Every second, approximately three new webpages are created. The majority of the human population now has ready access to the internet, and virtually every business, organization and group is working to ensure that they have an up-to-date, memorable, and accessible web presence. To do this, they need to hire creative and technical experts, Web Designers, User Interface Designers, and User Experience Designers to ensure their pages look and feel as good as possible. These creative professionals will need to learn the principles of design and composition, and they will need to account for the ways in which clients utilize interactive elements of a webpage. Some of them may need to know how to code, and others may need to learn how to use dedicated design software. To help students find the right path, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best options available to students looking to become certified in some or all aspects of web design.
Noble Desktop: Web Design Certificate Program
Key Information: This comprehensive web design certificate program is offered in-person at Noble’s Manhattan campus or online in a live digital classroom. The course is available in full-time sessions lasting six weeks or part-time sessions lasting five months. All students enrolled in the program will receive one-on-one career mentoring sessions and can retake the class for free within one year.
Students interested in a well-rounded, comprehensive training program should consider Noble Desktop’s Web Design Certificate program. This program covers all of the major aspects of web design and aims to teach students the skills they will need to find work on virtually any sized design project. The course covers web design principles and basic coding skills that designers must know how to work with if they aim to work as freelancers or at small design studios. In addition, students will learn how to use industry-standard tools for web design, including Figma and Photoshop, and they will learn how to design webpages using the content management system WordPress, which is currently the most popular CMS available (nearly 40% of all webpages use WordPress to one degree or another).
Students will start by learning how to use Figma to design and prototype user interfaces for webpages. This process involves mapping out and anticipating what a webpage will look like once it is programmed, including basic interactive functionalities. Students will learn best practices for designing interfaces and how to collaborate with one another on projects using tools like Figma. Then, students will learn the basic principles of computer programming to bring their designs to life. Students will learn to code in HTML/CSS and JavaScript, letting them design basic webpages and add important functionalities and interactive elements to their designs. Once students are comfortable with basic coding skills, they will learn to use web design efficiency tools like Flex, Bootstrap, and Grid. The course concludes with training in using WordPress to design webpages using WordPress templates and how to use your HTML/CSS knowledge to build your own templates on the platform.
This is a career-focused training program, and students can enroll to take the class onsite at Noble Desktop’s Manhattan campus or in live online classrooms. Students can attend full-time or part-time, giving extra options for making the class fit your schedule. These are career-focused classes, and no matter what modality you opt for, you’ll get live instruction in practical web design skills from Noble’s experienced professional instructors. Students will work on practical case studies and get hands-on experience designing and programming working web applications. Students will have a dedicated web design and user interface portfolio seminar during which they will take their work and compile it for their job applications. All students enrolled in the program will receive one-on-one career mentorship to help them prepare for work in web design. In addition, everyone who enrolls in the course can retake the certificate program for free within one year, giving them even more opportunities to perfect their web design skills.
Noble Desktop: UX & UI Design Certificate Program
Key Information: This professional certificate course is available either in person at Noble’s Manhattan campus or in a live online classroom. The course runs for 24 weeks of part-time study, with full-time training options also available. Students who take this course will receive professional development assistance, one-on-one career mentorship and the option to retake the course again for free within one year.
Students interested in learning user interface design but not interested in learning to code may want to consider enrolling in a course like Noble Desktop’s UX & UI Design Certificate program. This course teaches students how to work with tools like Figma to create prototype web applications and how to test those applications to understand user behavior and respond to those findings. Since webpages are interactive, designers must account for how users encounter and engage with the applications they design. In addition, UX Designers are responsible for ensuring that a web application is easy to use, accessible and navigable on any device since more and more people regularly use phones and tablets for essential daily tasks (like paying bills or scheduling appointments). Noble’s UX & UI Design Certificate is a professional introduction to these design issues.
The course focuses primarily on teaching students the best practices for designing user experiences, building prototype webpages and the research skills required to garner usable feedback from user testing. Students will learn various user testing methods, including how to run focus groups, conduct interviews and design A/B testing practices. Then, students will learn how to take the user feedback they receive and communicate that feedback to stakeholders in an actionable and productive way for the design process. To achieve this, students will learn how to use Figma, one of the most popular UI design tools on the market, to create vibrant and evocative user interfaces and convert those designs into working prototypes that can be easily tested.
