Web Designer Salary: Your 2025 Guide

Web design is one of the tech industry's most flexible and in-demand fields. Web designers are well-compensated for their work, with an average total pay of $82,035 per year in the United States, according to salary data from Glassdoor as of December 2024. This figure includes a base web designer salary of $69,261 and $12,775 in additional pay [1]. Additional pay may include commissions, bonuses, or profit sharing. Remember that your employer, experience, and location can also impact your salary. 

Senior-level vs. entry-level web designer salary

Entry-level web designers with up to one year of experience can expect a salary of $61,612 on average, according to data from Glassdoor [1]. For junior web designers, the annual salary average rises to $67,741 [2]. Experienced web designers who have worked in the field for four to six years earn an average annual salary of $68,222 [1]. Senior web designer salary averages $94,674 per year [3].

Do web designers make good money?

While the salary you can expect to earn as a web designer will vary based on factors like where you live, how much education you have, and your job title, web designers make an average salary higher than the average salary across all industries. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, web developers and digital designers earned a median salary of $92,750 as of May of 2023, compared to the average salary across all occupations of $48,060 [4]. 

How much do web designers make by location?

Earnings in the web design profession can vary based on national and international location. To get a sense of the average salary for web designers in the US, Zippia allows you to look at job postings across the country. Still, it's important to note these averages reflect a wide range of experience in web design, from entry-level to senior professionals. Discover a few states with the highest average annual web designer salaries in the US, according to Zippia [5].

• Washington: $84,645

• Massachusetts: $83,957

• Virginia: $79,373

• Oregon: $70,323

• California: $75,320

Freelance web designer salary

Instead of being employed by a company directly, you can work as a freelance web designer. Freelancing is a type of self-employment. It can allow you to set your own pay range per project. On average, freelance web designers in the US earn an annual salary of $61,580 [6].

Contract web designers complete specific projects during a predetermined period of time. Typically, contract workers work for a staffing firm under the direction of the employer. Contract web designers in the US earn an average of $83,143 annually [7].

Job title variations and salaries

Titles for web designer jobs can vary based on experience level, industry, and specialization. You can review 11 of the most common alternative job titles for web designers in the list below.

Note: All average annual US base salary information comes from Glassdoor in December 2024 and does not include additional pay such as bonuses or commissions.

• Chief web designer: $87,465

• Lead web designer: $79,082

• Senior web designer: $94,674

• Front-end developer/engineer: $116,433

• UX (user experience) designer: $82,801

• UI (user interface) designer: $93,988

• HTML/CSS developer: $80,217

• Full-stack web developer: $91,541

What does a web designer do?

Web designers are creative professionals who develop the look and feel of a website. As a designer, you may begin by drawing a website design digitally before converting it to a functioning website through web development. You may collaborate with other designers, copywriters, and marketing specialists to ensure their vision comes to life.

The role can involve pure design work or cover the whole website build, including development. You may also formulate website structure and navigation. Generally, the scope of the role varies based on the client or employer. Job requirements for web designers are likely to include the following:

• Creating sitemaps and structures based on business needs

• Designing mockups using design software like Photoshop or Sketch

• Developing wireframes based on user interface/user experience (UI/UX)

• Optimizing websites for speed and scalability

• Testing websites in different browsers and devices

• Writing code using HTML/CSS/JavaScript or a content management system like WordPress or Drupal

If you're interested in the development side of web development, consider the IBM Front-End Developer Professional Certificate.

Web design specializations

As a web designer, you may focus on creating one specific type of website, such as an e-commerce website. Alternatively, you might create various website types, including blogs, online stores, social media, magazines, and commercial portfolio websites. As you gain more experience, you may become a specialist in a particular area of web design, which can lead to higher-profile projects with greater earning potential. 

Where do web designers work?

Web designers tend to fall into one of two categories:

• Those who work in-house or on a contract basis as part of a web team or agency

• Those who run their own freelance or agency business

Self-employment is a significant part of the field, and freelance web designers often work on a contract basis. Many web designers have a home office and do a lot of their work remotely, sometimes for clients in other areas of the world.

As you build a career as a web designer, you may work in different settings with different types of clients or employers. Here are some of the types of companies that employ web designers:

• Consulting firms

• Corporate businesses with an internal web team

• E-commerce brands

• Freelance and contract work

• Newspapers, magazines, and other media companies

• Universities and colleges

• Web design agencies

How to become a web designer

To start working as a web designer, you should build your web design skills, knowledge, and experience. According to Zippia, 67 percent of web designers have a bachelor's degree, 18 percent have an associate degree, and 4 percent have a high school diploma [8]. Relevant areas of study include graphic design and computer science.

Gain the essential web design skills

Essential web designer skills include:

• Knowledge of web design best practices and latest trends

• Web programming language skills, such as PHP, Java, HTML, CSS

• An understanding of UX/UI principles

• A good understanding of database-driven websites and MySQL

• Awareness of mobile-first concepts and responsive design

• Experience with Google Analytics

• Knowledge of search engine optimization

• Hone skills with WordPress, Magento, Joomla, Shopify, WooCommerce, and other website and e-commerce platforms.

Enhance your resume

Professional development is essential to any career path, especially in web design and development, where things change rapidly. Some employers may prefer candidates with relevant web design certifications.

Consider a few online courses, Professional Certificates, and specializations led by industry leaders like IBM, Meta, and Google. These may help you expand your skills as a web designer and enhance your resume simultaneously:

• Google UX Design Professional Certificate: With this Google Career Certificate program, you'll learn to apply user experience design (UXD) fundamentals like user-centered design and accessibility. By the end, you'll have created a professional UX portfolio with three end-to-end projects: a mobile app, a responsive website, and a cross-platform experience.

• IBM Full-Stack Developer Professional Certificate: This Professional Certificate by IBM is designed to prepare you for a career in application development. You'll learn to program using front-end and back-end languages essential to web design and development. By the end, you'll have built a GitHub portfolio with multiple projects.

• Meta Front-End Developer Professional Certificate: This Professional Certificate program was designed by the software engineering experts at Meta to prepare you for a career in front-end development. You'll learn how to build interactive web pages with HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript, as well as prepare for a coding interview.

Become a web designer with Coursera

If you're new to the field of web design, a beginner-friendly introductory course like Web Design for Everybody offered by the University of Michigan is a great place to start. This program can help you advance your web design expertise and covers topics like the basics of CSS3, JavaScript, and more.

However, if you're interested in the web development side of web design, consider the IBM Front-End Developer Professional Certificate on Coursera. This program covers topics like programming concepts, software architecture, web development, and more. Upon completion, gain exclusive access to career resources like soft skills training, resume review, interview prep, and career support.