We're not going to lie to you – getting your ideas out on the world wide web can take some doing. Different people will have different needs, too. After all, are we talking a complex site rooted in ecommerce that will be seeing massive international traffic or are you more in the market for a smaller blog that showcases your extensive photo collection of cute animals wearing funny hats? Bottom line: more often than not you'll need a website designer to make everything look not just pretty, but easy to understand and navigate through. Fail to deliver either, and your visitors will leave you for...oh, about a million other sites that are better made.
The reality is, high-quality web design is considerably broader in scope than simply the front end design a user will engage with. A website's structure, information architecture, usability, compatibility, navigation logic, and user experience design are equally central to functional, and appealing websites as branding, color or imagery, and an effective website designer will possess a practical knowledge of these components and contribute to a successful website story.
In order to successfully create a website, designers need to consider a range of influences including a website's audience, industry, function and goals to ensure a design fit for purpose. Website developers require a varied skill set encompassing a number of disciplines. These include (but are not limited to) graphic design, user interface planning, coding, user experience design and optimization for search engines (SEO) for great web content.
Purists will argue there are distinct differences between website design and the role of a web developer. This is true. Clearly, the primary focus of a web designer is the visual component of a site. However, in reality, there is a significant crossover between web design and web engineering and it is increasingly common for a top class web designer to have a foundational understanding of markup languages such as HTML and CSS.
In larger website design companies, web design and development is split amongst several team members. This luxury is rarely available in smaller organizations where web designers often possess end to end skills from design through to programming and delivery. If you are searching for an individual with broad skills to manage an entire design and production process, or you require a design firm with highly specialized staff, then you need to leverage a community such as Freelancer.com for your website design job.
There are a number of basic tools any good designer must have at their disposal regardless of their specialization. Designers must be skilled in the use of vector and raster graphics editors for the creation of web imagery or prototyping. A working knowledge of HTML and CSS is essential, and designers are typically expected at the very least to have basic coding skills and to have utilized a range of WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editing software.
The importance of a killer website design cannot be overlooked. An eye-catching design will immediately attract and endear customers to your website and business. A satisfying web experience will keep customers coming back time and time again, and it all starts with creating the best homepage design. And a site that is optimized to deliver to your organization’s online goals will deliver positive business outcomes such as attracting new markets and increasing engagement with an existing audience.
Accordingly, the importance of hiring a top class website designer should not be underestimated. You need someone that is skilled in designing websites that not only look beautiful, but that perform. You can’t afford to spend hard earned money engaging a designer that won’t deliver effectively to your brief.
Looking for a visually appealing, user-friendly, and easy-to-navigate website? Hire a freelance website designer to build it for you now!
What does a Website Designer do?
A website designer's job is to create the look and feel of a website. This includes color schemes, typography, imagery, layout, and overall graphical appearance. A good website designer uses an array of design tools and techniques to create a design that is aesthetically pleasing to the eye, is easy for users to navigate and meets business goals.
How much does a freelance Website Designer cost?
As such, there is no fixed price for website design, unless of course you explicitly go for a fixed-price model. The amount charged by freelance website designers depends on a number of factors such as the number of hours needed, whether complex customization is required or just a one-off design job, as well as the experience and profile strength of the freelancer. That's why you can find good freelance website designers charging from $10-$100 per hour on Freelancer.com.
However, if you have a fair idea of your requirements and want to get good quality work in a set time, you can go with the Fixed-price model also. Contests are another way of getting work done in a pre-fixed budget and time.