A web designer’s core duties span planning layouts, crafting UI assets, responsive styles, and handoff files that meet user goals.
People hire a web designer to turn goals into a clear, clickable interface. The role sits at the junction of brand, layout, and usability. The job spans research, sketching, high-fidelity comps, and collaboration with engineers. You get structure, polish, and real guardrails for a site build.
What A Website Designer Does Day To Day
The work starts with discovery. Designers gather business aims, audience traits, and constraints like budget or timelines. From there they shape a sitemap, sketch flows, and define content blocks. Wireframes follow, giving each screen a layout that matches the flow.
Daily work includes creating components, pairing colors and type, writing microcopy, and refining spacing. Designers label states, such as hover, focus, and error. They maintain a design library so repeated parts stay consistent. They review builds and log issues.
Communication runs across the day. Designers meet with stakeholders, clarify scope, and present options with trade-offs. They take notes, revise quickly, and keep a trail of decisions that explains why the interface looks the way it does.
| Phase | Primary Duties | Core Outputs |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery | Stakeholder interviews, audit, audience notes, goal setting | Brief, personas, feature list |
| Definition | Sitemap, user flows, content models, priority rules | Site map, flow charts, content inventory |
| Wireframing | Low-fidelity screens, layout tests, copy cues | Wireframes, annotations, test notes |
| Visual Design | Type scale, color tokens, components, imagery | Style guide, component library, page comps |
| Prototyping | Clickable paths, motion cues, micro-interactions | Interactive prototype, feedback log |
| Spec & Handoff | Redlines, assets, design tokens, file hygiene | Exported assets, specs, changelog |
| QA & Polish | Compare build to spec, contrast checks, small fixes | Issue list, approvals, launch notes |
UX, UI, And Brand: How The Pieces Fit
User experience shapes the flow and the content order. Interface design dresses that skeleton with type, color, icons, and spacing. Brand gives the tone through a logo, palette, motion, and voice. A web designer keeps those lanes aligned so the site feels cohesive.
Research can be light or deep. Common inputs include short interviews, analytics snapshots, and screen recordings. Findings guide page priority and copy cues. Designers then create low-fidelity frames to test the flow before pixels get pretty.
A design system comes next. Tokens for color, type scale, spacing, and radius keep the work consistent. Components like buttons, forms, cards, and nav bars ship with states and usage rules. This saves time and reduces bugs once build starts.
Deliverables You Can Expect
Clients usually receive a sitemap, low-fidelity wireframes, and clickable prototypes. High-fidelity comps show real content, grid behavior, and spacing. A style guide lists tokens, type, and rules for imagery. Designers also provide icon sets and illustrations when needed.
Responsive notes are part of the package. Breakpoints span small phones, large phones, tablets, laptops, and widescreen displays. Designers specify how grids collapse, how images crop, and where content reorders. They mark tap targets, hit areas, and motion cues.
Accessibility is baked in. Text meets contrast thresholds, forms include clear labels, and every interactive item works with a keyboard. ARIA roles and page landmarks back that up. Standards like WCAG 2.2 quick reference help teams check color contrast, pointer targets, and error help early in the process.
Working With Developers And Stakeholders
Handoff is a team sport. Designers keep files tidy, name layers, and group components. They export assets, set up design tokens, and share redlines or specs. During build, they review branches, leave comments, and adjust designs when constraints appear.
Good communication cuts waste. Designers keep the scope visible through roadmaps and checklists. They flag risky areas early, such as complex forms or third-party widgets. When trade-offs show up, they propose small, testable steps that still hit the goal.
Stakeholders get steady updates. Designers demo interactive prototypes and invite feedback on copy, tone, and flow. The point is clarity: everyone should see the same outcome before code ships.
Quality Checks Before Launch
Before release, a designer runs through heuristic checks to catch rough edges. Items include feedback on actions, clean language, consistent patterns, and gentle error states. Empty states, loading states, and zero results get real attention so users never feel stuck.
Accessibility checks run again. Designers test keyboard paths, heading order, focus traps, and color contrast. They try screen readers on critical flows like sign-in, checkout, or lead forms. Common fixes include larger target sizes, clearer labels, and alt text that fits context.
Real devices tell the truth. Designers scroll on a cheap Android, an older iPhone, and a mid-range laptop. They watch for layout breaks, touch delays, and type that feels cramped. They trim heavy media and cap animation that harms performance.
