Reader’s Poll! Should Web Designers Know How to Code?

Reader’s Poll! Should Web Designers Know How to Code?

on Jan 24th 2011 with 110 comments

Whether or not web designers should know how to code is a question that’s been around for over a decade now… and one that most designers have agreed on more or less: Yes, web designers should know at least a little bit about HTML/CSS… But as new standards, formats, and languages have been developed, the stakes of this question have gone up quite a bit… so, should modern web designers know how to code?… and how much should they know?

The Poll: Should Web Designers Know How to Code?

I’ll list the main arguments for and against creating mutant web-design/developer ninjas down below, but take a moment to really consider the implications of this question in your own career. There have been some passionate debates about this in the past, and for good reason: learning how to code can make a web designer both a) better at his job and b) prone to getting bogged down in the constant need to keep up with what’s new in the code world.

How you answer this question can form the foundation of an incredible career, or the framework for a miserable work-lifestyle… consider the arguments, then answer the poll:

The Arguments Against Learning How to Code

  • Time: It takes time to learn a new skill like coding… that time is better spent on improving a designers’ core abilities: design, illustration, typography, layout, color theory, etc. Spending time on code means time spent away from the core set of skills… which means weakening what makes a designer a designer.
  • Constant Knowledge Upkeep: To compound the time argument, it’s important to remember that learning how to code isn’t a one-time course. Someone who learned how to code HTML in 1998 would be ancient by today’s standards. Just in the last year, new formats like HTML5, CSS3 and others have become vital new tricks that any good coder needs to know about… which means you have to go back to the books if you are a designer/developer.
  • No Clearly Defined Stopping Point: To make matters worse, a designer who decides to learn how to code doesn’t really have a defined set of rules for “learn this, but don’t waste your time learning that“. Just how much knowledge is enough?

    Even if you dismiss some of the archaic and unused languages, that still leaves HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP, Ruby, ASP, MySQL, and lots more if you break them down into subcategories like jQuery and WordPress coding. Ugh!

  • Liability: Have you ever heard the phrase “I know just enough to get myself in trouble”? That’s what many designers encounter when they profess to be “coders” but can’t back up their claim 100% of the time. Designers who claim to be coders also have to deal with the headaches and mistakes that coders have to deal with… which can mean endless weekends troubleshooting code when all you care about is the design.
  • Highly Questionable Benefits: Does learning how to code really make better designers?… Sure, understanding the basics of HTML/CSS might be great, but how useful is it for a designer to know the complexities of PHP or Javascript?

    I’ll agree that having a good relationship with a developer is a useful tool for designers to avoid design > code problems… but mastering the intricacies of code does not mean that a designer is going to make better designs.

  • Tunnel Vision: When designers learn how to code, they often limit their creativity by the same coding standards they thought would make them better designers. That’s one reason that lots of websites end up looking very similar. Designers who know how to code end up designing as if they were coding… afraid to break free from their own understanding of what’s possible to code… which makes for boring designs.

The Arguments For Learning How to Code

  • One Man, Two Jobs: The obvious benefit it this: you can code your own designs… which means you don’t ever need to hire outside contractors if you are a freelancer… and you can likely do the job of two people if you work for a larger studio. This means more $$$ in your pocket, at least theoretically.
  • Better Understanding of Code = Better Designs: Lots of people will argue that understanding the core building blocks of websites makes designers infinitely better at creating usable websites. Think of it like painters learning how to mix their own colors… is it mandatory? No… but it makes for designers that design things that make more sense in the context of the medium.
  • More Affordable Designs: Designers who know even just a little bit about code avoid making the “rookie mistakes” that print-designers often make when trying to turn a print design into a website. These mistakes often mean more time and money spent on the coding phase of a project.
  • Better Communication: Even if you don’t ever plan on taking a primary developer role in any project, knowing just a little about coding helps you to communicate better with the people who do end up coding a project. This means a smoother project workflow, less headaches, and happier clients.
  • You’ll Get More Work: Another great advantage for designer/developer hybrid types is that they can take on a wider set of tasks and projects than plain old designers. I know lots of designers that take on extra work as “front-end developer” when design projects run thin. Having the extra skillset, might not make them better designers directly, but it does bring in more work… which means more experience, which probably means becoming a better designer over time compared with a designer that can’t find a project to work on because his skillset is too limited.
  • Competitive Advantage: Let’s face it: even if you don’t buy into the idea that learning code will make you a better designer, what it does do is it gives you a competitive advantage in the marketplace. With high unemployment rates and a vicious job market, having that little extra bit of knowledge can make you seem like a better hiring decision than the other guy, who just knows how to design.

Let the Discussion Begin!

Alright, so you’ve heard the main arguments… and honestly, both sides of this debate have some pretty valid points. Where do you fall in the discussion though? Are you on the fence? Do you have your own unique insights or advice?

Share it all down below in the comments section!

Update: There’s No “Right” Answer! One of our commenters mentioned that this is a loaded question… and it is. Like the other posts in our “Reader’s Poll” series, this is meant to be a jumping-off point for discussion amongst our readers.

There’s no actual correct answer in the case of this week’s poll, because it largely depends on the type of designer that you want to become. If you want to be a hardcore visual designer that focuses in on things like illustration and typography, you’re likely to say that coding is less important because your main role in projects is going to be creative (and you are likely to have an entire team of developers and engineers to help guide your creativity). If you want to be a solo freelancer who works one-on-one with clients, coding is going to be infinitely more important to you as it’s a direct expense if you need to hire a coder to assist with a project.

More importantly, this poll and article is intended to help you sort out what type of web designer you are, and what you want to become. There’s plenty of room in the world for all types of designers and developers, but finding out which one best fits your own personality and workflow is crucial to really making it in the industry :)

Thanks Jeff for reminding me to put this in context!

Brandon Jones is MDNW on Themeforest
 
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Brandon Jones is the old Wptuts+ Editor. From sunny Southern California, Brandon has been designing, drawing, photographing, and coding the world around him for the past several years. Not content to pick one media and stick with it has left Brandon with a broad range of talents that have allowed him to work on projects ranging from grungy digital art kits to Fortune 500 software prototyping. He loves design, but even more, he loves the passion and creative spirit that embodies the design community. Check out Brandon's work at ThemeForest.  

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  • TJ Lorimer

    I think it’s important that Web Designers should know how to code. Knowing so will increase the work range of the developer and ultimately the income? Am I wrong?

    In my case, I learnt to code before learning how to design. Even though i’m a web designer I have a greater passion for code, so maybe it’s just me that thinks this way.

  • Jeff

    This is a loaded question, no? I mean… it’s very situational. I work with a team with many engineers and designers and goodness knows the designers have enough to do without bothering with the javascript and PHP.

    On the other hand, for simpler websites where the scope of work is less I can absolutely see the benefit of having a hybrid coder/designer.

    Now, mind you, I still think it’s important for designers to have a baseline understanding of CSS and HTML (otherwise how would they know what can and can’t be built?).

    • http://themeforest.net/user/epicera/portfolio?ref=epicera Brandon Jones
      Author

      Heya Jeff, Yes, certainly! How an individual designer answers a question like this has as much to do with what types of projects they intend to take on and how they want to grow. But like most of the questions in our series of ‘reader’s poll’s', this is intended to be more of a jumping off point for designers to discuss the topic with each other and discover a little bit more about how they prefer to work. So yeah, I didn’t post this intending to be provocative or anything like that (I mentioned that this question has been asked for over 10 years now in the intro), but rather, to revisit the question on this particular community at this particular point in time for the industry. :)

      Update: I added a bit more of a response to this comment in the conclusion section of the poll – thanks again Jeff for reminding me to put this question i n context… it’s important to remember that this is a highly personalized question, intended to emphasize the issues at hand, but not to place any judgment on whether any answer is right or wrong. Cheers!

