Here at Folyo we asked real designers to help us write the web designer job description of their dreams.

The goal is for it to be a job description that empowers designers to do the best work of their career and help companies create an awesome user experience.

We think it’s a great starting point for a job ad or RFP, so without further ado here’s the Web Designer Job Description written with help of real designers:

Job Ad Title: Web Design Job for Designer Who Loves to Help Customers

Hi, I’m Bob. I run a small business from my home in Menifee, CA. We are currently hiring a web designer to help me create a better user experience for our customers on our website. We want to help customers get more value from our website, help prospects convert at a higher-rate, and do a better job of marketing ourselves to the world.

The pay is $90/hour or $30,000 for the total website redesign, and we’re open to working remotely so you can work from home or the library or wherever you have a quiet, calm environment, and a fast internet connection. The work will be fun, fresh and dynamic. You will be working directly for me and helping me with a mixture of design projects that have a direct effect on the company’s bottom line.

We’re not big on stress. So, while I will expect you to work efficiently and get things done, I focus on open communication and getting things done right the first go around. We use Slack and Asana to do our work and keep super flexible hours. We will work with your schedule to get a routine that works for you.

Overall, you will make decisions on things that no big stuffy company would ever allow you to do. You will be able to dictate the work that you choose do. Now, let’s take a closer peek at this role:

• Our website is currently on WordPress. That means you should be familiar with designing websites on WordPress and have at least a few WordPress websites in your portfolio. The site is up and running currently with an existing theme, so you won’t have to build the site from scratch, however you are welcome to start a new theme from scratch if you decide.
• Although you will mostly be working on self-directed projects, you also need to be the type person who gets joy out of getting things done. Every day, you will bang out a list of stuff.
• At first you will be on Zoom video calls a lot with me and even customers. So, you need to enjoying talking with people and giving/getting direction. A fast internet connection, and webcam is needed. You need to be a person who loves to deliver remarkable experiences to other people. You know, you need to be someone who feels good by making customers feel good.
• You need to nail down the details. You don’t need to race through work and get things done halfassed. It’s better if you to slow things down and get them done right. You need to be meticulous in your work. If you are shy or quiet (which actually sounds perfect) that is totally cool. We are looking for a good, fun person, who gets stuff done.

In short, your job will not only help me create a better website but help me create a better business. In addition to being a detailed person, you must follow systems and processes. In fact, just to prove that you are detailed oriented and can follow procedures, when you apply for this position in the subject line of the email you must include “YO FOLYO” in the subject line. Yep, that’s a little trick to sort out the people who blanket send their resume to anyone and everyone, from the folks who are truly interested in this position.

We’re looking to bring on a web designer as soon as possible, but I will spend the necessary time to find the best fit both in abilities and culturally. One thing that will give you a BIG leg up (but is optional) is to send a quick video along with your introduction email. In your video tell me why you think you’re perfect for this job and why you will rock this position. This is purely for us to get a sense of your personality. And if you decide not to send a video (that’s ok), please tell us why you chose not to send in a video.

Send your application along with a couple recent WordPress projects in your portfolio to: bob@yourcompany.com

Thank you and can’t wait to meet you!

You have permission to copy and modify this job for your own purposes. (And if you’re looking to hire a great web designer, we’d love to help.)

How to Customize Your Web Designer Job Description Further (and Make it Even More Awesome)

To make the above job description truly unique to your company, here are few tips you can use:

✅ Introduce yourself

A nice friendly introduction that’s a few lines long is a great way to start your web designer job description.

Example: Hi! I’m David. I run FeedMeow, a small 3-person startup based out of San Francisco. We’re one coder, one biz dev guy, and one cat food expert. Our app lets you order great-tasting, healthy cat food online and then monitor how much food your cat eats throughout the week via a sleek web app.

✅ Answer the tough questions in your web designer job description

Add the reasoning behind why you’re hiring in the first place. That’s the most important thing a professional can learn about you. It might take some soul-searching but ask yourself these questions in your web designer job description:

• Where is your company lacking?
• How will you measure success?
• What will change for you as a result of a successful project?
• How could your customers be better served?
• Who are your customers and what do you want to do for them?
• Who makes decisions?
• What requirements must be met?

Example: It all started about 6 months ago when Ben (our coder) started blogging about cat nutrition on his blog, UCannotHazCheezburger. Pretty soon all his friends were asking him for cat nutrition advice, and he realized that cat lover’s needs were not being met by the corrupt cat food industry. So we decided to do something about it, and our app is now used by more than 3,000 cat lovers throughout the country. Rampant cat obesity is an epidemic that is endangering the poor critters’ health. The NICH (National Institute for Cat Health) estimates that by 2020, half of US cats will be overweight, costing US taxpayers more than $2 trillion annually in veterinarian costs.

We’re looking for someone to help us design our upcoming iPhone app. We’ve noticed a lot of people are using the site from their mobile phones, so we decided it was time to build a mobile app. The app will let you order cat food on the go, and even check-in at specific cat food places to get special discounts and win badges. So you could say it combines social commerce, geolocalisation, and gamification. And cats.

✅ Keep it brief

This is the main thing to remember. Brevity is key. The best people are busy. Shaving words off of your web designer job description means less work for them and a clearer look at your company. Don’t worry about forgetting something, instead rely on questions to uncover anything you left out.

❌ Don’t prescribe a solution

You’re hiring an outside perspective. That’s means if you provide the solution, you’re not getting what you pay for. You want to access expert thinking on your project more than anything else. So stick to talking about the challenges and goals of your project. This leaves you open to great solutions. “Don’t hire a dog, and then bark yourself – David Ogilvy”

✅ Provide a timeframe

Give a date and more importantly, the reasoning behind this date in your web designer job description.

Example: We’re hoping to launch the app in time for Christmas sales, so we really want to get it done in the next month or so.

❌ But don’t define the timeline

It’s not your job to lay out a complete timeline for the job or project. Again this is part of what you will be paying an expert to do for you. Deliverable due dates for the project should be created later by the designer once they build their process around your targets.

✅ Ask for references

Talking to people that have hired this person or team is a great way to get unfiltered thoughts on working with them.

❌ Don’t ask for spec work

If you ask someone to create work for you without full understanding your goals or constraints, they’re very likely to get the solution wrong. This means you don’t get an accurate look at what they can do. The person or team you hire should begin with a discovery phase and deep understanding of your problems.

✅ Create a paid test project

Test project, unlike spec work, are a great idea. You get to test-drive working together in a real way. Things like personality, style, and communication are a big factor in successfully working together — so bite a tiny piece of the project off together before you do the whole thing. You can even give the same test project to multiple candidates and compare the results. If that’s something you want to do, include it in your web designer job description.

✅ Allow for questions and conversations

Giving people an open communication channel is huge. It creates the best applications and proposals because you allow potential partners to learn about you in a natural way. You’re going to be working together for years. Enjoy each others company, and make sure you’re able to communicate clearly and openly in your web designer job description.

❌ Don’t invite the whole world

You don’t want to get into a deep conversation with more than 5 people. More than 5 conversations simply takes too much time. So be quick on the filtering. Give people a chance, but if they don’t improve, move on to the next applicant.

✅ Share your budget

To truly provide the best solution, a designer needs to know they have an accurate look at your price. This helps them determine what’s possible. It will allow them to develop a custom solution that’s best for your situation. Don’t hide it!

And that’s it! I hope this guide helps you accomplish amazing things with your hires. If you have a job or project you need help with make sure you check out Folyo, it’ll save you a ton of time and headaches.

And that’s it, you’re done!

Send me your web designer job description if you want help tailoring it further. I’m happy to help.