Web Design Job Descriptions

So what are the key Web Design Skills and Knowledge Requirements?

Learn from Others
One of the most important attributes is the ability to learn from others. The beauty of the web is that in an instant you can have a view of what some of the biggest most successful web based companies in the world have done. Analysis of Amazon.com for example will give you an expert lesson in ecommerce user experience. You can pick up some key points and principles in 5 mins based on millions of dollars worth of research and testing by simply looking in the right places. This whole process is imperative to web design, the ability to learn from others and adapt best practice into your own design and creative process.

Web Design Creativity
Creativity is still hugely important but creativity bounded by some guidelines and best practice. A 100 % flash based animation site is now out of the question however interesting animation to demonstrate a point, display a product in the right way or covey humour could be very effective. Content such as Infographics are very popular online as they condense key information in a fun and engaging format. Therefore, the creation of graphically bountiful, yet informative Infographics would be an example of important and creative web design.

User Experience
Every website and online application needs to be designed with internet users in mind. Typically you need to cater for an audience with varying levels of web know how so ease of use, consistency of navigation and minimum number of clicks are all important elements to web design. Again, this can restrict creativity to an extent but attention spans are short online and you don’t want to lose site visitors who get lost or confused on your site

Accessibility and Search Engine Optimisation
Web Designers should also have a good knowledge of website Accessibility guidelines and design sites which are compliant. Search Engine Optimisation is also important and they must have a solid understanding of what is required from a site design and structural perspective in order to optimise a site for search engine ranking purposes.

The work of web design has changed dramatically in recent years. In the early days of web design, creativity was more abundant. Using tools from Microsoft Front Page to Dreamweaver and Flash, web designers created all sorts of weird and wonderful designs and in those days not many websites ever looked alike. Some would argue that the evolution of the web has resulted in this creativity being bounded and to an extent I would say this is true.

As the science started to creep into measuring website success factors it became clear that the requirement for consistency from an end user perspective was important. Flashy, quirky and colourful sites were often just annoying users as they got frustrated trying to find information quickly or buy a product at the best price. After years of analysis by some of the biggest online businesses some clear rules of best practice have been established for web design.

Accessibility is another very important area as is Search Engine Optimisation. Both of these require in-depth knowledge of best practice site structure to ensure content is both accessible and search engine friendly.

So what are some of the key rules of web design?

Clear consistent navigation

Minimum number of clicks possible to access information

Graphics are important but must be a balanced approach

Creative content within boundaries can work well (Infographics, video content etc)

Calls to action within key content are very important (buy now, call now, subscribe now etc)

Flash is out (no longer viewable on some mobile devices and tablets) so new technologies are important e.g. HTML5

Social media integration can be effective if done properly