  • http://www.ndesign.si Marko

    ARGH!!! I can’t stress enough how important is for web designers to have at least basic coding knowledge! I’m front end developer and when I have to code design made by our company designers I want to kill myself every time. They have absolutely no knowledge about web applications or coding. All elements are totally random and nothing fits together. When I tried to explain the situation to my boss, he said that’s my problem, because he doesn’t want to limit their imagination. WTF?!?!

    If you’re a professional designer you have to be creative and follow basic web rules at the same time. Knowing how to code HTML and CSS and be familiar with latest trends and technologies is a MUST!

    • Nio

      Haha, yezzz, I like your boss, dude!

      That is right!

      Don’t limit their imagination!

      And in that way you will think of some new way…

    • Werd

      While your argument isn’t without merit, I don’t understand the entirety of your direction. You say you want your designers to be more like front-end developers…but wouldn’t that potentially eliminate a need for you at your organization?

      • http://www.ndesign.si Marko

        There is more than just code HTML and CSS to be a good front-end developer. I’m not expecting they will have to code their designs…..but I am expecting from them to be consistent in their designs, use basic principles of web design and maybe sometimes to design following the grid.

        Our sites looks like they’re a joke, since they don’t follow any current trends or basic web design rules.

  • http://www.futurodesign.no SJN

    In my opinion. Yes.

    A web designer should understand atleast html/CSS and we could throw javascript into the bunch, at least to some extent.

    A web designer should know these well, but also understand how MySQL/PhP development works, as it makes co-operation easier. Not know how to code that, but just how it works.

    • http://www.digitalmotion.lt Saulius Kirklys

      Yes, I totally agree with you, SJN. Good web designer should know html/CSS and fundamentals of javascript (jQuery) as the result of better web design layout. And that’s enough.

      Knowing PHP/MySQL isn’t necessary, but it also gives some advantages to designer. Fow example it’s easier to create complete WordPress theme, when you know basics of PHP.

  • http://www.zioneyemedia.com David

    Yes, every good web designers should know how to code their own sites for the exact reasons you stated above, though I am sure there are more reasons to do so, depending on the proponents. Another topic that may have merit to discuss is, in addition to coding, should web designers know how to market their own sites? From that perspective/argument, the same (if not similar) pro arguments can be used to push the idea that designers should…

  • http://www.spitshine-design.com Mike

    I actually think the true answer is between “Yes! Every good web designer should know how to code everything that they design.” and “Yes, but they only need a fundamental understanding of coding… Anything more is a waste of time.” especially since I don’t think learning above and beyond your current job can ever be a waste of time.

    Knowing how to code will help you as a web designer, as you don’t want to design something that can’t be done, and “can’t” vs “can” can vary based on how your web project was originally done. I don’t think a web designer needs to be a full-fledged senior developer, but the more they know the better they will be.

    In my book, the coding knowledge is what separates a “Web Designer” from a “Graphic Designer”. If you’re designing for the Web, you should have a fair amount of (up-to-date) coding knowledge.

  • http://themolitor.com Chris

    In past web-development-only positions I’ve had, I was always frustrated when the designers would design something they have never seen before. If I had a penny for every time I had to say, “you can’t do that”.

    There is a night and day difference in the designs a coder makes because they actually *know* it can be done. I firmly believe knowing how to code will not only make your designs better, but will also make your designing process quicker because you already know what elements to avoid.

    • http://themeforest.net/user/epicera/portfolio?ref=epicera Brandon Jones
      Author

      Great comments Chris – I like this especially:

      “I firmly believe knowing how to code will not only make your designs better, but will also make your designing process quicker because you already know what elements to avoid.”

      The only thing that I would add is that it takes time to overcome “code/tunnel vision” and begin to really leverage code-knowledge into design advantages.

      Rather than limiting creativity, I would even go so far as to argue that having a great grasp of code can help to liberate a designer’s creativity simply because, at a certain point as a coder, you begin to see how things work, which means you can can “break out of the box” so-to-speak… which is where we get designs that merge masterful coding techniques with established design principles to make beautiful babies ;) Most of the top tier sites out there don’t start out as mere Photoshop mockups… they begin as a combination of ideas that merge good design with a unique vision for coding.

      • CitizenF

        i absolutely agree with the both of you.

        as a web designer, if you truly do care about the quality of the the web experience, then learning how to code and being eager to understand as much as you possibly can about how the internet connects people to information should already be a priority to you.

        in the last 2 years i’ve transformed, the formerly tv, radio & print-only, agency that i work for from outsourcing the creation of unbearable to navigate, horrible to update flash sites to creating full fledged CMSs and adhering to strict web standards. i don’t feel that learning anything can hurt your creativity.

        excellent article as usual Brandon.

  • Arnas

    Of course! Every designer should know how to code.

  • http://www.crwd.it Cheope

    As Jeffrey Zeldman says, “Real web designers write code. Always have, always will.”

    • http://themeforest.net/user/epicera/portfolio?ref=epicera Brandon Jones
      Author

      Great quote :) I happen to agree, but the only caveat I might add is that there are “real web designers” that understand code, but they might have jobs where they only design and never touch a lick of code for years at a time… does this make them “fake web designers” rather than real ones? I don’t think so personally… it’s just the state of the industry at the moment that many teams find that designers and developers are specialized roles that compliment each other, rather than two tasks of the same position in a studio.

  • Juanfe

    Well.. do I think someone can be good at both? Yes, I think not a few are. The important thing is to be good at writing code and designing and not standing somewhere between like.. oh I know how to code but my strength is design… no way!!. Mediocrity at one while saying you can do both at a professional level will get you into a lot of trouble and loss of money and clients.

  • http://newarts.at Drazen Mokic

    Yes, he should can.

    You are posting more Polls than Tuts … sucks

    • http://themeforest.net/user/epicera/portfolio?ref=epicera Brandon Jones
      Author

      Heya Drazen, thanks for the feedback, but allow me a rebuttal. We’ve had 10 posts since the last poll… And our library of posts numbers nearly 25-1 against polls… Furthermore, we try to post a tut every day that we post a poll… So I’m not sure what you are objecting to in terms of tut vs polls.

      Polls are historically the most visited and most commented on posts though, and I think it’s a great way to involve the entire community in some of these discussions. As always, we’ll be listening closely to the readers, but as polls are essentially “free content” for us, it’s not the case that a poll ever replaces a full tut in terms of budget… It’s just something fun that I like to post every week or two to involve our readers and give everyone a place to discuss a common subject. I hope that helps clarify :)

      As always, keep the feedback coming… It’s always noted and I do my best to keep a healthy balance of content. Cheers!

      Edit: Oh! I forgot to mention another awesome part of these polls… some of our best articles and tuts have started out as ideas that formed inside the comments section of the polls… so while you might not personally love the discussions that happen here, it’s worth noting that they eventually turn into great full content pieces over the long run ;)

      • http://newarts.at Drazen Mokic

        Hey Brandon,

        it`s not really about the polls its more that it happens that you are posting a poll instead of a tutorial. If you would post both i really would not say anything.

