Too many people looking to get into web design spend a great deal of money on college courses or online courses to teach aspects of web design without fully considering how it will get them where they want to go. It is important to remember that web design is a field, rather than a niche. If you try to think in detail about what services you would like to provide to clients, and what qualifications could prove useful to clients, you will be off to a much better start.
You will have to decide, for example, whether you are interested in producing the graphics, branding and visual architecture of client websites; your level of interest and aptitude in creating the (written) content they need; whether you want to be involved in designing the administrative back-end of their websites; whether you wish to be involved in optimizing User Experience; what level of complexity of website you wish to design.
Formal qualifications are available at coding bootcamps, universities, community colleges and online. However, many of these are not really conceived for use in the workplace, and do not provide value for money for someone seeking to become a web designer. If you do decide to acquire formal qualifications, be sure that what you are getting is not only high-quality but also cost-effective.
Practical guidance:
- Map courses to real deliverables: wireframes, prototypes, component libraries, and shipped pages.
- Favor programs that teach Figma, accessibility (WCAG 2.2), and modern CSS with Grid/Flexbox.
- Look for portfolio reviews, internship pipelines, and collaboration with developers.
- Short certificates and targeted online programs can be a cost‑effective way to upskill.
Teach Yourself Web Design
Some web designers have turned professional after taking courses online that are largely self-taught. Notable course platforms include Codecademy, freeCodeCamp, Coursera, Udemy, Treehouse, and interaction‑design‑specific providers; Pluralsight also offers design/dev content. For the most part, these courses are either inexpensive or free.
This form of teaching yourself online can save you a great deal of money, but you should be aware that a web design background consisting exclusively of experience with such courses is unlikely to impress potential clients. In order to become a web designer, you will need experience grappling with real world problems to an extent that sites like this do not necessarily provide. However, they can be a great starting point to understanding the field better, teaching you the basics of your area of interest and setting you more challenging problems so you can start building a portfolio.
Portfolio project ideas to prove competence:
- A 3‑page marketing site (homepage, features, pricing) with responsive layouts and a component library.
- An e‑commerce homepage/header/nav redesign with accessibility and performance improvements.
- A lightweight design system (colors, type scale, buttons, forms) documented and handed off in Figma.
- An accessibility remediation case study showing issues found, fixes, and before/after screenshots.
What to include for each project: a brief and goals, research or references, wireframes, high‑fidelity mockups, a clickable prototype, a live demo or coded sample where possible, and a short retrospective on outcomes.
AI in your practice: Use AI to brainstorm layout variations, generate placeholder copy, draft component scaffolds, and spot accessibility gaps—then refine with your own judgment, testing, and design standards.
The best advice we can give aspiring web designers is to think carefully about what exactly you want to do in web design and work to acquire the skills you will need to succeed in that area. Since many people are interested in web development, this is not the easiest industry to break in to. Yet, if you work hard to acquire specialized skills and a portfolio, you can certainly enjoy a successful career as a web designer.
