5 Projects to Kickstart Your Web Design Career
Getting started as a web designer can be intimidating. It’s tough to land clients without a portfolio of web design work. But it’s also hard to build your portfolio without client projects to tackle. New designers can circumvent this frustrating cycle by building basic web design projects for themselves, their friends, and small businesses in their communities.
While there are many ways to get web design practice, there are a few website projects every beginner should try. Start by building a personal portfolio. Redesign a local business website. Hone your content marketing skills by building a niche blog. Then, collaborate on an open-source project.
These beginner-friendly website ideas will help you develop a range of skills and build a diverse portfolio. And once you knock out three of them, you’ll qualify for a Squarespace Circle membership—which gives you free access to discounts, extended trial periods, exclusive content, and an engaged community of fellow web designers and developers.
Build a personal portfolio
Every web designer needs a strong portfolio. Clients want evidence that you can build great websites and design beautiful digital experiences. They also need help finding you: by sharing your work online, you can market yourself to prospective web design clients.
To start, your portfolio needs a clear brand identity and a compelling body of work. Draw inspiration from effective portfolios, explore Squarespace’s portfolio templates, or build a website from scratch. Pick custom fonts, colors, and site styles that communicate who you are. Then, showcase the best web design projects you’ve built.
It may be tempting to flaunt your fanciest web design skills, but keep the focus on the work. Highlight the range of website projects you can tackle, and ensure clients can quickly find everything they need.
Then, look for other ways to add value. Tell your story with a descriptive “About” page that lists your achievements and builds trust with clients. Add a contact page, social media icons, and other ways to stay in touch. Follow SEO (search engine optimization) best practices, help clients schedule appointments online, and offer compelling web design packages.
This portfolio project is a great one to start with, because it’s low on stress and high on feedback. Since you’re working for yourself, you have wiggle room if you make a mistake or miss a deadline. You can also clearly evaluate your website project’s success: has your portfolio helped you land clients, or do you need to keep working on it?
Redesign a local business website
Now that you’ve built a website for yourself, try building one for someone else. Consider what industries you have experience with (service, retail, etc.) or want to learn more about. Then, find a local business that could use a new website.
As you research the market, look for businesses that haven’t made the most of responsive design, search engine optimization (SEO), accessibility principles, automated scheduling, or email marketing. These are great opportunities to get web design practice and add real value.
Pitch your services to the business, stating how you can improve their website and why those improvements matter. How will your work impact their bottom line? Once you land the client, ask them about their specific needs and goals. Then, write a clear proposal spelling out what you’ll do and when you’ll do it.
Communicate thoughtfully throughout the project. Check in, get approval, and ask for feedback along the way. As the project nears a close, establish a clear offboarding process.
Once you’ve finished the web design project, gather feedback—and get permission to use that feedback in your client testimonials. Ask the client what they’ve enjoyed, how you can improve, and whether they’d recommend you to other businesses. Couple these insights with analytics to evaluate your success and strengthen your marketing materials.
Create a niche blog or content platform
Building a blog or content platform is a great way to diversify your portfolio and develop new skills. Consider what you’re interested in: is there a topic you’re passionate about or eager to explore? Then, decide whether to start your own blog or partner with an existing creator. Either way, you’ll get exposure to copywriting, content marketing, audience engagement, and more.
Though content platforms range from niche blogs to full-blown media brands, they’re composed of the same key elements. You need an effective layout that showcases the content and captures the brand. You need an “About” page that introduces the platform. And if you’re starting from scratch, you need great content. Since content creators often publish on several platforms, you can also add social media icons, newsletter blocks, and video embeds where relevant.
As you build, create a style guide to keep branding consistent across every touchpoint and use a content calendar to set deadlines and schedule content.
This web design project is particularly exciting, because it involves content marketing. Your content needs an audience, and you can use SEO, email marketing, and social media to reach them. You can also look for creative ways to generate revenue, like by marketing subscription products, offering online courses, enabling advertising, or selling custom merch.
Use analytics to track your progress, noting how traffic, engagement, and conversions have changed since the start. And pay attention to what happens when you make specific tweaks: how do different design, content, and marketing updates affect your numbers?