        I like the comment disscusions since they are the only way on tuts+ sites to communicate with the other readers (At least they were before the Nettus+ Forum opened today).

        I wrote 2 tuts for Nettuts and have a Premium Account since almost a year so i am not just visiting every 2 weeks to drain frustration, i am a daily reader and it`s just pity to read a poll instead a tutorial.

        If i`m the only one with that opinion just ignore it ;P

        • Drew

          It’s an interesting point, but I feel like the polls open up the comment zone for more discussion and debate. While it’s a site mainly geared towards tut.’s and educational bits, the polls inspire more of us to crawl out of the woodwork and put in our two cents. Reading through multiple expressed opinions can lead to learning a different point of view or perhaps a new fact or two…which I’d say the polls hold a firm value on this site.

        • http://themeforest.net/user/epicera/portfolio?ref=epicera Brandon Jones
          Author

          Heya Drazen,

          Oh! Ok – well you’ll be glad to hear that a poll never, ever replaces a tut… they are actually on two completely different scheduling systems as far as I’m concerned. To give you a bit more insight: We have a fixed budget for articles and tutorials every month… which we max out every month.

          The Tuts+ Premium sites (like Nettuts) have a bigger budget for tuts because they release a lot of premium content… which means they are able to release more tuts per week. Webdesigntuts may become a premium site in the future, but for now, we’ve only got a certain amount of $ to spend on articles each month, which means we’re usually limited to 4 or 5 articles or tuts every week ;)

          The polls are actually done every week (or every other week) by myself, for free – so it doesn’t affect budget in any way whatsoever. They were originated by myself to get a bit more content onto the site (for free!), while simultaneously engaging our readers and providing an area for discussion about relevant topics. I totally agree that it doesn’t replace a tut in terms of educational value, but seeing as taking away the polls wouldn’t actually increase the number of tuts, I think it’s a pretty good way to get everyone involved.

          As I mentioned before, these polls play a big role in future content planning as well – so you could even go so far as to say that they will, over time, improve the rest of the quality of the site because it gives us direct data on what kinds of programs, skills, concerns that readers have and are interested in reading about.

          Thanks again for the feedback Drazen – it’s honestly hugely appreciated and I fully understand that our site is being held to some pretty high standards, which I hope we can meet :)

  • Lowkase

    Qualify the term “code”.

    Do you mean HTML (markup)?
    Do you mean CSS (style markup)?
    Do you mean XML (data markup)?
    Do you mean Javascript (scripting)?
    Do you mean mid-tier/back-tier (programming in any thing from PHP to .NET to Python to Cold Fusion, to GO, and about a zillion other syntaxes)?
    Do you mean database (stored procedures, other complex database interactions)?

    Designers should know HTML, CSS and enough Javascript to install and modify simple to medium complex Jquery plugins.

    The polling question is inadequate, but hey, its a great “jumping off point” for designer discussion.

    • http://themeforest.net/user/epicera/portfolio?ref=epicera Brandon Jones
      Author

      Good point Lowkase – I intentionally left this pretty open ended for the poll (because having 30 different answers for each type of coding is a bit unwieldy), but I think it’s definitely worth discussing the value of different types of “coding” here in the comments section.

      In the arguments, I specifically listed HTML/CSS as a sort of “core coding” discipline, where some of the more narrowly used types of coding like Ruby or ASP or Actionscript are just different ways that a coder might specialize his own set of skills… when you look at it this way, it almost feels like you are developing a character in a video game… adding +1 to various skill sets until you have the build that you want.

      Great comments :)

  • http://www.andrewdotson.com Andrew

    Should Developers learn how to design? :) I like being the middle personally.

    • Nio

      Good point!

      I think too, the developers must go to some course, so they have too some understanding of what is design.

      Good point.

  • GJAdmiraal

    Well, I guess a designer should at least know the possibilities of coding, and with that meaning what can be achieved by HTML, CSS and images. All other code, content generation, is just a waste of time for a designer. Why?

    A designer, or at least a good/decent one, is a creative mind with ideas out-of-the-box, weird and extravagant items and a boundary beyond the mind of a ‘coder’.

    A good coder however is straight minded and thinks about solutions and not what could be done out-side the box.

    You do have cross-overs; people who know how to design and how to code. But these people are rare and mostly do a poor job on average. Which sounds hard, but is the truth. And thank god, a.k.a. Adobe, for creating tools that create code out of PSD’s.

  • Andy

    A web designer who can only design is a designer..
    A good web designer should be able to understand quicker methods to achieve the same goals.
    They should understand JavaScript to a level where they can use plugins for frameworks correctly.

    Also, if designers work with developers they should be able to understand roughly what is going on and know how to not break it.

    Another key for good designers is to understand seo and have the ability to not just understand h, alt, title tags etc, but also areas of htaccess to make more friendly urls, and 301 redirects.

    Many times have I seen clients hire designers to re build their website only to watch it dive off the search engines. If designer don’t know how to do it, they should at least understand the repercussions of what they will do to a website if not done correctly.

    Oh, and real designers should not depend on dreamweaver writing the code for them. They should be able to just use notepad and understand the code they write! :-)

    • http://themeforest.net/user/epicera/portfolio?ref=epicera Brandon Jones
      Author

      Great comments – a small voice in my head mildly disagrees with the statement, “a web designer who can only design is a designer”… because that’s like saying a sculptor who doesn’t run his own rock quarry is just an artist, but I understand what you’re trying to say… which is that any web designer worth his weight in salt will know a thing or two about coding.

      Heck, there’s a good part of me that agrees with your statement because I can’t, for the life of me, think of a great web designer out there that hasn’t at the very least shown that he can code a basic webpage by themselves. Even if lots of great web designers nowadays don’t code everything they design, I would wager that the vast majority of them have tried their hand at coding HTML/CSS at one point in their careers.

      Thanks for the post Andy!

    • http://jonprestonstudios.com JOn

      I disagree with the Dreamweaver part. Some of us work solely with code in Dreamweaver and use it so that they don’t have to keep reloading the browser to get an update on what new code that they’re writing. I work solely in split view and it helps a ton while doing my CSS styling.

      • Andy

        Too many web designers rely on Dreamweaver creating the code for them and just churn out bad html.
        For example, it adds things like id tags to all form elements.

        A web designer should understand the code he is writing, and be able to write new code without the need for dreamweaver to do it for them.

        “Dreamweaver breeds lazy designers.”

        Another poll should be how many web designers can write something simple like an anchor tag that opens in a new window, and contains a description of the link they are writing. (without the use of dreamweaver)

        I bet it would suprise us all! ;-)

  • http://themeforest.net/user/epicera/portfolio?ref=epicera Brandon Jones
    Author

    Great discussion so far everyone! It strikes me that there are several more targeted questions that I could have asked, like:

    What Types of Coding Should a Designer Know How to Do?
    Is It Important for a Designer to Code on an Everyday Basis?
    Should Every Web Designer Know How to Code HTML/CSS?
    Is It Useful for a Web Designer to Know At Least One Programming Language?

    The comments so far have been great – and most of these more narrowly defined questions are being addressed already :) I’ll definitely be creating a couple of full-articles on these subjects in the future, so keep it up and if anyone has any especially juicy tangential topics or questions, be sure to share them.

