Written by Coursera Staff • Updated on
How much does a web designer earn? Find out about the factors affecting freelance, contract, and employed work with this guide to web design salaries.
Web design is one of the tech industry's most flexible and in-demand fields. Web designers working in India earn an average total pay of ₹37,000 per month. This figure includes a base salary of ₹20,000 and ₹17,000 in additional pay [1]. Additional pay may include commissions, bonuses, or profit sharing. Remember that your employer, experience, and location can also impact salary.
Read on to learn more about a web designer’s salary.
Web designer salaries by experience level
A junior web developer, an entry level position, earns an average base salary of ₹16,615 per month [2]. Meanwhile, a web designer's base salary averages ₹20,000. With experience, a designer may advance to become a senior web designer, with an average salary of ₹40,000 [3].
Web designer salaries by location
Earnings in the web design profession can vary based on national and international location. Indeed provides a breakdown of salaries for web designers by cities in India. It's important to note these averages reflect a wide range of experience in web design, from entry level to senior professionals. The list below outlines a few cities with the highest average web designer salaries.
Gurugram, Haryana - ₹26,650 per month
Ahmedabad, Gujarat - ₹23,575 per month
Hyderabad, Telangana - ₹22,691 per month
Noida, Uttar Pradesh - ₹20,484 per month
Mohali, Punjab - ₹19,968 per month
Freelance and contract web designer salaries
Instead of being directly employed by a company, you can work as a freelance web designer. Freelancing is a type of self-employment that allows you to set your own pay range per project. On average, freelance web designers in India earn a monthly salary of ₹20,000 [4].
Contract web designers are hired to complete a specific project during a predetermined period of time. Typically, contract workers are employed by a staffing firm under the direction of the employer. When you work as a contract web designer, the agency you work for typically sets your rate, which means it could be higher or lower than what you'd earn as a freelancer [5].
Job title variations and salaries
Titles for web designer jobs can vary based on experience level, industry, and specialisation. You can review some of the most common alternative job titles for web designers and their average monthly salaries in the list below.
Note: All India salary information is sourced from Glassdoor in July 2023.
Lead web designer: ₹41,520 per month
Senior web designer: ₹40,000 per month
Front-end developer: ₹41,666 per month
UX (user experience) designer: ₹66,666 per month
UI (user interface) designer: ₹5,00,000 per month
HTML CSS developer: ₹25,000 per month
Full-stack web developer: ₹41,666 per month
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 design websites before making it functional using web development. You may collaborate with other designers, copywriters, and marketing specialists to ensure their vision comes to life. 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)
Optimising 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
Web design specialisations
As a web designer, you may focus on creating one specific type of website, such as e-commerce websites, or 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 be considered for web designing jobs, you should build your web design skills, knowledge, and experience. Whilst there are no formal entry requirements to become a web designer, completing a diploma program or bachelor's degree in computer science can give you a chance to learn the skills you’ll need in the field. Relevant areas of study include graphic design and multimedia.
Essential web design 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.
Learn more about web design with Coursera
If you’re ready to start your web design career, consider enrolling in the Google UX Design Professional Certificate on Coursera. Get hands-on experience with industry tools and learn skills at your own pace. Upon completion, gain a certificate to include in your resume, CV, or LinkedIn profile.
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