|
|
|
|
There are currently more than 1 billion websites, and even more being created every year. Well-designed, easy-to-use websites are crucial touch points between organizations and their audiences, whether users go online to make a purchase, find information, book an appointment, or complete other tasks. To stay competitive, businesses need individuals with design expertise to create, maintain, and update content such as business websites, e-commerce platforms, blogs, and landing pages-generating significant demand for skilled web designers. According to the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics, in May 2023, 111,060 web and digital interface designers were employed in the US alone. All types of companies, from startups and small businesses to midsize and large corporations can benefit from web design services. However, identifying and hiring high-quality web designers can be challenging. In this guide, we describe the key skills and qualities employers should look for when hiring freelance and remote designers to help develop websites and user interfaces. These qualities include tool mastery, depth of portfolio, business savvy, creativity, a meticulous approach, knowledge of rapidly evolving technology, and, most importantly, a focus on the user.
What Attributes Distinguish Quality Web Designers From Others? What you look for when hiring a professional web designer will depend on your project scope. However, many skills and qualities are essential for any design project. The best websites combine usability and utility, meaning they are easy to use and enable users to achieve what they set out to do. When hiring a web designer, look for a candidate who emphasizes user and customer needs throughout their design process. In résumés and interviews, you can recognize a user-centric mindset and expertise from phrases such as user experience (UX) design and user-centered design (UCD). Even better, when you review candidates’ portfolios, notice whether their work samples connect to user needs or whether the designs focus only on aesthetics without serving a clear purpose. In addition to understanding the needs of users, look for web designer candidates who understand business priorities, such as optimizing conversions, increasing time on site, meeting SEO needs, and building brand credibility.
Designers should learn what a business wants to achieve with its online presence and marketing plans to achieve these objectives. They should then align design strategy with business goals. Creativity is an essential skill for any designer. It helps them solve problems, ask the right questions, incorporate user and stakeholder feedback, and find innovative solutions that support user needs and business goals. The design process-from identifying goals to the development of wireframes to polishing the final product-is iterative, and designers should be able to resolve any problems they encounter along the way. Minor details matter in design. Meticulous attention to detail is especially important when you hire a remote web designer because they will work with less direct supervision than on-site staff. You can identify this quality from the sites in a designer’s portfolio, as well as during the interview process. Visual aspects of design are extremely important. Correct use of visual elements like typography, imagery, and color schemes can help users process information.
Designers with an understanding of UI design and a clear vision of what a webpage should look like can forge the path toward success. How Can You Identify the Ideal Web Designer for You? Depending on budget and other project constraints like team size and talent availability, you may need different levels of experience in web designers. Senior designers have both broader and deeper experience and are better able to craft a coherent vision of how a site should appear. They have mastery of the overall design process as a result of significant years of experience in the field. Veteran designers are more capable of handling a variety of problems and circumstances and are better-suited for leading teams and projects. On the other hand, junior designers, eager to establish their credentials, are often inclined to stay updated with the most recent tools and trends in the design industry. Less-experienced designers can do a great job on assignments that closely match their particular skills and knowledge.
By matching the skill sets and designer qualities described above, you can maximize your chances of hiring top talent, whether at the junior or senior level. When searching for the right freelance web designer, begin by identifying the specific skills needed on a per-project basis-and which skills your team may lack that a freelance designer can bring to the table. There are several considerations when matching candidates with projects. For example, if you’ve already chosen a design tool suite, candidates must have experience with that tool or software. Even without a predetermined tool set, candidates should have up-to-date experience with popular tools and packages. Industry experience in your particular commercial sector is also important, as is a portfolio with websites similar in form and function to the one you intend to create or update. If you are planning to build a new website from scratch, chances are you will need more than page design skills. Depending on the needs of your project, you might want to look into hiring a web designer that has experience in related fields such as website development, graphic design, or UI/UX design.
|
|
