This could be because many freelancers balance their work with full-time employment elsewhere. Like all web designers, freelancers’ earnings depend on their skill set, niche, and experience level. On average, they earn approximately $55,000 per year, but annual incomes fall anywhere between $23,000 to $112,000 or higher. A freelance web designer must set their minimum hourly rate to accommodate all of their expenses as well as to ensure they actually make a profit on each project. For those web designers who choose to charge an hourly rate, it’s common to see a rate between $31 to $42 per hour, with the average being $36 per hour.
Sell on a marketplace – You could sell your designs at a site like GraphicRiver, Creative Market, or Etsy. There’s a lot of demand for website templates and themes for popular content management systems like WordPress and Shopify. Now, stepping away from the first two options where you would be working as an employee, freelancing is an entirely different ball game. Once money is exchanged, both parties will take the project more seriously, and are now devoted.
Success as a web designer is more than possible if you know how to apply yourself. Designers do the planning, and developers take care of the doing. It’s also a very well-payed job in the field of visual arts — you’ll make more than graphic designers, artists, illustrators, or photographers. The traditional Adobe suite (Photoshop, InDesign, XD, Dreamweaver) is what many web designers still stick with.
Work as an In-House Designer
By collaborating with clients directly, you can create custom web solutions and charge premium rates for your expertise. This will give you an idea of what you can expect to make once you’ve established yourself. You can also compare it to the average salaries of other jobs you’re interested in and see which one pays the best. For instance, a web developer salary tends to range from $60k-$75k/year. Try freelancing on weekends or in the evenings after your day job as a side hustle when starting out or upskilling. This allows you to select the projects you are excited about, set your rates, and gain experience.
Web design pricing will always range depending on what you’re looking for and the experience a designer has. To ensure that you’re getting the best deal, compare and contrast multiple prospects before making a final decision. Click here to download a copy of our Web Design Pricing Guide.
Set up your own shop – You could take the approach that we’ve taken and create your own shop to sell your resources. You’ll need traffic and an audience, but you’ll have full control, and you won’t have to split the revenue with a marketplace. Way back in 2007 – 2009, I did a lot of freelance writing for other blogs like Smashing Magazine, Tuts Plus, and Webdesigner Depot.
Skills and experience
A jack-of-all-trades web designer is common, not so much a skilled UX designer or mobile designer. There’s money to be made by narrowing and perfecting your skill set. If you would be happy doing either job, it may be worth pursuing development just for the higher salary. But designers are just as necessary, and if it’s the job you want to do, there’s no reason to give up on it. You can still make a lot of money, especially if you dive into higher-paying fields like UI/UX design or mobile application design.
- I find this a very useful way for organising and keeping track of money, as I don’t really think of the business account as ‘my’ money.
- But, if you put these safeguards in place YOU can rest more easily knowing you’ve done your due diligence to avoid this scenario.How about you?
- When determining a graphic design pricing guide, don’t forget the possible web development services charges.
- Similarly, if the project is long-term, they may also offer you a lower rate.
- This figure also includes maintenance and training for the client.
Similarly, if the project is long-term, they may also offer you a lower rate. Mobile developers earn a similar salary to front end web developers, meaning their salaries are higher than web designers on average. Elementor is the leading website builder platform for professionals on WordPress. Elementor serves web professionals, including developers, designers and marketers, and boasts a new website created every 10 seconds on its platform.
The more work your website needs to be developed, the more hours your freelancer must put in. There are web designers who also do development work and others who outsource that job to a developer which may also bump up their hourly rate. Freelance web designers determine their hourly rate based on their expenses and skill level. However, it’s also common for this rate to change depending on other factors, such as a given project’s complexity. Web designers with the necessary skills and experience should aim for a rate of at least $36 per hour.
If you have the skills to identify undervalued websites and enhance their design, functionality, or content, this can be a profitable venture. https://www.globalcloudteam.com/ Online marketplaces like Flippa provide a platform to buy and sell websites. Consider offering web hosting and maintenance packages to clients.
The more skills you have and the more experience you have under your belt, the higher salary you can ask for (and get). When working for an agency, they’re likely to be under close supervision until they get the hang of things. They may also be slowly integrated into the workflow, being assigned smaller tasks rather than whole projects to complete. In case you’re curious, a web developer makes about $10,000 to $20,000 more a year than a web designer does. Web designers are an essential part of a businesses’ success, as 94% of first impressions are all design related and the website’s credibility is 75% aesthetics-related.
This is likely because it’s a more specialized job that requires more experience, and because it’s more sought after in larger projects. But it’s the bigger, better-paying jobs that will hire multiple designers of different specialties. Freelance graphic design prices can be higher than an in-house web designer since they are not receiving health insurance or other benefits that employees receive. Since freelancers have far less job security and work from contract to contract, the higher rate generally compensates them for the lack of commitment from their clients. The average salary for a full stack developer starts around $84,000 for newbies and goes well up into the six figures for people with experience.
We’ve compiled a list of tips to help you earn more as a web designer, regardless of experience level. Web designers are the people behind visually appealing websites. Every web designer’s goal is to create a purposeful and enjoyable visitor experience that drives traffic and conversions for their client. They combine aesthetics and functionality to create sites that reflect a brand or company’s identity. Before committing to a freelancer’s web design pricing, it’s fair to consider the reasons why they would charge more or less than the average $75 per hour. If you are a friend of the freelancer or own a non-profit, they may offer a lower rate.
On the flip side, a digital marketing agency—or a design agency that sells design services—is going to invest much more heavily into design. Web design is a decent job with decent pay, but it is not one of the higher paying roles in tech in the United States. Now, let’s compare how the average web designer salary stacks up to the salaries of other tech jobs so you can make an informed decision. While there is no official ‘rate’ for freelance web designers, most sources suggest $75 as a typical hourly rate. However, depending on the project complexity, freelance web designers may earn between $30 – $80 per hour. Granted, this is likely due to the population density and greater competition within these metropolitan and tech-friendly areas of the country.
Web design offers passionate creators a modern, unique way to express their creativity and skills in visual design. It’s an exciting career, especially at this time of growth for the field of web design and development. Build stunning websites by leveraging web designers and developers. Learn the differences and find out how to select the right professionals for your needs. Every web designer wants to create high-value work and earn a paycheck to match, from seasoned professionals to those brand-new to the industry.