  • http://www.umbraprojekt,pl mingos

    I’m not a web designer. I suck big time at Photoshop and have questionable artistic taste (even though I do try, believe me). I’m a programmer and I get the graphics from the designer. And you know what? I feel like going on a killing spree sometimes. I get designs that are just impossible to code. OK, not impossible, but they can be coded in specific browsers only or are just plain overcomplicated, requiring bazillions of layers and JavaScript magic (theming form elements, anyone?). And when they say they want it working in IE6, I feel like hanging them from a tree and filling them with lead.

    Why?

    Because with minor modifications, the same designs can be easy to code.

    But not all designers know how to code. If they did, they’d optimise the designs for the programmers to do stuff quickly and painlessly. Saving rage. Saving frustration. Saving time. Saving mo-mo-money.

    So… What should a web designer know? First off, s/he should be well aware of how the HTML is structured. If the sidebar div has a given length, stick to it, and don’t put some fancy pix over it on a single subpage just because it looks cool (OK, that example was LAME… I’m sleepy…). Second, s/he should know what CSS magic is available. If the text doesn’t really need to be rotated 30 degrees, for heaven’s sake, don’t rotate it! Webkit deals with it OK. IE does not. There are javascript solutions to that, but what about people that browse without JS? Same applies to seemingly simple things such as text outline or background clipping. It looks easy – coding it is not. End of story.

    • Nio

      I agree, but sometimes wif your website doesn’t have this fancy thing is just one boring site that no one will like.

      There must be compromises from both sides.

  • http://www.ajith.tk Ajith R

    I’m of the opinion a web designer should indeed know coding. Ok, there’s no ending to learning how to code, updates and revisions to standards are frequently made, and ‘coding’ can be expanded to include other kinds of scripting- well if someone can’t keep pace with what’s happening in his own field, its better for him not to be in that field. Real design is are possible only if a designer has some idea about how it’s all gonna come together. And I think the question should be: “Can people who can’t code web designers?”.

    • http://www.ajith.tk Ajith R

      * “Can people who can’t code BE CALLED web designers?”

      • chris

        ur totally right there buddy…. atleast evry designer should knows the basic fundamentals of coding.. .html css and javascript.

        the one thing i hate about codings is when your making your design a browser compatibility.. ..( oh ihate ie on that matter’s)

      • Jonny

        The scope of the term ‘web designer’ may be subjective but i think historically it means being able to do more than just wire-framing a website in photoshop.

        If you do a web design degree you’re going to do coding and more than just the basics

  • http://vinhdesigns.com Vinh

    HELL TO THE YEAH!

  • Pingback: Reader’s Poll! Should Web Designers Know How to Code? | San Francisco Design & Technology Magazine

  • http://jonprestonstudios.com Jonathan Preston

    I think it’s important to know at least how to do HTML and CSS for your designs. I’ve been doing it now for 6 months, and have to do it on a regular basis for a job that I’m at, where I’m coding email blasts almost daily. In fact, I designed my website while on a job for them in Las Vegas… only to code it entirely myself.

    What does suck, though, is that your time gets inhibited greatly with just about everything that you’re doing… which is why I haven’t gotten a chance to really dig into Javascript and JQuery… I almost tore my hair out trying to figure out how to animate my banner I have on my front page. I’m still not happy with it, either….

  • Tuomas L

    Well said.

    My opinion: without a doubt.

    I don’t see how a web designer can in any way succeed well if they are unfamiliar with the logic behind coding.

  • http://www.sj777.in sujith s

    Good question ajith…..

  • http://www.visual-blade.com Daquan Wright

    The answer is, “it depends.”

    If a studio has staff based on their core skills, then it’s not so important (though knowing HTML/CSS should be standard, it’s not programming.).

    Unless a designer is a good programmer, he’ll write bad code in any language (JavaScript is a real object oriented language, but few people actually learn the core of it).

    I think HTML/CSS compliments web design, because these are the bare-bone technologies of the web. You cannot effectively design HTML documents if you don’t understand the foundation it’ll will sit on.

    I personally want to be a user interface designer and developer, but I love both. I’m majoring in CS and want developing to be my core skill. I don’t see anything wrong with someone being able to design and code, as long as it fits their work and they are capable of handling it.

    There are so many aspects to design, you cannot be a complete master of both. So I guess you have to think about what core skill-set you want to represent and run with it. While you never want to spread yourself too thin, over specializing can hurt someone depending on their job.

  • Vanessa

    Hello,

    While I think it’s important to understand coding in order to grasp your limitations regarding your web designs, I think it’s completely unnecessary for designers to BE the developers for their work. I think the more we spread ourselves thin, trying to be a ‘jack of all trades’, the more designers are going to be required to having both amazing design skills and superb coding ability when applying for jobs. To me, this isn’t fair as I became a designer to… design. My mind doesn’t operate in the same fashion that a developers does, and while with years of training I could pick up that ability, I think it better to focus on your strengths. However, a basic understanding of coding principles is useful for any web designer, as I mentioned before, so that you can best design for the medium, just as an architect must have a basic understanding of engineering in order to design a building that won’t fall down, yet he/she isn’t the one to build it themselves.

    • Valstorm

      “a basic understanding of coding principles is useful for any web designer, as I mentioned before, so that you can best design for the medium, just as an architect must have a basic understanding of engineering in order to design a building that won’t fall down, yet he/she isn’t the one to build it themselves.”

      That pretty much encapsulates this whole discussion, great analogy.

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  • Nio

    My own experience is that when a designer is digging to much in the code, his/her designs are starting to become more boring and boring.

    I think designer should know HTML, CSS, maaaybe some JS, and the workflow.

    But, too much coding and one man-orchestra is making the things look lame.

    Of course it depends on the specific task. Some things you can do them by yourself, other…well…sometimes I limit my designs, because I have to code the stuff and some things can become too complicated for coding and I use some common Jquery rotator or such thing and that took away the uniqueness of the design.

    My opinion, but of course it is good to know code.

  • http://www.webdesignkc.co.uk/ Rory

    I think designers should, if you don’t your limiting yourself to one type of media.
    Being able to code gives you the all round skill set to be a better designer, for yourself and for your clients.

    If you had to out source everything, not only would it be a nightmare, you’d deny yourself cash I’d personally feel the project wasn’t truly ‘mine’. And with so much open source code and tutorials available to designers now, its lazy for designers not to branch out and at least learn the basics.

  • Wouter

    In my opinion, in most cases this is overhead. I think the most important thing a designer could learn from coding, is realizing what the limitations (and opportunities) there are. And perhaps: how much time, code and planning it may take to convert a complex design!

    I say, to each his own. Most people have a talent for either coding or design, but I think people excelling at both are a minority (creative/artistic thinking VS technical/abstract thinking). Better to have each person do the very best in the field they excel in. Of course, if you have the luck to be working with someone who can do both, all the better. But I don’t think it should be a requirement.

    What I think *should* be a requirement for both, is at least a basic (preferrably good) understanding of website usability.

  • http://www.callthisgeek.ca Kelly

    As a programmer who learned design, I do find both can be VERY handy for expanding you options, dynamic websites are becoming more popular. However, I’ve met web-designers who tried to learn programming, and I find that knowing they’re going to have to code whatever they design causes them to hold back, not be as full of detail and possibility as if they didn’t have to think “How on earth am I going to code that? That is going to take WAY too much time”

  • http://www.ikuid.com Federico Espinosa

    Hi, if your a Web Designer that dont know how to code, well in my opinion your a Graphic Designer…..

