Web developer to web designer
A web developer already meets 62% of what the web designer role asks for. The move turns on 3 required skills not yet in the profile.
36.3/ 100
1 How much of what a web designer is expected to do is already part of a web developer’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the web designer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A web designer role treats 7 of its required skills as things a web developer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- JavaScript
- JavaScript Framework
- WebCMS
- compose description for web elements
- implement front-end website design
- use markup languages
What stands in the way is 3 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 12 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A web designer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a web developer background worth leading with.
- already held compose description for web elements communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held WebCMS information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held implement front-end website design working with computers
- already held Joomla information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held IBM WebSphere information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held JavaScript Framework information and communication technologies (icts)
All 12 carried skills, including the 7 the web designer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 10 missing skills fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn collaborate with designers required
- still to learn establish customer rapport required
- optional, not held design web-based courses optional
- still to learn create website wireframe required
- optional, not held manage online content optional
- optional, not held manage website optional
- optional, not held Adobe Photoshop optional
- optional, not held GIMP (graphics editor software) optional
- optional, not held graphics editor software optional
- optional, not held enhance website visibility optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a web designer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 collaborate with designers practise this
- 02 create website wireframe practise this
- 03 establish customer rapport practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 12 skills that carry over
- already held JavaScript knowledge
- already held JavaScript Framework knowledge
- already held WebCMS knowledge
- already held compose description for web elements skill
- already held implement front-end website design skill
- already held use markup languages skill
- already held web programming knowledge
- already held CSS knowledge
- already held IBM WebSphere knowledge
- already held JSSS knowledge
- already held Joomla knowledge
- already held style sheet languages knowledge
7 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held Adobe Photoshop optional
- optional, not held GIMP (graphics editor software) optional
- optional, not held graphics editor software optional
- optional, not held manage online content optional
- optional, not held design web-based courses optional
- optional, not held enhance website visibility optional
- optional, not held manage website optional
91 held skills the web designer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role ABAP knowledge
- not needed by the target role AJAX knowledge
- not needed by the target role APL knowledge
- not needed by the target role ASP.NET knowledge
- not needed by the target role Ansible knowledge
- not needed by the target role Apache Maven knowledge
- not needed by the target role Assembly (computer programming) knowledge
- not needed by the target role C# knowledge
- not needed by the target role C++ knowledge
- not needed by the target role COBOL knowledge
- not needed by the target role CoffeeScript knowledge
- not needed by the target role Common Lisp knowledge
- not needed by the target role Eclipse (integrated development environment software) knowledge
- not needed by the target role Erlang knowledge
- not needed by the target role Groovy knowledge
- not needed by the target role Haskell knowledge
- not needed by the target role ICT debugging tools knowledge
- not needed by the target role ICT security legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role Java (computer programming) knowledge
- not needed by the target role Jenkins (tools for software configuration management) knowledge
- not needed by the target role KDevelop knowledge
- not needed by the target role LESS knowledge
- not needed by the target role Lisp knowledge
- not needed by the target role MATLAB knowledge
- not needed by the target role ML (computer programming) knowledge
- not needed by the target role Microsoft Visual C++ knowledge
- not needed by the target role Objective-C knowledge
- not needed by the target role OpenEdge Advanced Business Language knowledge
- not needed by the target role PHP knowledge
- not needed by the target role Pascal (computer programming) knowledge
- not needed by the target role Perl knowledge
- not needed by the target role Prolog (computer programming) knowledge
- not needed by the target role Puppet (tools for software configuration management) knowledge
- not needed by the target role Python (computer programming) knowledge
- not needed by the target role R knowledge
- not needed by the target role Ruby (computer programming) knowledge
- not needed by the target role SAP R3 knowledge
- not needed by the target role SAS language knowledge
- not needed by the target role SPARK knowledge
- not needed by the target role STAF knowledge
51 further entries not listed here
3 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- optional, not held Adobe Photoshop optional
- optional, not held GIMP (graphics editor software) optional
- optional, not held graphics editor software optional
Other moves recorded from web developer
- ICT application developer 81% covered · adjacent
- industrial mobile devices software developer 79% covered · moderate
- digital games developer 78% covered · moderate
- user interface developer 77% covered · moderate
- ICT application configurator 76% covered · moderate
- ICT system developer 72% covered · moderate
- numerical tool and process control programmer 68% covered · moderate
- software developer 67% covered · moderate
Common questions about this move
Can a web developer become a web designer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A web developer already covers 62% of what a web designer is expected to do: 12 skills carry over, 7 of which the web designer role treats as required.
What skills does a web developer need to become a web designer?
3 required skills are missing, plus 7 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is collaborate with designers.
How hard is the move from web developer to web designer?
Its learning distance is 36.3 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.