What it takes to become a website developer in Swansea UK
Today, there are hundreds of millions of active websites. Many of these websites wouldn’t function or appear the way they do without a large pool of skilled and experienced web designers. And in actuality, website development and upkeep are the responsibility of web designers. It makes sense that web design is a growingly popular industry as it has the potential to be both financially and creatively rewarding. Who doesn’t enjoy picking up new skills? You’re in luck if you want to start a new job or just learn how to build websites for pleasure. There are so many amazing resources, tips, and techniques online that will help you get started on your path to becoming a web developer in Swansea UK with an outstanding portfolio.
To become a web designer, you most surely don’t need to attend an expensive university. With enough experience, perseverance, and access to excellent materials, practically anyone can become a web designer.
It’s crucial to put time (and perhaps money) into the appropriate resources. We are aware that not all of the material on the web is helpful. Some tips and web design materials might not be as good as others.
For your web design journey, we have put together some tips.
Want to work as a web designer but don’t know where to begin? See our advice below.
How to become a website developer in Swansea UK
You may start a career as a professional web designer within a year if you follow these instructions. Remember that learning to build websites is a serious endeavour. You’ll need to put in the work, learn a lot, become an expert in your field, and establish a good portfolio. The real steps you must follow from beginning to conclusion, though, are not that difficult.
Know how the web functions
Most web designers currently employed in the field are at least familiar with a basic programming language. It might be useful to have at least two. You’ll need some programming knowledge that is related to web design to succeed.
However, systems like WordPress are a great substitute for years of learning difficult, dynamic programming languages. Without actually writing any code, designers can create unique websites with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript using WordPress.
There are many workshops, classes, seminars, and other resources available if you’re still interested in learning basic code as a web designer or developer. You can go to YouTube and find hundreds of videos on how to use WordPress.
Learn the theory
It’s crucial to learn about the principles of web design before you get started with any web design.
Websites that are both user-friendly and profitable will adhere to user experience, or UX, conventions and patterns. UX is essentially a list of standards that all users look for when using a website, including things like mobile compatibility, nice colours, and easy navigation.
There is virtually nothing more crucial than UX, so it is a good idea to approach web design with UX in mind from the start. It establishes a website’s bounce rate, which affects the success and marketability of the whole thing.
There will always be a need to update your training and learn more about how UX develops as trends as the web design industry expands. Due to shifts in culture and technology, what people want in UX one year may be radically different the following year. As you begin your adventure as a website developer in Swansea UK, have this in mind. Even when you land a job in web design, you’ll still be learning new things.
Discover your ideal web design tools
You must get knowledgeable about the instruments of the trade needed to create the greatest websites if you want to succeed in the field of web design. You have a better chance of being successful as a professional web designer if you have a fundamental understanding of the tools that are used most frequently today.
However, since there are many different aspects of web design, not all of these technologies may be required. However, they are still worth understanding a little bit about to have a more comprehensive design education.
Typical web design tools include:
WordPress
WordPress is fundamentally the most straightforward and well-liked way to start your own website or blog. In actuality, WordPress is used by more than 40% of websites on the Internet. Yes, WordPress is probably used by more than a quarter of the websites you visit.
WordPress is an open-source content management system that is GPLv2 licenced, which implies that anybody can use or modify the WordPress software without charge. A content management system is essentially a tool that makes it simple to manage crucial elements of your website, such as content, without having any programming experience.
As a result, it is popular amongst website developers in Swansea UK. This is because WordPress enables anyone to create a website, including those who aren’t programmers.
Wix
You can create a website using its user-friendly drag-and-drop features and more than 500 pre-made themes without the need for specialised knowledge or paying a web developer. Wix expedites web creation and provides you with the creative flexibility to create any kind of website you want.
For small and medium-sized e-commerce firms, Wix is a good website builder. It is accessible in 17 different languages and has more than 200 million registered users worldwide.
Webflow
A technology called Webflow can develop high-fidelity prototypes while also producing a live website. With a highly intuitive drag-and-drop dashboard, Webflow takes care of everything for you if you don’t know anything about coding. The end product is a fully functional website rather than just a mock-up.
Get to grips with graphic design
Not just plugging in code and learning user experience trends are part of web design. It also heavily incorporates graphic design.
Although the ideas of graphic and online design are significantly different, they are not incompatible. When coding a website, web designers need to be able to solve mathematical puzzles.
To determine the most aesthetically acceptable design options for a website based on its use cases, possible audience, and design trends, graphic design is also required.
The graphic design software packages Photoshop and Illustrator are excellent for experimenting with various design strategies. Fortunately, you can learn a lot of the fundamentals of graphic design again through YouTube.
