How I'd learn web design if I had to start over
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how to learn web design in 2023
Lemme take you on a walk back down memory lane…
Imagine young Paige, sittin’ in her university apartment and cue wibbly wobbly going back in time effect 😉*
…So I had this great idea that I’d love to be a web designer, but I don’t actually know how to build websites….💭
On my first day as I stepped into the web design world, I got totally freaked out…
lines of HTML, jargon flying all over the place and a seriously intimidating vibe to a young gal, still in college with experience in web design totally “O”!
What I wish someone had sat me down to say is…
“What most people spend an absolute TON of time on is learning to code, but I hate to break it to you, that's kinda a waste of time these days as it's irrelevant to most web designers.
Website building used to need this - but now it’s sooo much more accessible, and a loot more about strategy and design than code!
So stop wasting time learning HTML Paige, I guarantee you if you custom code a site, it's going to look like it was built in 2003, because custom coding sites was THE technology in 2003. And we're well beyond that now!”
Now if that had happened, I can guarantee that my first coupla weeks as a web designer would’ve been a LOT more productive, and less stressful! So consider today’s post, me sittin’ you down for some big-sisterly advice on how to learn web design in 2023!
Learn web design step one
The real first step to becoming a designer these days is to research & pick one web design platform to learn!
Let me explain it like this. It's kinda like when people say they want to learn to “play sports” and then go and learn golf, hockey and swimming.
They're three totally different things, and while there's someee complimentary skills from learning all 3, you're going to get better at golf a lot faster by just learning golf 🏌️♀️, and not also hockey 🏑 and swimming 🏊♀️ at the same time!
I realize it's hard to pick just one website building platform to learn when you're new to the field, so I put together a video comparing the top 4 most popular website builders right now and helping you decide which one is right for you to learn as an aspiring web designer! Check it out here 👇
Prefer to read? I gotcha covered with this website builder comparison post!
In all honesty, the website building platform I choose to learn back in the day and would totally 100% choose over again if I had to pick again was Squarespace. Granted, that might not be the right one for you, so watch the video above to learn to pick which one is right for you, because a different one might fit you and your potential ideal clients better!
If you do decide Squarespace is “the one” tho - make sure to grab 10% off with code Paige10 (yup that’s an affiliate code - I thank you kindly in advance if you choose to use it!
Learn web design step two
Find educational resources on the tech ONLINE.
Normally my first go to for learning anything is a book, but because web design changes so quickly, books go out of date before you can blink.
Same thing goes for learning web design or coding at university or college. They’re teaching the tech and coding of 5 ago, not what’s being used today.
Do your research online, find a teacher you resonate with, binge their content online, read all their blogs & YouTube videos and find someone who doesn’t bore you to tears while they teach!
I would try to find a course, I think they’re the ultimate shortcut to anything and every time I want to learn something new for my business, I go find the expert on the topic and learn from them. It’s been the best investment I coulda made in my Biz & has always paid me back & more on the cost of the course! And two other reasons courses rock:
They’re always kept up to date, unlike the free resources online
They give you the confidence you know the thing from start - finish and aren’t missing anything.
Also, I often find that the free stuff online is just the tech tutorials, but there’s a ton of strategy which goes into building websites, which is oftentimes way more important than the tech!
Good designers know about spacing and design best practices and hierarchy and strategically placing items on a page to ensure they get clicked more often, and this is what tends to be missing in the free stuff online.
Learn web design step three
Create a portfolio while practicing!
If you want to be a freelance designer and get real clients, you’ll need a portfolio. But even more-so than this, you’re going to need the confidence you can actually build websites.
Normally a client will send you the details of their business and the site they want, called a “client brief”, basically a short description of what they want, the vibe and their inspiration websites and sale and vibe.
You can either think up and create your own client brief, or to make it easier for you, I’ve put together two client briefs, one for a restaurant and one for a florist, which you can grab 👉
You’ll get a pdf with prompts as if it were a real client giving you the details of what they’d like in a project and you can create your portfolio piece from that!
All this, you might now know how to build websites, but you still have one very important question to figure out before you can actually take on clients, and THAT is what to charge!
A few hundred dollars? A few thousand?
I hear there are designers charging $10k per project, how do I command THOSE prices Paige?!
Check this out next and I’ll explain what’s the going rate in the industry right now and how much you should be charging as a new web designer
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