Freelance Web Designer/Developer Job Description

Freelance Web Designer/Developer Job Profile and Description

College students in fine arts, advertising or industrial arts, as well as in computer science are often well exposed to web design and development and can easily work part time as web developers, especially during summer and semestral breaks. Many work in pairs, one with then creative talent and the other with HTML, JavaScript programming skills.  Some students with a creative talent use web development tools that require no programming.

Freelance Web Designer/Developer Duties and Responsibilities

• Meet with clients to define aesthetic (thematic specs, colors, font types, media elements, images, etc.) and functional specifications (databases, registration, online payment processing, etc.).
• Analyze client’s business objectives and directions for the web in terms of product positioning, branding, target audience or markets and web traffic generation.
• Present project timeline and secure client approval and sign off for milestone deliverables and payment schedules.
• Create initial Photoshop web look for client approval.
• Create web prototype for uploading to a temporary DNS for approval.
• Upload final website design once payment is made.

Freelance Web Designer/Developer Skills and Specifications

• Must have excellent written communication skills
• Must have excellent interpersonal and selling skills
• Must know Adobe Flash and automated web development tools

Freelance Web Designer/Developer Education and Qualifications

An undergraduate degree in graphics art, fine arts or advertising can be an edge but since this is a freelance student job, all that is needed is to know how to use Adobe Flash and any competent automated web development PC tools that require no programming skill, just an eye for the functional and the aesthetic.

Freelance Web Designer/Developer Student Salary

The median annual salary for web designer/developers was $70,100 in 2008 with the middle 50% earning between $53,300 and $89,800. The lowest 10% received about $39,700, and the highest 10% earned about $108,900.  Freelance web designers are known to exceed the median but for student part timers, it can be lower than the lowest 10%.