Skills And Tools That Matter For The Role
Tooling centers on Figma, Sketch, or Adobe XD. Designers know component sets, variants, and auto-layout. They export assets correctly and share design tokens with devs. They handle vector edits in Illustrator and simple edits in Photoshop.
Code knowledge helps. Many designers can read HTML and CSS, tweak spacing and type scale, and speak in grid terms. Some can edit themes, adjust styles, or set up a small design system in code with a dev partner. That shared language removes guesswork.
Soft skills carry weight too. Clear writing makes good interfaces; a short label beats a fuzzy sentence. Time management and neat file hygiene keep projects moving. Curiosity about people and patterns helps designers pick the right default when data is thin.
Job boards echo this scope. Posts call for layout and typography skills, accessible design, and the ability to ship responsive interfaces. Many listings also ask for Figma or Sketch fluency and basic HTML and CSS. The BLS overview of web developers and digital designers describes related duties, including testing interfaces and shaping navigation for usability.
Common Confusions: Designer Vs. Developer
A designer owns the look, flow, and clarity of the interface. A developer builds the site and handles architecture, speed, and integrations. Many people sit somewhere in the middle, but the split helps teams plan. Small teams may hire a hybrid; bigger teams split the lane.
Who writes copy? Sometimes the designer drafts short labels and microcopy; longer pages usually involve a writer or marketer. Who picks photos? Designers set guidelines and often curate a first pass. Who manages SEO? Designers set the template and structure; specialists tune metadata and content depth.
Metrics A Designer Watches
Design choices shape outcomes. Common signals include completion rate for a task, conversion rate on a form, and time to first interaction. Scroll depth and exit screens reveal confused flows. Heatmaps and session replays can show rage clicks or dead zones.
Teams read numbers beside user notes and recordings. A single metric rarely tells the full story. Small design shifts, such as clearer labels or fewer form fields, can raise completion without heavy rework.
Teams review trends monthly to spot steady, lasting patterns.
File And Naming Conventions That Save Hours
Neat files speed up teams. Designers name frames by page and state. Components carry prefix tags, like “Btn/Primary” and “Input/Error.” Text styles and colors live as tokens with shared names across files. Assets export at 1x, 2x, and SVG where vector works best.
Version control applies to design too. Teams keep one source of truth. Branches carry a short goal, like “Header Nav Cleanup.” When work merges, comments link decisions to frames so a new teammate can follow the thread.
Stakeholder Questions To Ask During Kickoff
Good inputs lead to a clean plan. Useful prompts include: Who are the core audiences? What single task matters most on each page? What content must ship on day one? Which tools are fixed, such as a CMS or checkout? What words do people use for the product or service? What language and region are primary? What photos or icons feel right for the brand? Who signs off at each stage? These answers shape the scope and prevent churn.
| Deliverable | Purpose | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Sitemap | Pages and hierarchy | Diagram or board |
| User Flows | Tasks across screens | Flow chart |
| Wireframes | Layout and content order | Frames with notes |
| Style Guide | Type, color, spacing rules | Tokens and guide |
| Component Library | Reusable UI parts with states | Figma components |
| Prototypes | Clickable paths for demos | Interactive file |
| Icon Set | Consistent visual cues | SVG pack |
| Image Specs | Crop, ratio, compression | Sheet with rules |
| Redlines & Specs | Exact sizes and spacing | Inspect link or PDF |
| Accessibility Notes | Contrast, labels, focus order | Checklist |
| Handoff Package | Assets, tokens, and links | Zip or repo folder |
Scope Boundaries And Nice-To-Haves
A web designer can map content types, define modules, and set up a basic style guide inside a CMS theme. They can spec a blog post layout, a product card, and a filtered list. They can outline a tag plan for analytics with events and names that match the interface.
Some tasks sit near the edge of the role. Paid media landing pages, email templates, and simple brand marks can fit if time allows. Motion design can ship as JSON animations or CSS cues. User testing ranges from hallway tests to quick remote tasks with a handful of participants.
Final Takeaways
The role connects business goals to screens that people can use without friction. Expect discovery, structure, visual polish, and steady collaboration with engineering. Ask for a clear list of deliverables, a handoff plan, and dates for reviews. With that, the path from idea to launch runs smoother. Track actionable metrics.