The field of web design has seen rapid growth over the past few years. Not only in the demand for web designers, but also in the number of people who are interested in becoming a web designer. If you’re one of those people, we know you’re probably pretty curious about what your paycheck could look like.

With new technology and trends emerging at a fast pace, it’s no surprise that this field continues to grow. And with the increasing number of businesses transitioning to the digital world, there’s a need to develop and design websites and web apps more than ever before. This means that a career in web design will continue to flourish for years to come.

Here's how much you can expect to make as a web designer once you're coding, iterating and wireframing with the best of them.

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How Much Does A Web Designer Earn?

The salary of a web designer can vary for a lot of reasons. Salaries can vary because of experience, location, company, and more. The roles and responsibilities of a web designer depend on the kinds of companies or industries they choose to work with. Another factor that determines the salary of a web designer is their specialization. For example, some web designers specialize in the technical aspects of web design, while others specialize in the design aspect.

On average, a web designer in the U.S. makes around $65,159 per year. The hourly rate for a web-designer is around $28-34 per hour.

Web Designer Salary by Job Level

Apart from your location, your experience is also a huge deciding factor on your salary.

Entry-level: Recent graduates or web designers with no prior work experience tend to fall into this category. These entry-level positions are a great learning experience. They’re also a great opportunity to get your foot in the door and network in the tech industry.

On average, the salary for an entry-level web designer is somewhere around $49,750 per year.

Junior level: To be a junior web designer, you have to have some experience in the field. It doesn’t take that long to become a junior web designer after working at an entry-level job. However, it does take a bit longer to advance to the next level. That’s the reason why the salary greatly varies depending on the experience and skills.

Usually, the salary of a junior web designer ranges from $42,000 to $62,000 per year.

Senior-level: These are at the top of the hierarchy. You have to have years of experience to land a position as a senior web designer. Usually, you have to work at the same company for a few years to get into this role. Senior web designers make important decisions and are trusted to handle important tasks for the company.

With more responsibility comes the perks of an attractive average salary which is around $92,874 per year.

Web Designer Salary by Specialty

You can specialize in different subfields of web design. Specializing in a certain area can determine your job title, role, responsibilities, and yes, salary. We’ve listed some of the options below.

Web Design Vs. Web Development

Employers sometimes use the terms web design and web development interchangeably. However, web development is a broad field and can be classified as front-end and back-end development. On the other hand, web designers typically deal with the front-end, or parts of the website that users see and interact with. The role of web designer includes planning, creating, and coding the websites and web pages. The design and layout of a website or a web page is a web designer’s responsibility.

On the other hand, web development has more to do with building websites than it does with designing websites. Whereas web design is, as the name suggests, is all about the design. To become a web designer, you can pursue a few different avenues. You can get a degree in web design, or you can take various online courses to learn. We recommend Thinkful’s UX/UI Design bootcamp if you want to start a successful career in web design immediately after graduation, because that’s what this class is designed to do for you.

Skills You Need to Become A Web Designer

Alright, so you’re interested in becoming a web designer now. Let’s take a look at what skills you’ll need to start your career.

Perks and Benefits Working as a Web Designer

There are several perks and benefits of being a web designer. Some of them are as follows:

Take the Next Steps

Web design can be a fulfilling field if you love to be creative and you enjoy working in the digital world. It’s also a great career if you value working from home, or if you want to travel frequently. If you like what you’ve read so far about web design and you’re looking to get into the field, check out our UX/UI Design bootcamp. You’ll learn everything you need to know to thrive in the field of web design and user experience. You’ll also have access to 1-on-1 mentorship and an unrivaled support system.

If you’re still not sure if web design is right for you, we’ve got a few more useful web design articles that can guide you in the right direction.

FAQs

How do I get into web design?

You can get into the field of web design by understanding the role and the nature of work of a web designer in an organization. To begin with, you need to master a few skills like graphic designing, conversion-focused web design, web development, digital marketing, and maintenance and management.

Will a degree help me make more money?

Though there is no specific web design degree, having substantial knowledge of the field will definitely help your career opportunities. However, gaining this knowledge is not exclusively tied to a college degree. There are many learning pathways that can teach you the relevant skills you need to land a job in web design.

How much do Thinkful grads make?

The salary of a web designer depends on important factors such as skill level, years of experience, job location, area of specialization and the nature of work in the organization. On average the salary of a web designer is around $65,000 per year and can increase up to $92,000 depending on different roles and responsibilities.

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