Can a Web Designer Who Can't Code Still Get Work?
Published:
Last Updated:
Category: Work Styles
Published:
Last Updated:
Category: Work Styles
Authors: Shusaku Yosa
Are you feeling anxious, thinking "I want to become a web designer, but can I get work if I can't code?" Many people who are not good at HTML and CSS hesitate to take the first step toward becoming a designer. To put the conclusion first, you can get work as a web designer even if you can't code. This article clearly explains the work that a web designer who can't code can take on, its limits, and tips for getting work.
First, the conclusion: web designer work exists even if you can't code. In actual production settings, design and coding are often divided, and positions that focus on design are not unusual. Not every web designer writes their own code.
Behind the fact that work exists even without coding are the following reasons.
Even if you can't code, there are plenty of areas where you can be active. Let's look at the main types of work.
This is the work of creating the finished image (design comp) of a website or LP in Figma and the like. Because a coder handles the implementation, you can focus on design. It is a field often commissioned as a design specialist on a divided-work basis.
Producing banners for web ads and SNS is a representative project that does not require coding. Many can be made quickly, making it suitable for side jobs and for building a track record from scratch.
This is the work of thinking through the structure of a landing page or site and bringing it into a design. It calls for the ability to design the appeal and flow, and the implementation can be shared with another person in charge.
Using no-code tools such as STUDIO and Wix, you can design a website and publish it on the web without writing code. By mastering the tools in place of coding, you can take on everything through to production.
There is also direction work, where you decide the design policy and pull the whole production together. Rather than doing the hands-on work, it is a role of managing the overall quality, and it can be an option as a career beyond your accumulated experience.
On the other hand, there are limits to not being able to code. Let's understand them in advance.
These do not mean "there is no work at all if you can't code"; it is better to take them as the range of work narrowing somewhat.
Taking the limits into account, here are tips for getting work even without coding.
To make up for coding, competing on the quality of the design itself is the royal road. By honing strengths such as color, layout, and appeal design, you become more likely to be chosen with "I want to entrust the design to this person."
By learning no-code tools such as STUDIO, you can handle production and publishing in place of coding. Because you can take on everything consistently even without writing code, the range of projects widens.
For projects that require implementation, there is a way to team up with a coder or engineer. By focusing on design yourself and leaving implementation to a partner, you can increase the projects you can handle.
Focusing on and promoting coding-free areas, such as specializing in banners or LP design, is also effective. When your expertise comes across, requests in that field tend to gather.
Regardless of whether you code, your design ability comes across through a portfolio. By gathering high-quality work, even self-made, you connect to requests. How to build a portfolio is also explained in detail in our article on changing careers to become a designer.
Many people wonder, "In the end, should I learn coding?" You can work without forcing yourself to master it, but there are benefits to knowing the basics.
Understanding the basics of HTML/CSS makes communication with coders smoother and lets you create designs that are easier to implement. The range of projects you can handle widens, and your market value rises.
Even if you can't write code yourself, having a sense of "this design is hard or easy to implement" makes you valued in the field. You don't need to become able to write it perfectly; just understanding the basics is plenty useful.
If you choose a way of working that doesn't use coding, such as banners, design-only roles, or no-code production, there's no problem in not forcing yourself to master it. Decide according to the way of working you aim for.
That's not the case. There are positions that don't require coding, such as design-only roles and banner production. However, since some jobs seek "someone who can do both design and coding," it's important to choose jobs that match your strengths.
Yes. There are many coding-free projects, such as banners, LP design, and no-code site production. How to start a web design side job is also explained in our related article, so please use it as a reference.
Yes. There are directions for raising your value beyond coding, such as honing your design ability to move into art direction or design supervision, or deepening your no-code expertise.
Even if you can't code, it is quite possible to get work as a web designer. There are many areas where you can be active, such as design-only roles, banner production, and no-code production. While understanding that the range of work narrows somewhat, you can sufficiently make up for that weakness by sharpening your design ability, mastering no-code, or teaming up with a coder. First, take a step from the area where you can make the most of your strengths.
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