This is a career-focused training program, so all the lessons that students learn will involve practical, hands-on training in skills they can expect to use as professional UX or UI Designers. This course can be taken onsite at Noble Desktop’s Manhattan campus or in a live, digital classroom. Full-time and part-time training options are available, but regardless of how you enroll in the class, you’ll still receive detailed, expert instruction in real-time from Noble’s professional UX/UI design instructors. Students enrolled in the course will receive access to important career development services, including portfolio-building workshops and one-on-one career mentorship. Students will also have the option to retake the course within one year, giving them even more chances to practice UX/UI design while honing their professional skills.
General Assembly: User Experience Design Immersive
Key Information: This professional UX design immersive course is offered in-person at General Assembly’s New York campus or in live online classrooms. The program is taught full-time and runs for approximately three months. Students enrolled in the immersive certificate program will benefit from one-on-one mentoring sessions and group networking opportunities.
General Assembly offers a comprehensive, career-focused User Experience Design Immersive class for students looking to learn practical web design skills without learning how to code. The course begins with UX and UI design fundamentals instruction, giving students a foundation to build their practical design skills. Then students will practice building, testing and iterating upon user interfaces to practice creating prototypes and responding to user feedback. Then, students will work with real-world case studies and learn how UX and UI Designers work with other professional designers as part of a product team. The goal of this class is to prepare students for a new job, and the class concludes with a career planning seminar.
This course is taught in person and in live online classrooms, allowing students to enroll in the course structure that best suits their needs. Since this is a professional certificate program, all of the lessons are aimed at giving students the tools that they need to find work in the field of UX and UI design and by the end of the program, students will have a collection of practical sample prototypes and designs they can add to their professional portfolio. Students enrolled in this course will also receive personalized career coaching and important networking opportunities facilitated through GA private events.
Google: Google UX Design Professional Certificate
Key Information: Google offers an asynchronous, online UX design certificate program that collects over two hundred hours of course material. Google anticipates that students will be able to complete this program in about six months though individuals can move at their own pace. Students enrolled in this class will have access to the career services offered through the Coursera platform.
Offered through the Coursera online learning platform, Google offers the Google UX Design Professional Certificate, an on-demand training program built by Google’s expert UX Designers. The course offers step-by-step instruction in the user experience design process, from foundational principles and the early brainstorming process through user testing and wireframing work, culminating in lessons to prepare a UX design project for completion. The course concludes with a structured introduction to responsive design. The class material ends with a project in which students design a UX for social good and begin preparing their job materials. By the end of the program, students will have produced three practical UX design prototypes (for a mobile application, a responsive website and a multiplatform experience) that they can add to their professional portfolio.
This program is fully online and asynchronous, meaning that students can learn at their own pace and engage with the material when it is most convenient. This seven-course series program includes over 230 hours of course content. While students are free to move at their own pace, Google anticipates that students working ten hours a week should complete the course in about six months. This is a career-focused training program aiming to provide students with the tools and practical skills necessary to find work in the field of UX design. All students enrolled in the course will receive access to Coursera’s career service center, which includes resume review and interview preparation workshops.
eCornell: Web Design and Development Certificate
Key Information: This part-time, live online certificate program covers basic programming knowledge and the foundations of user experience design. The program lasts approximately three months, and students will be asked to work about ten hours per week. Students who complete the course will receive a certificate of completion from Cornell University.
Cornell University offers a wide range of online, part-time certificate programs for students looking to expand their professional skills outside the classroom, including their Web Design and Development Certificate program. In this course, students will learn the basics of front end web development, learning how to code in HTML/CSS, and they will get an introduction to JavaScript, both for creating interactive interface elements and for designing user experiences. Students will also learn the basics of data collection and the process of writing and programming forms that can be used to gather and catalog information. An additional aim of this course is to provide students with a practical understanding of HTTP and web requests, giving students an understanding of the technical side of web design and the kinds of limitations that they will have when building a web application.
This program is offered through Cornell University and is taught by members of the computer and information science department, ensuring that students will receive top-quality training. The program is fully online, though there are live classroom meetings. The program lasts for three months, and students will be expected to work for about ten hours a week as part of the course. Students enrolled in this program will receive a certificate of completion from Cornell University. The program provides hands-on career skills training that they can take with them onto the job market. In addition, students’ instruction will count towards over sixty hours of professional development training for the purposes of receiving or renewing professional certification training.