  • http://www.fishmemory.net fractalbit

    Although i agree that knowing both never hurts (actually the opposite) i disagree that good web designers are only those who know coding. All they really need to know is of what’s possible and that may just mean they are well informed, they don’t have to know every little hack of css and html to design a website.

    Besides, someone that knows design, css, html, javascript and let’s add php is he really a DESIGNER any more or an hybrid of designer/developer? I am saying it again, it is very useful (and if you are working alone actually a requirement) but not a necessity.

    I am more of a developer and i am really trying hard to make beautiful designs, i am somewhat successful in it but i am not fooling myself, yes design rules can be taught but talent cannot. No matter how much knowledge and practice i get on design someone with the same knowledge/practice and the talent is his blood will always be miles ahead of me. I have made beautiful websites with designers that didn’t know how to code. They made the designs, i made the coding/infrastructure. All it really takes is a little cooperation.

  • http://www.anoncreative.com Danny

    I agree with alot of the comments – a designer should know and understand how HTML & CSS workss and what is possible, and probably some JQuery/Javascript knowledge. If you don’t have this knowledge then, as has been stated a few times, you do not know what is and is not possible to code and your designs will just cause delays and frustration whilst the developer tries to code around your impossible designs.

    That said, I’m not saying designer should have to write the code. If you are a small 1 man band then yes this would greatly help your productivity and would mean you wouldnt have to contract in a developer – but larger companies don’t need the designer to code the designs aswell – its just the knowledge of what is and isn’t possible that will greatky help everyone involved in the project by not having to revise designs or spend extra time writing extra code for overly complex designs.

    I like to do abit of both – I am a designer first and foremost – but I can code, and do enjoy coding (by hand, not relying on Dreamweaver) (X)HTML(5), CSS(3), write javascript and JQuery – I am also in the process of learning PHP an MySQL – these aren’t essential for my job at the moment but I feel that the extra knowledge will help me undertsand the behind the scenes workings of more complex sites and let me design accordingly – aswell as adding to my CV should I need a new job in the future.

    Day to day I mainly design and leave the bulk of the coding to developers, but if we’re busy and needs must I will do both the design and front end code myself.

    Nice poll Brandon, certainly has got the discussion going!

  • Jake

    “should” is such a broad term, and really its in the eyes of the customer to say who needs to know how to do certain things. I think as long as you do what you are asked, there should be no problem. I think its safe to say people vote for yes because they know how to code (or atleast markups) and they feel since they have that knowledge that someone else shoulden’t cut corners.

  • bryan

    I think it is not that important for a “Human Centered Designer” to know how to program.

    I do think it will make them more interesting for businesses out there. However I feel that when designers learn how to progam they will have a less critical view, because they will always think ahead to see if the design they have in mind is feasible. I feel that, something like that is more a decision the developers should make.

    Cheers,
    bryan

  • vincent

    Granted, I haven’t made any big international sites but I’ve made various sites for smaller companies and entrepreneurs and made all of those myself, from designing in photoshop to coding and putting the site online. All of the customers were pleased. It looks great and the sites have valid HTML(5).

    Take Da Vinci, he was a sculpter, painter, engineer etc… Why can’t modern man/women be multifaceted?
    IMO those points are excuses.

    I myself know how to design a site, code it to HTML, CSS, JS, PHP or ASP.NET and taking mobile devices into account as well.

  • http://www.mrblonde.ca Mr. Blonde

    Obviously they should in order to understand the environment in which they design in and to make life easier for developers. Also I think developers should learn some basic design theory to understand the design reasoning and to make life easier for designers.

  • BeatShot

    In my opinion it surely helps but it’s not fundamental. Web Design and Web Development are no matter what people say different areas. People who do both just have an advantage.

    I know a lot of good developers who claim they are web designers, in truth their design doesn’t suck but it’s quite bland and boring. A good webdesigner can always outsource the coding, there a lot of cheap services who provide high quality code.

    So i don’t think this it’s absolutely necessary, let each person do what they do best and if they have the time to develop others skills then so be it. But claiming you can’t be a webdesigner unless you can code is bollocks.

  • Bob

    Learning HTML coding is very simple. All you have to do is give some effort and a few months.

    If you think its too hard then quit working in the web world.

  • Valstorm

    I cant really comment on other people’s opinions here, because they’re all valid and every situation or role within the industry has its own answer to this question. But I can offer my experience.

    Starting off in graphic design, freelancing for a few years while in college, I gradually had more requests for web designs, or small ‘brochure’ websites, from clients that traditionally had only been concerned with print.

    In 2004, after half a year of these web requests, I started to get curious myself about what makes good web design. Deciding to take on a commission for a small website at a reduced cost I would use this job as a starting point and playground. I loaned a text manual for dreamweaver from the library and spent the whole week playing around with tables and trying to figure out the limits of the web; where design and basic functionality were concerned. The software did most of the work for me, I would throw in my layouts and use my right click button to set attributes for colors, fonts or anything else I wanted. When it came to something I needed and didnt know how to do; I would just find some source code from another website and delete what wasnt necessary until it started working correctly.

    Easy, right?

    The client was impressed, the website looked just like the concepts and I was paid a bonus for getting the job done so quickly.

    Two weeks later I was showing off to a friend, and when I opened the new site I’d created in his browser, something looked wrong. It was warped, tables had collapsed and the designs looked nothing like they did in my browser at home.

    Obviously, ignorance of browser incompatibilites had caused my HTML to do some unusual things. I panicked, hoping the client hadnt noticed or had anyone comment to them on how bad the site was looking, and immediately hired a friend of mine, a freelancing developer at the time, to fix things up the next day.

    I asked my friend why this had happened; he explaned to me in quite a technical manner that the web is a fickle place, browsers have a mind of there own and just like a certain holy book, when it comes to HTML, each browser tends to have a different opinion on how it should be interpretted and tend to disagree with the rest. The software I had used wasnt a sure fire way to appease every single browser.

    He offered to give me a quick lesson and show me a few tricks, but having no knowledge of HTML other than what I’d learned from a weeks worth of clicking the ‘view source’ button I decided it would be best to just offer him a fee for any sites I’d build if he could go through them at the end and fix them up for me. I was pretty intimidated by the code and would rather have focussed on the designs rather than the technicalities.

    It went on like this for three more years.

    I would design a website and put it together in Dreamweaver, that would look fine in my browser, and then send it off to him to be fixed for the rest. And it was only until recently, about a couple of years ago when another friend of mine explained to me that tables just arnt needed any more and CSS was the way forward, that I decided enough was enough, tables were all I knew, Dreamweaver was all I knew, and now what I knew was obsolete. I was going to at least learn HTML and CSS from scratch, no shortcuts, key for key, word for word, blank text document to full website, it was the only way to really ensure my trade as freelance web designer.

    The conclusion I came to, after a month of hard study, was that using third party software to write HTML for me was a sure fire way to cripple myself and limit my designs. Suddenly, as if overnight, I had gained confidence in myself and I realised that development and coding was not a mystical art open only to the smartest and most academic; the knowledge was there just waiting to be learned and only practice would give me the freedom to fully advance to the next level of web design.

    My clients noticed quite a change during our conceptual meetings, instead of regretfully saying “No I’m sorry, I dont know how to do that, but I will consult with a developer I know and come up with something”.. to just saying “sure” or “yes, why dont we do this aswell”, it was refreshing and even turned up more work.

    I added HTML and CSS to my resumes with the agencies who’d call me perhaps twice a year. Who now call me a couple of times each month.

