Learn web design: The best way without programming knowledge
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Introduction to web design
Web design is an important part of today's digital world. A well-designed website can help a company or brand make a positive first impression and attract customers. Many people want to learn web design but are concerned because they don't have any programming skills or it looks complicated and difficult. In this article, I'm going to answer the question of whether you can teach yourself web design, how fast you can learn it, how hard it is, and how best to get started. We'll also take a closer look at the Webflow tool and why it's a great option for beginners.
Why do I keep talking about Webflow in this post?
I've been working as a web designer for over 10 years now and actually started in design and had very little programming knowledge for many years. When I discovered Webflow in 2018, I quickly realized that this tool offered completely new opportunities for me. It's a tool that writes the code for you in the background. You visually “design” and build your website.
You can listen to my background and story in this podcast episode:
Here you can Read the article again in text form on my personal blog.
Webflow had a huge impact on me in my past as a self-employed web designer. Not only in terms of my customer orders and income, but also the enjoyment of my work. With Webflow, I was able to implement my layouts with exactly the same eyes I had designed them with. It was usually always an eternal back and forth with external programmers.
In 2021, I decided to share this knowledge and skills with my community in the form of an online course. And to make it easier for you to get started with web design and also draw your attention to this tool, I've written this post.
The whole thing should no sales pitch be. As you can see in the course of this post, I already have quite a few free Webflow tutorials about web design published. You can teach yourself anything, I did it the same way. My Webflow online course is just there to simply explain the whole thing to you right from the start and teach it in a shorter period of time.
Can you teach yourself web design?
Web design is a skill that you can definitely teach yourself. There are a variety of resources online, from tutorials to online courses, that can help you learn the skills you need to build a successful website. However, it's important to note that web design is a complex subject area that requires time and dedication to master it properly.
How quickly can you learn web design?
Web design is a multi-layered and complex topic that requires time and patience to fully learn. The speed at which you can learn web design depends on various factors, such as your previous skills and motivation to learn.
As a beginner with the right tool, you can certainly achieve results within a week and build a homepage. However, improving your skills so that customers pay you for them is a long process.
If you already have experience in graphic design or programming, it can definitely be faster to learn web design. If you're completely new to the field, it may take longer to understand the basic concepts and skills.
An online course can help you improve your skills faster by giving you an orderly and systematic approach to the topic.
As with so many things, it's fair to say that the speed at which you learn web design depends on your personal motivation, ability, and learning method.
How difficult is web design?
The complexity of web design depends on various factors, such as the scope and requirements of the project, the designer's technical background and the tool used. Some aspects of web design, such as HTML and CSS, can be fairly easy to learn, while others, such as creating custom layouts and animations, require more complex skills. But Webflow does all of that for you. With Webflow, you can continue to focus on designing the website and content.
It's also important to note that there is no cap on learning and improving in web design as technology and the industry are constantly evolving.
What do you have to do to become a web designer?
- Develop a good understanding of the basics of web design: This includes understanding HTML, CSS, JavaScript. Important: You don't have to be able to write it, but you have to know what is responsible for what. Webflow does the rest for you.
- Have a high level of motivation and patience: Web design is a process that requires a lot of time and hard work.
- Create a portfolio website: A portfolio website shows potential clients and employers the skills and projects you've worked on. This site is usually the first own project of many web design beginners.
- Practice, practice: The more you practice, the more you improve your skills. Just a few of my Webflow Tutorials rebuild.
- Gain additional skills: Skills such as an eye for good photography, font design, or UX/UI design can help you stand out from other web designers.
- Build a community of web designers: You can learn from more experienced designers, get feedback, and connect by building a community of web designers.
These steps can help you become a successful web designer.
How much do you earn as a web designer and what is your hourly rate?
salary
Depending on your qualifications and experience, you can earn a good salary as a web designer. The salary may vary, but it is common for experienced web designers to have an average salary of 50,000 to 80,000 euros per year.
In addition, it is possible to work as a freelancer or self-employed web designer and thus achieve even higher income opportunities. I've summarized my sales in this video:
Hourly Rate
The hourly rate of a web designer depends on various factors such as qualification, experience, location, and type of work. My hourly rate when I started web design was 50€ and went up to 100€ after 6 years. With Webflow, however, I prefer to work with a fixed price, as the implementation is quick and I would therefore earn less with an hourly rate.
Web design with Webflow
What is Webflow and what makes it different from other tools?
Webflow is a user-friendly design and development tool that allows you as a web designer to create responsive websites and web applications without programming skills. It is different from other CMS because it does many of the complicated admin tasks for you (create a database, upload something via FTP, install updates...). You only visually use a designer and build a website according to current web standards.
For the extensive article: What is Webflow.
Why learn Webflow?
With Webflow, you can build great animations and create simple scroll animations. Any design can be implemented. It's also an efficient way to create websites and hand them over to your customers. Plus, it has an active community that is super helpful to help with issues.
Free beginner tutorials and web design inspiration
There are lots of free Webflow beginner tutorials online to help you use the tool. The Webflow community also offers a huge collection of inspiration and learning resources for web designers. Here on this website you can find in the area tutorials lots of step by step instructions.
Learn to code with Webflow
Webflow has a slightly steeper learning curve at first. But once you understand the basics, you can use them to build impressive websites. Although Webflow writes the code for you, it's also a great way to learn to code slowly. You understand relationships more quickly because you manipulate elements directly on the page. In addition, the structure and structure of a website with Webflow is logically understandable. For example, you don't have to be able to write CSS yourself, but you still use selectors (names), which are the cornerstones of CSS. In this way, you will slowly be introduced to the terms of web and web design.
What can you build with Webflow and how easy is it?
With Webflow, you can build many different types of websites and web applications, including portfolios, marketing sites, corporate websites, online stores, landing pages, and more. Here are a few examples:
Webflow online course
Webflow is a powerful tool that allows you to turn any design you can imagine into action. In this course, I'll show you how to work with Webflow, from basics to animation to publishing your website.
My Webflow online course is a way to teach yourself web design without the need for programming knowledge. This will teach you how to visualize and create your designs without the need for in-depth programming knowledge.