Nielsen Norman Group: UX Certification
Key Information: This industry-recognized certification provider combines formal professional training classes and certification exams. Students will enroll in between five and fifteen one-day training sessions of their choosing and complete a skills exam at the conclusion of each. NNG offers a wide range of courses and specializations for students to find the training regime that fits their needs.
The Nielsen Norman Group is one of the leading providers of professional certifications in the field of web design and user interface design. They offer a robust set of options for students looking to receive a UX Certification, allowing them to narrow down their specialization as designers or cover a wide range of different skills. Students can create their own curriculum as they enroll in any of the more than fifty one-day classes that NNG teaches. These courses range from basic research skills like data analytics training to practical management skills like design trade-offs and decision-making. Once students complete the one-day course, they will have thirty days to complete a formal skills exam and receive credit for completing the program. Each of these courses covers a specific area of the UX design process, allowing students to learn the skills they feel will benefit them the most in their professional lives.
Students will have a few different options for receiving certification. NNG offers a basic certification for students completing five courses and passing the associated exams. They also offer a master's certification for students who complete fifteen exams. NNG divides its courses into three categories: Interaction, Management, and Research. Students who complete all five (or fifteen) courses within a specific subcategory can receive a specialization certification. While the time it takes to complete the program will depend on the number of courses that a student takes, all of the classes run for between one and two days, and students who complete the classes will have thirty days (and three attempts) to complete the one-hour, thirty question exams.
CIW: CIW Web and Mobile Design Professional Certification
Key Information: CIW professional certification is a vendor-neutral, industry-recognized certification program for IT and web design professionals. This certification program consists of seven individual certification exams that cover skills including HTML/CSS, data analytics, and user interface design. CIW offers paid study material and instructor-led courses for students looking to prepare for exams.
Certified Internet Web Professionals (CIW) is one of the world's most widely recognized and respected vendor-neutral web development and IT certification providers. Among the certifications they offer is their CIW Web and Mobile Design Professional Certification, which covers all of the major skills that professional Web Designers may be expected to know, including web design, social media, e-commerce, and data analysis. This certification program will test students’ knowledge of HTML/CSS, UI design, mobile application design, data analytics and e-commerce, with specific exams dedicated to each major subject. The whole of the program consists of seven professional skill exams that students will be required to complete.
Each exam varies in length and focus, but they all award individual certifications on top of the larger program certification. These exams last under two hours and consist of fifty or more multiple-choice questions. Students are free to complete the exams at their own pace, and they can be completed in any order. For each exam, CIW offers students the option to purchase self-study materials, instructor-led study content or simply to take the exam. Passing scores vary from one exam to another. Unlike many certification exams, CIW certifications do not expire.
HeadTrix, Inc: Web Design Certificate
Key Information: HeadTrix, Inc’s Web Design Certificate program is a focused training track covering web design's creative and technical sides. The program comprises six one-to-two-day training sessions in Photoshop, Dreamweaver, HTML/CSS, and WordPress. Discounts are available for students who register in all six classes simultaneously, and one-on-one training sessions are available (at additional cost).
HeadTrix, Inc. offers detailed creative user interface and web design training in their Web Design Certificate program. This track combines foundational user interface design skills with practical training in major design applications and platforms. Students will learn how to use Photoshop to design web layouts and create assets for web applications. Then, they will learn the basics of HTML/CSS and Adobe Dreamweaver to turn their theoretical designs into functioning web applications. The main section of the class concludes with lessons on using the WordPress platform to help ease and streamline the design and development process. Once students complete this part of the course, they can complete a single elective training session, covering their choice of Adobe Animate, SEO best practices or social media marketing, letting them round out their training as they best see fit.
HeadTrix’s Web Design Certificate program allows students to complete the six required courses (five set courses and one elective) at their own pace. Most classes are two-day training, and individualized options are available for students who need to work on a specific schedule. HeadTrix offers a discount tuition discount for students who enroll in all six courses at once, and they offer further discounts for students who have already completed the training course before enrolling in the larger program. Courses are available online or in-person, and HeadTrix also provides corporate and one-on-one training sessions for students looking for alternative ways to meet the certificate requirements.