Understand the basics of creating web design mock-ups
A significant portion of web design and the process of building a website from scratch is prototyping websites.
A prototype website includes many mock-ups that depict various website designs. To provide a more practical, real-world demonstration of the website itself, prototypes will include the HTML and other code used in a website. Sometimes a website prototype is just a rough sketch of the finished article.
Prototyping abilities are essential for a web designer to succeed because they demonstrate an understanding of the importance of giving potential clients a visual representation of the finished product.
Building a portfolio of web design work also benefits from having the ability to prototype.
Build a portfolio
The majority of clients and companies are not particularly interested in your academic background. Many people won’t even be interested in how long you’ve been designing websites. They are more interested in your portfolio.
In essence, a web design portfolio is a digital file that contains examples of your web design work. Full websites, previous projects, prototypes, apps, templates, themes, screenshots, and more can all be found in a web design portfolio. Get imaginative – this is supposed to be the enjoyable part of your web design journey!
Since you are a genuine website developer in Swansea UK, it seems sensible to publish your web design portfolio on your own website. To adequately display your prototypes, we advise keeping the themes in your web design portfolio minimal.
Start looking for web design work
Now that you understand how the web functions, the theory behind it, and which tools you want to use and have built your portfolio, it’s time to start finding some clients.
People you already know
This is usually the first and easiest step for everyone just starting out. This is because most people have a friend or family member who could do with a website. However, you will probably have to do this for free or at least for a very small sum. But that’s ok because you will use this as a portfolio piece to attract bigger clients later on.
Job sites
This is also another viable option when first starting as you are going to a place where people are already looking for web designers. You usually get free credits at the start for these platforms e.g. Freelancer or Upwork. Again though these will mostly be low-paying jobs. But hey, you are still building your portfolio and moving forward!
Freelancer
Working as a freelancer is often the in-between step from starting out to owning a web design agency. It is a great time for most designers as they can usually reach out and get larger clients who pay well. It also works because small to medium-sized companies sometimes don’t like working with big agencies. This can be for many reasons but the most common is they don’t get the personal touch.
In-house jobs
Working as an in-house website developer in Swansea UK for a real company is a possibility if you want to completely alter your career but don’t really enjoy freelancing. If you’re searching for stability, solid pay, and perks, this could be fantastic.
Remember that if you only work for one company or organisation, you won’t have as much creative freedom. On websites like Reed or Indeed, you can quickly find web design jobs for various skill levels.
Additional pointers to get you started with web development
Here are some additional suggestions for moving up in the web design industry and honing your talents, in addition to the list of stages we provided above.
Improve your sales/ communication skills
Web design may be an introvert’s paradise. It might appear to be a job where one spends most of their nights alone, engrossed in code, and with no need to interact with others. This is not the case, though.
A professional website developer in Swansea UK must be a good communicator if they want to get along with their freelancing clients and, maybe, their coworkers in an internal marketing environment. Regardless of your niche, web design is a team sport.
As a result, practising your communication skills is crucial. Do you get along well with prospective customers? Can you work well with other experts, such as graphic designers and web designers? Can you follow instructions from your supervisor and effectively apply web design principles to those instructions? Always keep in mind that good communication can make or break a project.
Learn about SEO
When it comes to getting a website to rank on Google search pages, search engine optimisation is crucial. To rank as highly as possible, a website must be fully optimised using SEO techniques.
Since SEO skills are frequently incorporated into the core framework of a website, web designers are mostly to blame for this. Understanding SEO will enhance your already amazing skill set and help you increase your demand as a designer.
Take some time to research typical SEO tactics in the context of web design. A quick Google search will yield an astounding quantity of results.
Participate in online forums for web designers
Try joining an online community if you love web design but don’t especially appreciate how lonely it might be to work long hours by yourself with sporadic communication with your clients.
Joining an online network for web designers has a lot of advantages. It’s a great way to network, find out about current UX trends, see what other people are working on, be inspired, and occasionally even make a few friends.
You can also look for real-world physical events that include web designers. Meetups are a fantastic option for locating other web designers and building local contacts in your industry.
Get feedback
You should always be looking for ways to get better at what you do. You can only get better like that! Having a professional or peer nearby who can give you frank and helpful criticisms on your new endeavours can be incredibly beneficial.
Don’t worry if you don’t have any colleagues in the field of web design. You may find other web designers through a variety of online channels, such as an online forum as we mentioned in the last point. Simply share your work and request feedback. That’s all there is to it!
Conclusion
How did you find our comprehensive guide to becoming a website developer in Swansea UK? As with most businesses and jobs, it’s hard at the start but it gets much easier (and rewarding) the longer you can stick it out. Please ask any further questions in the comment section below or feel free to drop us an email.