Collaborate on an open-source project
Collaboration gives you the chance to try new things, get feedback, and learn from others. It also helps you hone your communication skills and pushes you to build bigger and faster than you could on your own.
Start by connecting with other web designers and developers. Join web design communities (like Circle), get active in web development forums, and attend relevant networking events. Other web designers can help you hone your craft, introduce you to collaborators, and recommend you to clients—helping you build skills and grow your network with every interaction.
Ask around about open-source projects you can work on, and keep an eye out for collaborative opportunities. Remember, you just need to be a contributor on three Squarespace sites to join Circle.
If your search comes up dry, get proactive. Consider what open-source websites you already use and love, and suggest a few improvements. Or look for early-stage website projects that could use small edits or upgrades.
Your contributions don’t have to be big to make an impact. By correcting typos, fixing small bugs, or offering new feature ideas, you can add real value to web design projects while sharpening your open-source development skills.
Start with a smaller web design project
Don’t let perfection stand in the way of progress. If these website project ideas sound too big, look for approachable alternatives.
Instead of building an entire portfolio, design a one-page website—like an event landing page or a social-media-friendly Bio Site. If you don’t feel comfortable pitching your services to strangers, ask a friend if they need help updating their personal or business website.
You can also get web development practice by enhancing existing websites. Help businesses book more clients by enabling online appointment scheduling. Work with educators or content creators to launch online courses. Or create compelling Email Campaigns that help brands reach more people and drive more sales.
These upgrades offer approachable ways to help clients grow their businesses—and they’ll also help you qualify for a Circle membership. To sign up, you need to contribute to at least three active Squarespace projects. Those projects can be full-blown websites or subscription products, like Acuity Scheduling, Digital Products, and Email Campaigns.
Benefits of building beginner web design projects
No matter what you end up making, working on beginner web design projects can help you build essential skills, valuable relationships, and a strong body of work.
Creating a personal portfolio will introduce you to basic web design tools, layouts, branding principles, and marketing tactics. Building business websites will get you comfortable pitching, managing, and offboarding clients. Creating blogs will expose you to content creation, strategy, and marketing. Working on open-source projects will give you feedback, networking opportunities, and more complex coding challenges.
Even smaller web design projects—like single-page websites and subscription upgrades—can help you develop client communication, project management, and strategic thinking skills.
Every project you tackle can strengthen your portfolio and help you grow your web design business. Along the way, you’ll also learn about yourself as a web designer. Pay attention to which projects, clients, and skills make your days most rewarding. These insights can help you define your web design niche and build a sustainable web design business.
Tips for success
As you build these beginner web design projects, keep the following best practices in mind:
Carefully manage your time
Excellent designers don’t just make great work—they deliver that work by or before deadline. This requires effective prioritization and careful time management. During this web design practice period, work your way up to juggling a few projects at once. Be realistic about how long it takes to accomplish different tasks, and experiment with outsourcing when appropriate or most efficient.
Ask for feedback
Asking for feedback is hard but important. At the end of each project, ask clients to weigh in on what you did well and what you could do better. Incorporate positive feedback into your client testimonials, and use negative feedback to strengthen your business. Once you qualify for a membership, you can also ask the Circle community for project feedback in the forum to ensure you’re delivering best-in-class work.
Stay up-to-date on trends, technologies, and best practices
The web design world is constantly changing. Stay at the top of your game by keeping up with industry trends, mastering new technologies, and following updated guidelines and best practices. Work to create projects that are inclusive, accessible, and responsive. And take advantage of cutting-edge ways to help clients reach their goals.
Building beginner web design projects will help you develop key skills, a strong portfolio, and confidence working with clients and collaborators. But don’t stop there. Once you’ve tackled portfolios, blogs, and business websites, look for other ways to boost your web design career. Proactively search for new skills to master, projects to build, and ways to grow as a web designer.
Want more?
Check out Squarespace Circle, Squarespace’s program for professional web designers, developers, digital entrepreneurs, and creatives. Along with exclusive content, discounts, and other perks, Circle brings professionals together from all across the globe to exchange advice while connecting with new clients and collaborators.