Thinkful: UX/UI Design Bootcamp
Key Information: This comprehensive, career-focused certificate program offers flexible instruction in full-time live online classes or part-time asynchronous training. Regardless of modality, the course will take students about six months to complete, and all students enrolled in the program can receive personalized career mentorship assistance from live instructors.
Thinkful’s UX/UI Design Bootcamp provides students with a flexible, comprehensive way to learn the ins and outs of user interface design online. This course aims to provide students with a foundational knowledge of UX and UI design principles and guide them through hands-on lessons in building, testing, iterating and launching web applications. This course will provide students with experience in the creative and practical aspects of planning and building a web application, including learning how to conduct user research and take the responses back to invested stakeholders. Students will learn these skills by designing and building their own web applications that they will eventually be able to use as part of their job application portfolio.
Thinkful offers two different modalities for their UX/UI Design Bootcamp. Students can enroll in a full-time, live online training program or a part-time, self-paced online course. The full-time program lasts five months and runs approximately fifty hours per week. The part-time program allows students to work at their own pace, but Thinkful expects the program to take about six months to complete. Both training options give students access to one-on-one career mentorship sessions and other career service options. Thinkful also offers a tuition refund guarantee for students who meet certain requirements and aren’t able to find work in the field.
BrainStation: Web Development Course
Key Information: This part-time professional web development training program is offered to students nationwide through live online scheduling options. The course meets once a week for approximately three hours, and the program lasts for eight weeks. At the conclusion of the course, students will have developed a collection of practical web design samples that they can add to their professional portfolios.
Students looking to prioritize their technical web design training may want to consider a course like BrainStation’s Web Development Course. This program aims to provide students with professional training in HTML/CSS and JavaScript, emphasizing how these languages can be used to build responsive designs and layouts. Students will learn practical coding skills, including introductory training in writing and debugging computer code and how to use industry-standard programming tools like Visual Studio Code, Git, and Emmit. This course provides students with comprehensive web development training, and students will leave the course having designed a collection of working web applications that they can add to their professional portfolio.
This program is offered as a live online training program. Students who enroll in it will be able to interact directly with their colleagues and instructors as they learn web development skills. The program runs on a part-time schedule, with students meeting in digital classrooms for about three hours once a week for eight weeks. Students who complete the program will receive a professional certificate of completion signaling their formal web development training, and they will be prepared to start applying for entry-level Web Developer jobs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Difference between a Certificate and a Certification?
Students unfamiliar with the inner workings of professional accreditation services may be surprised to learn that certificates and certifications aren’t the same. While they both demonstrate a student’s proficiency in web design, students go about earning them in very different ways. Certificates are awarded to students who pass skill exams written and proctored by industry-recognized vendors or first-party publishers. These exams test students’ existing knowledge and proficiencies, making them ideal for candidates who already have formal or on the job training. Since these are proficiency exams, they don’t usually provide students with skill instruction, but many do provide students with free or paid study materials. Many certifications expire over time, requiring professionals to retake the most recent exam version to stay current.
Certificates are awarded to students who complete industry-recognized training programs and function like diplomas. Students enrolled in these programs will receive focused web design training, making them ideal for students who don’t have a history in the field and needing more experience to prepare for the job market. These training programs are longer and more expensive than certification exams because certification exams test students on the knowledge that they have already invested time and resources to learn. Certificate programs provide students with that training and demonstrate to employers that students are ready to start working on professional projects. Certificates also don’t tend to expire.
What Method of Becoming Certified Should I Pursue?
Students who have committed to becoming certified in web design must consider which method of becoming certified if best for them. For the most part, the answer will depend on how confident you are in your existing web design skills. If you have a degree in web design, formal training or on-the-job experience, you will most likely benefit from completing a certification exam since you already have substantial training. Certification exams may also be ideal for students looking to demonstrate their specialized skills in a specific tool or element of web design. If you are new to the field or you only have a tangential experience, you may wish to consider enrolling in a certificate-granting program. These courses provide students with the practical skills and training they need to find work which is one of the primary reasons to become certified in the first place.
Do I Need to be Certified to Find a Job as a Web Designer?
