August 14, 2018
The big world of computer programming contains many roles that need to cooperate for everything to work. Think of “computer programming” as an umbrella term for many different types of people doing different but complementary things. Today, we will discuss the meaning of a web designer, a term used in the computer programming field.
We will be begin with what we see when we look at a web page: the design.
A web designer handles the way a web page looks. When users access a web page, the ease with which they find necessary information determines the quality of the user experience. If the website looks ugly or feels difficult to navigate, users probably won't return to the website. Some examples of the technologies web designers will use include HTML5, CSS3, PHP, Flash, and JavaScript.
This list outlines things that web designers have to keep in mind when deciding how to design a website:
Marketing and communication
How can we define the target group and what works with them? A web designer must consider these questions, among others, when thinking about the design of the website. For example, if we consider culture as a factor for a target group, look at the Korean website G-Market and the American website Amazon. Many websites in the Asian market contain cluttered graphics that constantly try to get your attention. However, in the North American market, Amazon treats its customers differently. They only offer what consumers find interesting based on their browsing history. Designers must understand their audience and how best to communicate with them before diving into the design of the website.
User experience
Without appropriate labeling and an understanding of how the website works, a user cannot gain any useful information from a website. Depending on a user’s level of computer literacy, having a difficult user experience will prevent that user from using the website ever again. Great user experience allows users to gain the most from a website at any given time.
In terms of user interactivity, the complexity depends on what needs to be relayed to the user. For example, if the website gives users directions to a specific location, then an interactive map would help to have. However, if the website has a more complicated purpose, then the interactivity becomes an even larger issue that must be address in design. Overall, user experience and interactivity should encourage users to continue coming back to the website.
Layout
Layout basically means the skeleton of the page, and deals with things like pixel width, alignment, grids, and others. Should all of the pages in the website have the same basic layout, or should it all be different? Aesthetically, we can appreciate it more easily if it is all consistent, but sometimes page layout has to be changed. Consider layout as the foundation and frame of the website design; everything else gets built within its parameters.
Typography
Serif? Sans serif? The types of typefaces and type styles strongly influence the way a website looks and how users interpret it. We should also note that you never want to use Comics Sans. Never, ever use Comic Sans.
Graphics
Graphics are pictures that are on the website. The designer has to decide where it is best to put them if there is also text. However, if graphics are the highlighted feature of any said website, then they have to have precedence over text. Look at Pinterest and compare it to Facebook. Photos take precedence on Pinterest whereas with Facebook, it has much less precedence.
Salary
Now, for the big question: how much do web designers make? According to Salary.com, web designers make between $45,000 to $83,000 a year.
Do you think you'd like to do this job,, but don’t have the skills necessary to do it? Apply at for Codeup, and we will get you started.
Stay tuned as we will explore another type of computer programmer next month: web developers.
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