Why We Love It
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$51,640Potential Avg. Salary*
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Growing DemandJob Outlook
* Salary & growth data is based on the recent Bureau of Labor and Statistics data published at https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes271024.htm for 27-1024 Graphic designers 11/2021. Based on national data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary.
A bachelor of science in web design and development is a multi-faceted degree that allows students to build websites and applications from start to finish.
Students study web design techniques and best practices, learning how to create user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing online experiences. They also study coding techniques, allowing them to bring their designs and ideas to life on the web.
What is a Degree in Web Design & Development?
Modern business happens online, but online business wouldn’t be possible without talented web designers and developers to build the websites and applications that businesses rely on.
With a bachelor’s degree in web design and development, students study the full lifecycle of web projects, from designing the initial concepts to writing the necessary code to deploying the project to production. Students in these programs learn the best practices of web design and learn how to code in multiple languages.
Graduates of web design and development programs have the skills required to develop websites and applications for a number of platforms. They study HTML5 and structured data markup, allowing them to build functional and crawlable websites.
They may also study application development, allowing them to build mobile apps for iOS and Android devices. They may also study application, system, and plugin development for specific platforms, such as WordPress, Facebook, and other content management systems.
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What Courses Would I Take For a Major in Web Design & Development?
- Fundamentals of Information Technology
- Website Design
- Database Design and Management
- Object-Oriented Analysis and Design
- Mobile Application Design and Development
- Ecommerce Systems
- Web and Mobile User Experience
- Cyberlaw and Ethics
What Jobs Can You Get with a Degree in Web Design & Development?
It is no longer optional for modern businesses to have a strong online presence, so most businesses seek web designers and developers to help them build user-friendly, functional, and useful websites and applications.
In fact, jobs in the IT industry are some of the fastest-growing jobs today, and demand is expected to increase exponentially in the coming decade. Talented individuals with web design and development skills should have no problem finding work after graduation in well-paying jobs.
How Long does it take?
A bachelors in Web Design & Development will have a typical length of 4 years in a full time schedule. That said, there are many ways to speed up the timeframe by either taking more units via online coursework, community college, or taking free classes at OnlineDegree.com that could transfer to universities in the US.
Online Web Design & Development Degree
Studying web design and development is a popular choice for students who look for online programs. It is offered by several universities and the nature of the study is much suited to this field of study.
Students have to complete around 120 credit hours of study in addition to submission of several practical projects throughout the study to earn their degree.
What Can You Do With a Web Design & Development Degree?
The demand for web design and development has grown significantly in the last two decades with the massive increase in the number of websites. It is estimated that the internet hosts more than 1.5 billion websites with around 380 new websites created every minute.
Online business has become vital to the extent that small and medium-sized companies are creating their online websites. Additionally, there are millions of companies that exist entirely online. Graduates of web design and development combine the knowledge and skills needed to make an attractive design and implement this design as an actual website.
What does a web design and development student learn?
Web design and development integrates the knowledge related to the design of attractive and useful online content including colors, structure, and usability in addition to the knowledge related to implementing these designs using various programming languages.
The following list shows the courses commonly offered in web design and development degree programs:
- Foundations of computer science: understanding how computers work is an essential first step for the development of online content. This course will introduce how the internet is structured and organized, how a website is hosted and how data is transferred between a server and a user.
- Information systems and design
- Computer and network architecture: this course introduces how computers and networks are built including the hardware used for data processing, storage and transfer
- Construction of a website: this course presents the basic structure common for building a website.
- User experience design: a key factor in the success of an online design is the ease of use and user experience in general. This was the major factor in the success of websites such as Amazon, Google and Facebook.
- Principles of cybersecurity: Concerns regarding cybersecurity represent a major issue for companies that offer services online.
- Introduction to databases: most of the data available online is organized into databases that make it more useful and available for analysis.
Now I have a web design and development degree…where can I work after graduating?
The demand for web design and development is high and still increasing. Experienced developers can earn six figures in salary. Less experienced developers can still find their way into thousands of startup companies, freelancer websites, or web development agencies. Web designers and developers specialize in a variety of choices. The following list summarizes the career options available for graduates:
- Web designer and developer: this is the main job available for the graduates. They are technically known as full-stack developers. This means that they are able to develop a website from the beginning of the idea till it becomes available to users.
- Applications developer: there are around 2.8 million applications currently available on Google Play Store with millions more available on iOS App Store and as online applications. Thousands of new applications are added daily with some of them downloaded millions of times.
- Game developer: the market for video games is also intense and graduates of web design and development can have the skills to participate in the development of new games.
- Multimedia programmer and specialist
- SEO specialist: SEO is the abbreviation for search engine optimization which refers to the efforts done to improve the ranking of a website among search results for relevant keywords. There is particularly high demand for this job as companies want to increase the traffic to their online store or website.
- UX designer or researcher: the role of this position is to ensure that the value of the content offered online is not lost because of poor user experience.
- Web content manager: large companies may have specialized employees to manage their online presence to efficiently promote their services and products.
- Other jobs: that may also be considered are database administrator, information systems manager, IT sales professional, or software engineer and tester.
Should I choose a web design and development degree?
It can be your career of choice if you enjoy working online and developing designs and codes. The career is exciting as you can see your products coming online in a short time and making an impact on companies and thousands of users.
You should have the following skills to become a successful developer:
- Attention to detail: little mistakes on a website can be annoying to visitors and can make a poor image of the company as a whole.
- Communication skills: developers should listen carefully and communicate efficiently with their clients to respond to their requirements
- Time management: web development can get very stressful particularly if you have to work with multiple clients at the same time.
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Best Jobs for Web Design & Development Degrees
With a bachelor’s degree in web design and development, you can find careers in almost every industry. You may find work as a web designer, front-end developer, WordPress developer, or mobile application developer.
Many web designers and developers are also able to work for themselves, taking on clients as independent contractors and building a variety of web projects for many different purposes.
How to save time and money
Our mission is to help you to avoid paying full price for college. We want your Web Design & Development degree to be affordable and accessible. Here’s how you could save:
Create Your Free SmartPlan
There are many ways to make college affordable and accessible.
That’s why we created a helpful tool called SmartPlan.
It’s free, and helps you find potential ways to save and tons of information about each school you’re considering
Think of it as your “college blueprint”, to help you instantly craft a path to your degree:
- Which Colleges Match Your Needs
- Ways You Could Save Time & Money
- Free Courses You Could Take for Credit
- Valuable Data and Insights on Each College
- Detailed Steps You Should Take!
See what’s possible for you and generate a free plan within just a few minutes
Create My SmartPlanGet a Certificate in Web Design and Development First
In web design and development, talent often trumps credentials when it comes to earning employment. For this reason, individuals interested in web development careers may be best-suited to earn a certificate first.
This allows them to begin taking on freelance web design and development projects, building their experience and portfolios. The credits from a certificate may also transfer to a bachelor’s degree program.
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