For almost all web design job openings, the answer is no. You won’t need to become certified. While some jobs may require it, most web design positions will not have a formal requirement that applicants possess a specific certification. However, becoming certified is a good way to help set your job application apart from your competition in the eyes of prospective employers. Passing a certification exam or completing a certificate program signals to employers that you have the necessary skills to start working on projects immediately. Additionally, most certificate programs offer students hands-on, experiential training meaning that students will leave the program with examples of their work that they can use to strengthen their applications.
Which Certificate Program is Right for Me?
Students who choose to enroll in a certificate program may find themselves overwhelmed with the number of different options available to them. There are a wide variety of different learning modalities available, and students should take the time and energy to find the right program for them. Students can find courses taught in-person or online, and their online courses can be live instruction classes, asynchronous modules or a hybrid of the two. Each of these modalities shapes the way students learn; therefore, students should consider their own learning preferences and goals before picking a course.
Which is Better: In-Person or Online Learning
Over the last few years, online learning has developed rapidly. Many training providers now offer online learning courses comparable to the depth of study offered in their in-person courses. This makes the question of whether you learn in-person or online less of an easy choice, especially for students looking for something specific in their web design training.
Many students still prefer in-person courses because they find it beneficial to be in the same physical location as their instructor and classmates. The classroom space is designed to keep students’ attention focused on their instructors and lessons, which can be valuable for many students. Students also tend to prefer asking their instructors questions directly and receiving live feedback easily. In addition, working in a classroom can make collaboration with classmates much easier, providing students with valuable experience and networking opportunities. The drawback to these classes is that students can only attend the courses located in the areas they can commute to, which can be restrictive for students who don’t live near a major city. Some students may find it difficult to find a training course that fits their needs in their immediate area.
Online training programs address this by letting students learn from anywhere in the country, provided they have an internet connection. This means that students will have the flexibility to find the program that best suits their needs and can enroll in that course regardless of where they live. In addition, many students find learning web design skills easier when working on their personal computers rather than lab equipment. Students who need even more flexibility can enroll in asynchronous or hybrid classes. The drawback to these courses is that students need to be more self-reliant to keep up with the work and stay motivated, especially if enrolled in an on-demand course. Also, while it won’t impact all students, some students find that online learning can be slightly harder to remain motivated because they feel distant from their classmates and miss the social atmosphere of a classroom.
Which is Better: Live Online, Asynchronous, or Hybrid
Students who choose to enroll in online classes will then need to decide whether they want to enroll in a live online class, an on-demand asynchronous class or a course that is a hybrid of the two. Live classes mirror the feeling of an in-person class and are led by live instructors teaching material in real time over a telecommunications platform like Zoom. These courses also often included guided hands-on exercises. On-demand classes are usually built of recorded video material and pre-planned modules that students can move through at their own pace. Hybrid courses combine the two formats, though many lean heavily towards asynchronous training.
Asynchronous courses are best suited for students who need maximum flexibility in their schedules and are only hoping to learn introductory-level material. These courses let students learn at their own pace, giving them control over when and where they engage with their study materials, which can be vitally important for students who can’t dedicate regularly scheduled time to their lessons. These courses also let students dedicate themselves to spending a lot of time on individual lessons and moving through material quickly. However, without a live instructor, it can be difficult to find answers to questions or concerns if problems and difficulties arise during the course of training. Students may also find it harder to stay motivated when they have to constantly spend more time solving problems and getting clarification on the material than working with their lessons. For web design, it can also be difficult to practice your craft without receiving feedback on your work (and learning UX design is next to impossible without a steady flow of user feedback). Another issue is that even the most reputable and professional training providers may be unable to keep their material up to date on the latest developments in web design tools and applications, so students will have to work to ensure that the material they are working with isn’t dated.
Live online training addresses most of these concerns by placing students in direct contact with a professional educator teaching the classes in real-time. Students can ask questions, receive important feedback on their work, and be assured that the material they are working with is current. These courses allow students to work with other web design students, sharing their work and providing feedback. The courses tend to be more expensive than on-demand classes, but this is weighted by the benefits students can receive from working alongside professional instructors. Unless flexibility in scheduling is the only important factor in what course you want to enroll in, it is strongly recommended that you prioritize live training to get the most out of your online web design certificate training.