    So in retrospect: I feel that you dont necessarilly need to learn how to code to be a web designer, if you can pick up a pencil or use Photoshop, you can be a web designer; you just wont be a very good one. You’ll get by and you might impress your friends just a little. But if you learn just the fundamentals (namely HTML/CSS, perhaps even JQuery), you will open up your career and through practice, become a great web designer, you’ll be able to put forward a confidence in your client meetings, and all those uncertainties about what can or cannot be done will just fade away.

    I code every day and I still find time to be creative.

  • http://mustang-marketing.pl Tomasz

    ofcourse… good webdesigner should know even more than basics of coding. html/css isnt a black magic and knowledge about this definitely accelerate workflow

  • http://www.gregoryhughdavidson.com Gregory Davidson

    From my experience as a designer, I have to know how to code html, css and even javascript because developers do not know it. I haven’t met a developer that knows css and I actually just met one who tried to write a div like this: …. needless to say it did not work and he proclaimed he wasted hours of work.

  • http://www.talkbackmedia.com Kyle

    I noticed that knowing how to code as a designer makes you more marketable, when looking for free lance work or a job. The more you know how to do, the more valuable you become to companies.

  • Kenneth

    I am a Designer, and over the years I have pick up my coding knowledge. Where as it is helpful, I do not believe it is necessary for what I do. When it comes into play is when you pick up a job, and the client rather pay one person, as opposed to two people in an effort to keep their costs down. (Undervaluing artist, designers, developers, and looking for one person to do everything on the cheap is another topic all together) Now self admittedly coding is not my strong suit, and I understand my limitations, but I also never try pass myself off as a programmer. However I know far too many programmers who fancy themselves to be designers. I work with some people that are great at both, and many more who are good at one or the other. Unfortunately I have come across too many programmers who are just flat out bad designers. Problem is, they can code this bad design faster then the client can realize how truly bad it is.

  • Brian

    As a Graphic Designer, I eventually had the need to create an online portfolio of my work. I found that learning HTML & CSS was hugely helpful in coming up with a design for my site. Before understanding what was happening behind the scenes, I was clueless as to how to even begin. I found learning coding to be infectious and HTML/CSS led to WordPress which led to PHP/JS. I certainly would never call myself a developer, but I’ve found the coding knowledge very helpful and a lot of jobs out there currently want designers with HTML/CSS (and often times more) skills. Why not be a more versatile designer?

    Great Discussion!

  • http://webconsultant.co.nz Steve Yeoman

    Designers definitely should know the limits and capabilities of the medium they are designing for.

    A web site has to communicate its content in a very different way from a printed medium, and it can only be laid out within the confines of a computer screen. Understanding that graphics slow down a site and that tiny fonts are going to be illegible, as well as knowing that we have limited layout tools at our disposal is just a beginning. We have to make room for cross-browser compatibility and slow download speeds and many, many more things, and if a designer can approach their task knowing that they have to work within these restrictions, they will produce a site which works much more effectively than a site which has been designed from a print philosophy.

  • http://www.staceylane.info Stacey

    As a Graphic/Web Designer I feel it’s important to know how to work with what you’re creating at every level of the creative process. Do I think that you need to be a wizard at all types of code? Absolutely not. But you should definitely have the basics in place thorough knowledge of HTML/CSS. I would say that it’s not dire that you know JS/jQuery/PHP but having at least the basic knowledge of these languages and what they can do for your site is bound to help more than hinder.

  • http://www.csslayout.com Winnie

    If by “coding” you mean HTML/CSS/JavaScript, then 100% yes.

    The “tunnel vision” argument is moot. When you know your tools (HTML/CSS/JavaScript/browser limitations) inside out, it actually helps you to be more creative. Anyone who says knowing how to code limits their creativity does not know the tools well enough.

    And I can’t even count how many times I had to finish the design for those “web designers” who don’t know how to code because they have no clue their design would look different in different browsers and screen resolutions.

  • http://www.twitter.com/brandongcarroll Brandon

    While I think it benefits designers to know some code, I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary.

    True, it can sometimes be a headache. But I think to achieve truly great web design, you need to forget about what you can and can’t do with code and just design. Figure the rest out later. I find I design at my best when I forget what can and can’t be done with HTML, CSS and Javascript, and just concentrate on designing something amazing.

    As long as they understand what a design needs to incorporate to be usable and accessible, designers can do as they like. I’ll find a way to code it. ;)

  • Thomas H.

    Hi there – first post here :) escuse my english.

    Im a “web”-designer and my girlfriend is a “print”-designer.

    I know all of the above mentioned programming/markup languages and used them on a daily basis.
    She knows about paper-thickness, -weight, -texture, packaging etc. and use that knowledge every day.

    We have the same basic education and fundamental skills like illustration, typography, layout, color theory, etc. But if we switch medium (i do print, she does web) It’s obvious how important the knowledge of the medium is, because we both forget to take a lot of small stuff into account, and therefore fail to meet professional standard imo.

    So I definitely agree that knowing the medium (in this case html/css/js/browsers) is very important for any kind of designer… It simply makes a huge difference.

  • http://www.imageworksllc.com Joshua Briley

    YES! They should have an understanding of HTML and CSS, at the very minimum. I wish I had a nickel for every project I received from some print guy (who thinks he’s a web designer) with non-web-friendly fonts plastered all over the design. Many design agencies I build out sites for *still* don’t seem to understand how typography works on the internet. NEWSFLASH: FUTURA and MYRIAD PRO aren’t installed on everyone’s computer. If they understood the basics of the medium for which they were designing, then they’d know not to do this. This is my biggest pet peeve.

  • Gabriel Sabino

    Of course it helps to have knowledge about coding. Its also true that each project sets the answers for its own needs. I use a four box model to stablish if i can design and code by myself or if a experienced coder is the best option. 1. Heavy graphic-design sites, 2.Simple coded sites, 3.Simple graphic-design sites, 4. Heavy coded-development sites. Most projects are a mix of these variables so it helps a lot to know our own limitations as designers/developers before working in any website project.

  • http://www.colewilhelmi.com Cole

    As a designer I’ve been trying to learn how to code but not having too much luck. Can anyone recommend a good way to go about learning how to code?

    • Valstorm

      Hard work and patience will get you there Cole.

      You could start off at http://www.w3schools.com/ to learn the basics.

      Then once you’re comfortable at writing HTML, have a look at how CSS works and experiment.

      There are lots of great tutorials here on the Envato network in the NetTuts section but you need to learn the basics of writing HTML and CSS first. It’s a slow process and you need to make lots of mistakes to understand how HTML and CSS work together but it’s very important to learn from them.

  • http://www.drivvedwebbyra.se Fredrik

    YES, yes and yes!

  • dc

    Code is not necessary but it is helpful and useful and why not learn it as you go? But to write a group of people off for not knowing it is absurd. And coding skills are increasingly unnecessary for designers in the wake of the explosion of great template availability. Every little bit of knowledge and skill helps but all is not necessary.

  • David

    No, no, no, no… designers don’t need to know anything about coding. In fact, designers should know NOTHING about coding.

    If a designer has any idea about how much work it goes into coding his designs it will limit his creativity.

  • http://www.iwannabeadesigner.com Bruno

    One man army? :) Design is design and programming is programming. Designers should know the basics of programming as programmers should know the basics of design too.

