I applaud you for your interest in wanting to learn how to become a web designer in Kenya. Website designing is not like it used to be ten years ago, and so is the role of becoming a web designer. It creates a lot of buzz in the technology industry right now, and who wants to be left out: of course, not you! A career in web design requires a lot of technical skill and creativity to create a pleasing user experience. Website design is becoming indispensable as it entails the way a website interacts with its users. As a website designer, you must ensure that the website can meet the user needs. These skills come in handy irrespective of whether the website is for your personal needs, business needs, or clients’ wants. You read that right; website designing is a career that can earn you a pretty good solid income, and whether a newbie or a professional, you ought to put in the effort to ace it. This article will provide a step-by-step guide that will help you understand the skills and knowledge to build a successful career as a web designer in Kenya.
Who is a Web
Designer?
A web designer is a
person who plans, creates and codes internet websites and web pages, of which
they combine text with sounds, graphics and video clips. He or she is in charge
of creating the design and layout of a website or web pages. Let us
start from the basics; whether you are a newbie or you have interacted with web
or design before, here is a simple and easy to understand definition for both
terms individually. Web, which is short for a website, is a tool that
identifies a company or brand. It conveys information that the business wants
its clients to know about, like what they do and how they do it. A website can
be built for different entities: an individual’s blog or brand, a business, or
even a non-profit organization ought to have a website. Design entails creating
and editing how the appearance of something looks like. This cuts across so
many industries, but today we will look at it from the perspective of the web.
Essential Skills
Needed By a Web Designer
Technical Skills
Search engine
optimization (SEO) – Search
engine optimization, commonly referred to as SEO, refers to websites and web
pages’ ranking on the search engine results.
User experience
design (UX/UI) – User
experience refers to the interaction a person has while on your website. It
symbolizes the overall experience. Notably, this includes factors like the ease
of navigation, understanding the language that has been used etc.
Speed optimization – Just like SEO, speed optimization
helps a page’s ranks in search rankings. Speed optimization entails how fast
the page loads. If the site results take forever to load, the audience leaves
even before seeing what they wanted to see on that particular website.
Content
optimization – This
is the backbone of any website. If the content on the site does not have flow,
it simply means your audience will not consume the content as intended. Meaning
site owners have to organize their content so that their clientele can consume
it quickly.
Call to Action
Buttons – These are
CTA’S that direct your users to what you want them to do once they are done
consuming your content. For example, “buy now” is a clear CTA that urges your
visitors to make a purchase.
People Skills
Individuals in this
career need to have people skills. These are those interpersonal and
intrapersonal skills that you as a person should possess. As a website
designer, you will interact with clients on a personal level. You, therefore,
should have specific essential skills that will make your work easier. They
include:
- Perseverance
- Patience
- Time management
- Empathy
- Emotional intelligence
- Commitment
- Team player attitude
Job Description or
Duties
As a web designer in
Kenya, your duties will include:
- Actualizing creative ideas with the
clientele.
- Putting to test and improve the designs of
the websites.
- Establishing websites and web pages’
design, theme, tone and style.
- Designing graphics for websites and
ensuring that they are in line with the company/organization’s brand.
- Being knowledgeable on how to work with
different content management systems.
- Creating sample pages, including colors
and fonts.
- Presenting the website structure inclusive
of all its functionalities and features.
Content Management
Tools Every Web Designer Should Know About
Content management
tools or website builder are software systems that provide website
collaboration, authoring and administration tools designed to help site owners
and designers create, edit and manage content without having to code it. Yes,
you don’t need to have any coding or programming skills to succeed in this
career. The primary CMS tools include WordPress, Drupal, Wix, Joomla,
Magento, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and Shopify. Through these tools, you will
be able to design a whole website.
Pick a Niche
After choosing which
website builder works best for you, choose a niche that you are most
comfortable with. This does not mean that whichever niche you choose is the one
you will stick with till the end of time. No, that’s not it. This niche is the
one you will work on as you build your website. Your website can’t be all blank
without content. Picking a niche helps you target your audience. When you
already have a persona audience in mind, you can create and curate content
according to their needs. This enables you to save a lot of time that could
have been wasted creating content all over the place. Niches are divided
into two broad categories:
- Character niches – For example, fast, 3D,
affordable, lightweight, mobile and animated choices.
- For example, industry niches are social
media influencers, startups, bloggers, restaurants, dentists, artists,
schools, hospitals, and financial institutions.
Industry niches can
further be subdivided into niches that involve designing for Chinese restaurants.
By so doing, you can stand out from the competition.
How to Build Your
Brand as Web Designer
In connection to
building your portfolio, you need to be aggressive and invest in your sale
strategy. For example, take some time and research your neighborhood businesses
in your industry niche. Check if they have any websites and suck out all the
information you can from them. If they do not have a website, lucky you, you
get a free pass to showcase your talent to them. After this, create for them a website
and make sure to email this to them. Consider all the techniques you have
learnt to make sure they see your impact on that revamped website. If they like
it, sell it to them. This helps build your confidence and, most importantly,
grows your client base.
Estimated Growth of
Web Designer Careers
Websites are becoming
a normal requirement for many companies. From large to midlevel and startups,
every company invests in having a website for their products and services.
Unlike before, websites are becoming a preferred media choice irrespective of
your line of work. With this in mind, web designer roles are indispensable.
This is because a website’s features, design and content need to be well
aligned to ensure they realize the end goal. It is a starting career in the
instructional technology industry and has full potential to blossom and manage
high profile clientele. Another plus with this career is the fact that it
is not becoming extinct any time soon. Web designing is here with us to stay.
Where to Get Work
as a Web Designer
- Software Companies
- IT consultancies
- Specialist web design companies
- Any organization that uses computer
systems
You can also find jobs
and gigs on online platforms. There you will find a list of jobs in web design
that apply to as many as possible. If you are yet to qualify, you will get
motivated by the numerous job openings.
Online Resources to
Update Your Web Design Knowledge
As a web designer, education is part of you. You will need to equip yourself with new skills as often as possible. Technology changes each day, and as one who is in charge of creating a company’s visual performance online, you need to ensure you are up to date with the current market and design trends. Take online courses, watch tutorial videos, attend webinars and conferences to make sure you remain relevant. Becoming a web designer in Kenya entirely depends on your attitude and aptitude. Understanding the basics of this role will help you maximize your potential. As a designer, you could get a role in a traditional design set up or work as a freelance.
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