A professional web designer creates websites for companies and individuals. These designers are often called upon to use a variety of skills, such as computer programming, graphic design, and sometimes copywriting. Web design also requires creators to balance aesthetics, usability, and client demands.
A professional web designer is often called upon, by a client, to create a website. This process typically begins with a production meeting, in which the client’s expectations are discussed. The site’s color, layout, content, and graphics may be topics of conversation in this consultation. Often, these meetings are useful for the web designer to get an idea of the client’s needs, goals, and brand image that may be showcased on the website.
For the most part, a professional web designer should have a good working knowledge of computer programming languages, such as Javascript® and HTML. Not all web designers write code to create pages. In fact, the increasing complexity of web design technology requires many designers to use various specialty software programs that help fashion websites.
The technical functions of the Internet can affect web design. As a result, a professional web designer typically needs to not only know how to create a webpage, but how search engines, web browsers, and servers work. He or she should typically also know how to use these things to enhance the website. Clients often rely on the designer to work with these, more technical aspects of web design.
A professional web designer may also be skilled in graphic design. The layout and aesthetics of a website are often just as important as the content. Most clients put a great deal of emphasis on the image a website gives them. The responsibility may fall to the web designer to incorporate this representation into the layout of the website.
Sometimes, a professional web designer may be called upon to write copy for the website, or at least to outsource the writing portion of the job. As a general rule, websites are intended to be purveyors of information, so the written content is quite important. The text is often required to be written in a clear, concise manner, and may involve the use of hypertext or search engine key words. The client usually determines what material he or she wishes to include on the website.
As technology develops, a professional web designer may find it necessary to be adaptable. He or she may be required to learn to work with new programming languages and software programs. Designers may also need to be well-versed in updated ways to communicate information through media, such as video, audio, and animation.