    If we go even further, design cannot be separated from code, because, in case of web design, the designs are made thinking of a real world function that they will be part of.

  • http://simonwjackson.com Simon W. Jackson

    Designers that have a fundamental understanding of code helps lower the amount of back-and-forth during the handoff phase. If the designer knows common cross browser limitations and coding standards he will consciously consider them while creating the interface.

  • Serge

    I feel your frustrations.
    All is needed is set of rules, for both designers and developers.
    I started as a designer myself and making my way into coding now.

    I work with a small team of good developers, who are teaching me to code at work. I strongly rely on them when i screw up.
    However, the set of rules that i was talking about… Developers are having hard time with CSS for example. It confuses them. And simple stuff like sprites might be a headache for them, like counting pixels. Makes them to go nuts. For example a grid systems that i set for some web projects and implemented them into C# master pages. I made a wiki page for them that explains how to handle the design, elements and jQuery/CSS classes.
    So basically, it’s good to know just enough to work in harmony with the developers, and it doesn’t mean to replace them.

  • Sam

    I think web designer should know HTML, CSS and some Javascript.

    Likewise, I’d expect a coder to be able to put up a decent website but nothing like this website, Facebook or Twitter.

    A designer should do what they’re best at, designing websites.
    A coder should do what they’re best at, coding websites.

    It is perhaps seen as a foreign language, but, for the best results, you will only receive best results if you let the best do what they’re best at.

  • Darren

    All valid points to some degree.

    In my case I when I started web design as a branching from my normal work in print design I quickly realized I had to actually code the layouts , and costs where just too high for me to hire a developer , so my point is if you are lucky enough to be part of a team and don’t want to code that probably fine for you, but coding will give you the needed foresight to spot possible headaches in your design, also when your on your own and out on your ass , being a designer that codes might just help.

    Last point – being a designer that actively is learning to code as well I just love the hands on feeling of doing it yourself (DIY)

  • http://www.zayelion.com Jamezs

    YES you need to know it at the very least know iron-work you are putting your bricks on, HTML and alot of CSS for sure.

  • Tautvis

    I disagree that web designer needs to know how to code. He should know overall abilities, that’s all. Web designer is an artist, not a programmer. Why should he bother about codes if there is programmers? Why programmers are called programmers and designers called designers? It’s 2 separate worlds. Quality is more important than quantity, there are very few people who can do both jobs really good, it’s rare.

    • Tautvis

      Sorry I made few mistakes..

  • http://www.behance.net/denaevorster Denae

    I like the idea of being able to code your own design for the same reason as many of the commentators: Because of the fact that designers with a knowledge of coding make less mistakes and are more likely to design properly for the web. My question though, if one is keen on learning how to code in order to become a better designer in terms of the web, where does one start? Does anyone have any advise on a proper starting point. It all seems a bit daunting if you don’t really know your start from your finish.

  • http://www.spolecneproauto.cz Radoslav Holan

    I think this comes from basics – every good designer should know how to code his own design. Design and coding should go hand by hand. It’s stupid to design something, what’s hard or unable to be coded. Another story is fact, that when you do a good design what codes somebody with not so good skills, he makes a piece of sh*t from it. So, definitely, good designer is forced to coding his work. I’m not about to tell I am a good designer/coder, but I do both and with this way I have surely the best results.

  • http://www.bryandhughes.com Bryan Hughes

    So much of this discussion hinges completely on your definition of ‘code.’ Is HTML/CSS coding, how about everything front-end, or is it front end AND all the backend as well?

    In my opinion, it’s all about understanding, and the particular dynamics/challenges of the team and task at hand. There is no one answer, and I’d be cautious to work with anyone who thinks there is.

  • Tramis

    I voted for: “It might help them be better designers, but it’s not a huge deal.”

    I think it’s not a big deal if designer doesn’t know hot to code, because he is designer, right? :)

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  • Anthony Alexander

    the more relevant question is, “Do web developers know how to code?” bitching about browser incompatibly is all they’re known for

  • anonymous

    Well, I’m a web designer and I don’t know how to code.
    I just can’t really get to it.
    I work in a small firm with two other people – one is a front-end and the other one a back-end developer. I do the design stuff.

    Now – is it really necessary for me to learn how to code? (serious question)
    Working with those other two means that most of the arguments speaking in favor of learning how to code are invalid at least for me.
    “More Affordable Designs” and “Better Communication”: I don’t know how to code, but I know some facts about it. That means I know the possibilities and how to engage them and these points are invalid as well.
    So that leaves “Better Understanding of Code = Better Designs” as single valid point.

    I’m just not into this “theoretical” stuff like coding – I’m not good at it and I know it will be so hard to learn for me. That means that I’d have to put loads of effort into something I’d eventually not need …

    So you tell me.

  • tiago s.

    Well i was only a graphic designer coming out of college, that picked up flash after (just for animation), eventually those animations needed some interaction, and actionscript came up.
    AS2 seemed very intuitive, and when AS3 came i thought it was a nightmare for that day on… 1 month later i can’t stand that old outdated AS2. While working with Flash i learned some basics of html (real basic), just enough to put my flash work inside, and some few other stuff i needed from Dreamweaver, but still very basic knowledge.
    Resuming, unless you are one of the best designers out there, you should not stick only to your basic knowledge. Of course you should always enhance your basic skills, but knowing how things work around what you do, is the key to keep up with the times and make your work even better.
    I am a designer (web & print) / flash (animator/developer) / motion graphics and 3D hybrid -_-’
    I am not on top of any of the 4 but the understanding of 5-6 areas of the field really helps me moving around and interact with my fellow workers.
    The current offer of work in my country is terrible so we have to absorb the most we can to shine on those interviews.
    Next step is to get in on those android apps made on flash, new times, new techs.
    The best thing on an agency that has the people for it, is to have designers designing, developers developing etc, be the best you can in your area… but look to your neighbour and talk to him to discuss ideas and understand what he does and how you can use that info.
    We can’t be all like Leonardo Da Vinci.

    Well they always ask for a newbie that can work with every software available, and they only pay you for 1 man’s work naturally. This happens in 98% of the cases.

  • http://www.deepbass.com/portfolio Brad Shaw

    As we’re defining “code” as HTML/CSS/Javascript, then yes, designers should be able to slice and “code” their work into cosmetically functional templates that then get given to actual PROGRAMMERS to implement all the behind the scenes functionality.

    A good designer doesn’t necessarily make a good programmer and there is certainly no shortage of good programmers that can’t design. I’m sure there are quite a few fantastic web developers out there that can do both design and programming to a high degree of proficiency, but in my 16 years of doing design for web and print around the world, I’ve only ever worked with one person like this. He is an incredibly talented designer and has a masters degree in computer engineering and can truly “code”.

    Everyone else I’ve ever worked with has definitely been either a designer or a programmer.

  • cirrs

    Of course! I agree that a real web designer should know how to code at least html and css, otherwise you’re a graphic designer, not a web designer. Web design is not just about the design but also about usability, and to be able to give the users a good experience you should know how everything works together.

    When I first started doing websites back in 2005, I used to do it with tables straight out of Photoshop and then try to implement all the functionality in Dreamweaver following a bunch of different tutorials but without knowing how it worked. Now I still design in Photoshop but my workflow is completely different. I start with a 960 grid and design according to web standards, this gives me a lot of power and I makes the process much easier since I know what’s possible and what’s not and how can everything be coded later. Others said that this limits your creativity but I think is the other way around, because the more tools you have the more creative you can get.

