Web Designer
A web designer creates and develops the visual layout, user interface, and user experience of websites and web applications for clients or organisations. Working in digital agencies, in-house creative teams, or as freelancers, they use design software and coding languages to produce websites that are aesthetically appealing, functionally sound, and accessible to users across multiple devices.
What this job is
A web designer creates and develops the visual layout, user interface, and user experience of websites and web applications for clients or organisations. Working in digital agencies, in-house creative teams, or as freelancers, they use design software and coding languages to produce websites that are aesthetically appealing, functionally sound, and accessible to users across multiple devices. They collaborate with web developers, content creators, and stakeholders to translate business requirements and user needs into interactive digital products.
Are employers advertising this role?
Falling, down 54.1% over 5 years
Counted across a group of similar roles. These are three-month rolling averages of online job advertisements, not filled positions.
Source: Jobs and Skills Australia, Internet Vacancy Index.
Day-to-day
Create wireframes and mockups using design software such as Figma, Adobe XD, or Sketch to establish page layouts and user flows before development. Design responsive layouts that display correctly on desktop, tablet, and mobile devices using CSS media queries and responsive design principles. Develop web pages using HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript to build functional front-end interfaces and interactive elements. Implement accessibility standards including WCAG 2.1 compliance to ensure websites are usable by people with disabilities. Optimise images, graphics, and media assets for web delivery to improve page load times and user experience. Conduct user research and usability testing to identify design issues and gather feedback for iterative improvements. Maintain and update website content management systems such as WordPress, Drupal, or custom platforms. Collaborate with UX researchers and product managers to define user personas, user journeys, and design requirements.
Who does this now
About 5,700 people worked in this occupation across Australia at the 2021 Census.
What this role asks for
Bachelor degree or higher (ABS skill level 1)
Can employers fill these jobs
Employers hiring for this occupation were generally able to find suitable applicants in 2025. This measures how hard employers found it to fill jobs. It is not a count of jobs, and it does not say whether the occupation is growing.
Requirements
The standard entry pathway requires a bachelor degree or higher (ABS Skill Level 1). Specific qualification requirements vary by employer and state. Some employers may accept equivalent experience. Check yourcareer.gov.au for available courses and dewr.gov.au/skills-reform/free-tafe for subsidised training options.
The honest hard part
The barrier to entry is steep. You'll need to build a strong portfolio while learning multiple tools (Figma, Adobe suite, HTML/CSS/JavaScript) on your own time before anyone will hire you. Once in the field, income is inconsistent if you freelance, and agency work often means tight deadlines, client revisions that feel endless, and watching your designs get picked apart by people who don't understand design.
Where the jobs are
Remote work is common in this field, so you can find roles based anywhere in Australia or work for overseas companies. Regional areas have fewer in-house positions, but freelancing is viable from anywhere with internet.
Pay
Published for ANZSCO unit group 2324, the wider group this job sits in, not for this job on its own.
This is the median for full-time employees who are not managers and are paid at the adult rate, before tax and salary sacrifice. It is a guide to what the work pays, not a wage rate.
Source: ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.
Skills
- Adaptability and Flexibilitycore
- Attention to Detailcore
- Continuous Learning and Upskillingcore
- Customer Needs Assessmentcore
- Digital Literacycore
- Problem Solvingcore
- Process Improvement Identificationcore
- Quality Assurance and Checkingcore
- Stakeholder Communicationcore
- Team Collaborationcore
- Time Management and Prioritisationcore
- Verbal Communicationcore
- Written Communicationcore
- Feedback Collection and Actioning
- Goal Setting and Planning
- Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Drive)
- Inclusive Practice
- Microsoft Teams Collaboration
- Process Documentation
- Research and Analysis
- Workload Self-Management
Which of these do you have?
Tick the ones you haveCommon questions
Sources
- ABS OSCA 2024, occupation definition and task statements
- ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.
- ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on usual place of residence (Custom Report). OSCA Experimental Estimates.
Role data is drawn from official Australian Government sources, and each figure names where it comes from. Where a role is not in the ABS classification, the page shows no government figures for it. Data may not reflect every local variation.
What Web Designer workers move into, from ten years of tax records.
Last updated: 30 October 2026
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