What does a senior web designer do?
A senior web designer leads a team of website designers to create, enhance, and optimize company websites. The senior web designer's goal is to meet the clients' expectations and build a website that embodies the company's characteristics, voice, style, and vision. The web designer also ensures that customers accessing the website experiences a smooth, functional, and fast website, free from bugs and other problems that may affect user experience and satisfaction. A senior web designer's responsibilities are to efficiently delegate tasks to other team members to meet client expectations.
Senior web designer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior web designer resumes:
- Manage all QA sessions and assign fixes when necessary.
- Lead redesign, code development, and transition of corporate website to WordPress.
- Manage prototype content in wireframes when necessary.
- Create a customize WordPress theme using PHP, JavaScript and XHTML/CSS for use on NCI's intranet.
- Design and implement different layouts using HTML5 and CSS3.
- Work with technologies such as JQuery and Ajax to make the website more attractive and user friendly.
- Design and implement a dynamic image rendering web service which is consumed by PHP, JavaScript and ActionScript.
- Work with styling (CSS) and HTML for device designs for various clients, adjusting to match concepts provide.
- Produce content pages with CSS layout and style markup presentations, used JavaScript methods and properties, on cross-browser development techniques.
- Implement AJAX web parts to avoid whole page refreshing.
- Create and implement styles via CSS3 for multiple browsers and devices.
- Used AJAX extensively to implement front end /user interface features in the application.
- Guide team into developing an effective organic SEO campaign and key phrase selection strategy.
- Incorporate interactive elements, including flash, JavaScript behaviors, and forms, into web designs.
- Identify the way to increase the search engine optimization (SEO) and social media friendly.
Senior web designer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 9% of Senior Web Designers are proficient in Html Css, Sketch, and UI. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Detail oriented, and Creativity.
We break down the percentage of Senior Web Designers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Html Css, 9%
Developed flow diagram, navigation design, wire-framing, visual designing, HTML CSS prototyping.
- Sketch, 7%
Full Adobe Creative Suite along with Sketch, Adobe XD, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign adn more.
- UI, 6%
Worked with Product Management and Engineering Teams to design UI and UX for web-based portals and tools for native applications.
- WordPress, 5%
Created a customized WordPress theme using PHP, JavaScript and XHTML/CSS for use on NCI's intranet.
- HTML, 4%
Work with styling (CSS) and HTML for device designs for various clients, adjusting to match concepts provided.
- CSS, 4%
Produced content pages with CSS layout and style markup presentations, used JavaScript methods and properties, on cross-browser development techniques.
Most senior web designers use their skills in "html css," "sketch," and "ui" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential senior web designer responsibilities here:
Customer-service skills. The most essential soft skill for a senior web designer to carry out their responsibilities is customer-service skills. This skill is important for the role because "webmasters have to respond politely and correctly to user questions and requests." Additionally, a senior web designer resume shows how their duties depend on customer-service skills: "helped standardize and organize their corporate website for customer usability and online sales. "
Detail oriented. Another essential skill to perform senior web designer duties is detail oriented. Senior web designers responsibilities require that "web developers need to have an eye for detail, because a minor error in coding could cause an entire webpage to stop working." Senior web designers also use detail oriented in their role according to a real resume snippet: "web-oriented event planning tools: adobe creative suite (photoshop, illustrator, dreamweaver, flash), html, css"
Creativity. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of senior web designers is creativity. This skill is critical to many everyday senior web designer duties, as "web developers often are involved in designing the appearance of a website and must make sure that it is appealing as well as functional." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "utilized html5, css3, bootstrap, javascript and jquery, along with the adobe creative suite. "
The three companies that hire the most senior web designers are:
- Sedgwick LLP110 senior web designers jobs
- ICF53 senior web designers jobs
- Level Studios3 senior web designers jobs
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Compare different senior web designers
Senior web designer vs. Web development consultant
A web application developer is responsible for designing website and system applications following clients' specifications and business' needs. Web application developers utilize their expertise in programming languages and system codes, ensuring the efficiency and smooth navigation of the website. They also run multiple diagnostic tests on the output before release, identifying inconsistencies, and addressing incompatibilities on browsers and devices. A web application developer should be detail-oriented and highly-technical as this job requires excellent digital knowledge to manage complex systems.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between senior web designers and web development consultant. For instance, senior web designer responsibilities require skills such as "sketch," "digital marketing," "visual design," and "website design." Whereas a web development consultant is skilled in "sql server," "database," "front end," and "windows." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Web development consultants earn the highest salaries when working in the professional industry, with an average yearly salary of $94,868. On the other hand, senior web designers are paid more in the technology industry with an average salary of $100,045.web development consultants tend to reach similar levels of education than senior web designers. In fact, web development consultants are 2.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.7% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Senior web designer vs. Web application developer
A Web Producer is responsible for monitoring the servers' performance and managing web traffic. Web Producers work with the system engineers in designing web features with a user-friendly interface for smooth navigation and transitions. They may also conduct data analysis through surveys to identify opportunities to enhance the site's content and drive more audience. A Web Producer must have excellent communication and technical skills, especially in conducting preventive maintenance and perform immediate troubleshooting for downtimes and system failures.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, senior web designer responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "digital marketing," "graphic design," "visual design," and "website design." Meanwhile, a web application developer has duties that require skills in areas such as "database," "python," "git," and "application development." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, web application developers earn a higher salary than senior web designers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, web application developers earn the most pay in the finance industry with an average salary of $88,928. Whereas senior web designers have higher pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $100,045.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Web application developers tend to reach higher levels of education than senior web designers. In fact, they're 6.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.7% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for senior web designers in the next 3-5 years?
Abby Guido
Assistant Professor, Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University
Senior web designer vs. Web producer
Web content managers are executives who are responsible for planning, organizing, establishing, and publishing content. The managers establish a consistent brand identity for a business enterprise along with its online presence. They oversee marketing strategies to develop customer engagement. Their job asks them to ensure an affirmative view of the firm and its services and products. They work closely with the sales and leadership teams to create valuable content for their target audience.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, senior web designers are more likely to have skills like "sketch," "ui," "visual design," and "website design." But a web producer is more likely to have skills like "project management," "video content," "jira," and "twitter."
Web producers earn the best pay in the technology industry, where they command an average salary of $80,405. Senior web designers earn the highest pay from the technology industry, with an average salary of $100,045.web producers typically earn similar educational levels compared to senior web designers. Specifically, they're 1.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior web designer vs. Web content manager
Types of senior web designer
Updated January 8, 2025