    You can also implement parts of the the design just with code. Another good and reliable workflow is to start with a simple wireframe, choose your colors and start designing directly in html and css. This gives you a lot of flexibility and keeps things realistic.
    About a year ago I started learning jQuery and now that I feel more or less comfortable with it I can give my designs a whole new dimension that you can’t simply imagine doing with Photoshop.

    Right now I’m a full-time freelancer, and I do both design and code, but even if you’re working solely as a designer you benefit from the coding knowledge. I worked with a firm in 2008 for a year as a UI designer. I did the interfaces for different online and offline management tools and the programmers did code to fit the design. It was really useful to know the basics of how they did it and what was the process behind it because the communication between the designer and the coder becomes much easier and comprehensive.

  • Pro Coding

    Web design is easy anyways, I don’t see why one should not learn “coding”.

    • http://www.apiestudio.co.cc Apie Studio

      i’ve been designing for a couple of years now and with the little experience i have, it looks easy in the eye but complicating when putting all the piece together. like what happens in the building sector, the architect gives the finished building on a drawing paper to the building engineers… in the eyes of anyone u’re seeing a finished building but in the eye’s of the engineers putting that same building down is what he is trying to figure out. what just makes it easy is that he has the blue print on paper.

      bottomline, if you want to be a good web designer, be the architect and the building engineer. ====> be the front end designer and back end developer. dont just learn html, css and javascript…. advance your skill with php and mysql.

  • iteand

    wowowow this is beautiful! (client)
    yeap! (designer)
    and how we can do it? (team)
    i don’t know.. (designer)

    • http://valeriovaz.com Valerio Vaz

      And there you have it. A team of coders who can’t solve problems!

      I would have fired them all!

  • http://valeriovaz.com Valerio Vaz

    If you’re talking about a Web Designer that sould code on HTML and CSS, that’s entirely correct.

    But PHP, .NET, C# and other languages? NO! NO! NO!
    Come on! The work when it’s finished, it’s the same BS that a programmer would do if he designed on paint!

    Designers must have basic knowledge of HTML and CSS. Good know-how better, and maybe jQuery and mootools too. Because they need to know that something just don’t work.

    Leave the code for the other people.

  • ready, aim, fire

    You gotta know html and css. but thats easy theres 13 year old kids out there who can do that. you have to at least be able to build a site. programming is an entirely different discipline though. expecting a designer to be a programmer in php, mysql, javascript, etc is like finding a good auto mechanic who is also an great dentist.

    I’ve never seen anyone whos really good at design and programming. I’ve seen people who are great at one or mediocre at both.

    web site building is a team effort. designers design, programmers program.

  • Bantu

    To a certain degree.

    Let’s look at an example of a creative team which has longer history of evolution.

    Advertising creatives.
    We had copywriters.
    Then we joined art directors and copywriters.
    Then finally: due to the complexity and interconnectivity of their work, it become hard to label them.
    Labeling meant you do only one thing, and that is just not natural. So now…
    Now we call them ‘creatives’.
    Sure each one of them prefers one. But both of them can do both of the things.
    At least to a certain degree.

    I believe similar thing will happen to the whole design/coding duality.
    You can’t have an adorable site without having 2 people with knowledge in both areas.

  • Emil

    Hmmm, I think a web desginer needs to know what is going on behinde the scenes on a website, but they don’t have to know how to code a whole website, from scratch. They just need a basic understanding of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, MySQL etc. They need to know, what is possible and what is not possible.
    Personally, I’m mostly a web developer, but I also like graphic/webdesign alot.
    So, thats my opinion.
    – Emil

  • Jennifer

    This is rather a complicated question nonetheless.

    I would we need to always know to fundamental’s of both design and coding, whether we are just designers or coders, or even both designer and coder. Because without knowing or remembering the fundamentals of any job source you work in makes learning some skills pointless. That is because no matter what you will need to go back to the fundamentals, whether it is for your own benefits, or to help train a new employee. I say this because if you get a new employee and their knowledge is not as high as yours is. You will confuse the person and maybe lost a very valuable worker in the field you may need the most.

  • Happy

    My old man told me once (and he’s interior designer who also crafts all of his ideas by hand and hand only) that he had opportunity to work with some fresh designers straight out of academy, but he was soon disappointed co’s all they had was some crazy ideas where everything is flying around without following any principles of physics. Lesson learned? Don’t employ someone who only knows how to think strictly in his area of profession.

    Person should at least be able to pin a few nails before actually trying to design something. That’s especially because if one of your clients see the design and he likes it, he’ll be disappointed if you say latter on that there should be some changes made to make design maintainable or what ever.

  • Dean

    What gets me is that if, as some of you suggest that a web designer doesnt need to know how to code, then why is it that every web designer job description I see lists knowing HTML, CSS Javascript even Flash as a essential requirement for the job, it seems that if you don’t know these languages or even demonstrate through an online portfolio that you know these languages through web sites you have coded yourself, then it seems imposible to land these ” web designer” positions.

    So from that perspective and my experience of web designer job descriptions, I would say it is an absolute must to know code if your goal is to land THAT web design job.

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  • http://www.webmynesystem.com Ramesh Vishwakarma

    Ya I also think that every web designer should know HTML/CSS.

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  • Gemma

    I had to think about this one, but I arrived at the conclusion that actually, web designers do not need to know how to code in order to be called a web designer.

    A person who designs layouts for the web without coding them is nothing more than a graphic designer who designs for the web. Until he adds HTML/CSS/JS to his skill set, which means that he is now a graphic designer and a front-end developer. One can still be a web designer without typing a single line of code.

  • Mariusz

    I was wondering and my conclusion is: they should know how to code. I’m starting to learn how to design websites and I started from learning Photoshop. I must say that I’m getting better and better … but I can’t code what I did and that is why I am confused.

    I would like to do with my website whatever I want but without knowledge how to code I simply can’t do it – so maybe there are some of you who want just design some nice graphics and nothing more, but if you really want to create working website you should know more than marks ;)

    Regards!

    If you have some materials how to code PSD based websites let me know – I need to learn it.
    maridoni@wp.pl

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  • Ding

    is it really possible for any companies or individual would pay anyone who only knows how to “design” a webpage? absolutely not for me, I respect such occupation but I disagree web designer should just learn design. actually a lot of friends of me are good at doing design in ps, even for those guys who do not have such degree. but coding is something which I am happy to call “skill”. sorry to those 5%

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  • Space Gorilla

    An architect does not install the plumbing, the electrical, the HVAC, and so on. But he or she has an understanding of the ‘guts’ of the building he or she designs. Design is a complex beast, I came to this fork in the road about three years ago, doing both design work and coding work, I was too busy to keep up with both. I decided to focus on design and delved deeply into it. The code is the guts, which I can contract out to many very skilled tradespeople to handle, but the design and planning aspect is a level above, and much harder to master. I understand both form and function as a designer, and I direct those who code. I have also art directed a print designer who never did web design, ever, but she was a fantastic designer. With direction she did a great job. I have also never run into a limitation in my design work re: code implementation. Often I come up with solutions the coder has never considered, and I think that’s because I’m not limited by thinking about the code. Do one thing and do it well. I also contract out any programming (web apps, custom CMS work, etc), which is an entirely different beast. If you simply write CSS/HTML and a bit of Javascript, please do not call yourself a programmer, it’s an insult to the people I work with who have their Masters degrees in computer science.