And know that website development with a constructor is a soft start in the freelance profession. You don’t need to immediately learn everything a web designer should be able to do. Make simple websites, improve your portfolio, study systematically, and soon you will take on big projects.
What a web designer should know in the theory and practice of design
Design Theory: All visual systems follow principles of unity. Be sure to familiarize yourself with concepts such as composition, hierarchy, symmetry, depth, movement, balance, rhythm, visual weight, grouping, proportions and rhythms, consistency and emphasis, textures and patterns. Over time, you will begin to see these principles manifest in your designs.
Adaptive design. Although aesthetics are important, the designer must also understand the behavior of the site layout on different devices and at different resolutions. When working with Weblium , you do not need to worry about site adaptations - Weblium will create them automatically. But knowledge of the principles of adaptive design will still not be superfluous.
Modular grids. A modular grid is a system for organizing content on a website page (or any other canvas). Using grids, a website becomes visually rhythmic and harmonious. A designer should understand how to use modular grids and how they can be applied to different types of websites. Also, don't forget about vertical rhythm.
Typography . It will be difficult for a web designer without an understanding of typography principles: contrast, sizes and compatibility of different sets of typefaces. At least a brief familiarity with font families, the principles of their creation and the criteria for the admissibility of using fonts on displays is necessary.
Color Theory. Colors bring life to design. It would seem that website colors are pure creativity. But in fact, there are clear principles of color harmony, color psychology, contrast, and palette formation. Get familiar with the basic rules of color theory - your intuition needs help.
Layout principles. Even if you work with website builders, it is worth looking at the layout with HTML and CSS at least from time to time. This way you will better understand what is happening under the hood of the builder. In addition, knowledge of HTML and CSS will help you add custom code to your site.
What to read on Weblium on this topic:
How to choose the right colors for your website?
Pictures for a website: how to choose correctly
How to Choose Images for Your Blog? A Comprehensive Guide
How to Make a Moodboard in 7 Easy Steps
Why do you need a corporate identity and how to create it?
10 Website Design Mistakes Newbies Make
5 Mistakes in Online Store Design That Reduce Sales
Knowledge required for a designer to create a website
What a Web Designer Should Know About User Experience
Development idea. It is important for a web designer to understand well for whom and why he is creating a website. You need to understand the concepts of audience and its research, user needs, website tasks, target actions, branding, competitive analysis. It is also important to distinguish between types of websites. For example, how a corporate website differs from a landing page.
User interface. Here you will spend time studying interfaces and the rules for their construction. For starters, it is enough to know what elements websites consist of (and there are actually more than five dozen of them), and which elements are best used for specific tasks (you will often defend your design decisions, you need arguments).
User path. When users move around the site, certain scenarios are sure to be traced. As a designer, you need to anticipate these paths and, based on this, create the site structure, arrange navigation elements and target actions.
Principles of usability. You will have a flow of orders if the created sites are easy to learn, each action is clear and predictable, and the interface is memorable and repeats the interaction of users on other sites. And if (eventually) the user is happy with his experience on the site, then you have mastered the theory of usability well.
Prototypes and development stages. Prototyping and wireframing allow you to see what the site will look like before the final design. This means that you can eliminate potential site shortcomings with minimal effort. You also need to know about the stages the site will go through as it is developed: from draft to release. SEO can be a separate source of income for you, so try to familiarize yourself with search engine optimization.
What to read on Weblium on this topic:
How to Create a Target Audience Portrait in 4 Steps
What is a website structure and how to create one (with examples)
12 rules and tools for building convenient kuwait phone number material navigation on a website
19 Major Website Usability Problems: How to Fix and Make Your Website Better
Why do you need a corporate identity and how to create it?
How to Create a Website Home Page: Tips, Components, Examples
Website Header: What is it, what is it for and how to design it
Website Footer: What It Is and How to Design It
Knowledge needed for a designer to create websites
Additional web designer skills
Soft skills. A freelance designer is his own businessman. He negotiates with clients, conducts negotiations, understands psychology and resolves conflicts, separates work from personal life, knows how to organize his work and manage projects. Be sure to subscribe to a couple of thematic communities or channels and gradually absorb the knowledge that will make you a disciplined entrepreneur.
Programs. A website builder (for example, Weblium ) may be your only tool. But gradually you will be able to master other skills and programs. As a result, you will offer clients additional services and increase the average check for work. Sketch and Figma will allow you to create graphics, interfaces, logos. Adobe Premiere, DaVinci Resolve, After Effects – to edit video banners. Photoshop and Lightroom – to collage and retouch photos.
What to read on Weblium on this topic:
Habits that prevent you from working and developing your business, and how to overcome them
9 Simple Rules to Make Your Customers Happy
Knowledge needed for a designer to create websites
Let's not forget about the designer's keen eye
Theory shapes your thinking, but your design is also an extension and adaptation of other people’s ideas and findings. You are the author, but you should always have a reference library at hand. References are patterns and solutions in design that you can turn to for inspiration.
To help your reference library grow, get into the habit of working on it in a meaningful way:
Devote a specific amount of time each week to finding interesting work. The first half of Sunday or the obligatory 15 minutes at the end of the working day – you won’t even notice how your reference folder will grow fat.
Sort references into different categories . Some of them will be bookmarked with trending sites, some with unusual solutions, and another folder can be simple but working solutions.
Study different areas of web development methodically . For example, set aside time periods to study online stores, then move on to landing pages, then look at corporate sites. A diverse library is the key to fast work in the future.
Also, do not forget about the applicability of solutions in your development . If you work, for example, with Weblium , immediately evaluate the feasibility of the design by the capabilities of the constructor.
You can look at works not only on Behance, Dribbble or Pinterest. We have selected resources for you where you can also find interesting works:
