Thanks for sharing! Im currently building out my web design/ development business after not being able to land a job for 7 months. Love the roadmap you gave, it let me know I'm on the right path
Thank you so much for this video. I'm a full-time housewife, learning UX ui design on the side, After spending, 2 years of learning, and building 2 case studies, I found this video so so helpful, hopeful, I got into ux ui design, just like how you got into software engineering, but plot twist, I started liking user research, and now I have developed interest for design as well. I only worked on mobile real estate so far, and now I'm stepping into website designing for my portfolio. I loved your entire journey and story; not only it's relatable, but also it's very clear. Your breakdown of the roadmap, especially what is of immediate value and what can be upskilled in the future, was truly like solving all of my fears and thoughts in one go. thanks so much and all the best :)
yay omg I loved reading all of this and loved hearing your story 🥹 I'm so glad my video could help validate your thoughts and I'm glad the roadmap was helpful ! Wishing you the best of luck in your journey, I'll be cheering you on 👏👏
I’m glad I discovered your account! Love what you share and am learning a lot. I’m also planning to switch career paths and your journey and designs have been inspiring 💗
I've been working as a software engineer, and I finally enrolled in an online UI/UX design course. When you mentioned working on something behind the scenes besides front-end, I totally relate I used to feel the same way and hated it. I thought I was the only one! Hopefully, my transition will be smooth and I'll land a job that's both easier and more enjoyable for me. Thanks for sharing!
I hope it will be a smooth transition too! It's definitely not easy working a full time job and studying for another career path in your free time, but if you hold the vision and don't give up, eventually you'll get there. You got this! good luck 😊
hi Jen, i am also a cse student and i am doing it cuz it sounds "safe". when i came across your channel, i felt oddly seen. so thank you for your videos :)
This video really resonates with me. I’ve been a corporate software engineer (front end) for 10 years too and I’ve reached the point where I’m no longer enjoying it - have probably not enjoyed it for around 3 years in all honesty. I hate the constant churn of technologies and feeling like you’ve constantly got to keep up with the latest trend in order to stay relevant. I might be wrong but it feels like design is more about honing your craft and solving user problems instead of a constant battle with technology.
yes! I agree with this so much, it does feel like design is more about solving problems and coming up with creative solutions, while development is more about coding the designs someone else came up with, at least with front-end development. When I was in corporate I wasn't working on web development, we had our own enterprise software that I was working on, so as the years went by using this one specific technology, I felt like I was obsoleting myself since I wasn't keeping up with any of the new technologies that were coming out. and it was just too much work to study those new technologies in my free time, especially since it wasn't particularly interesting to me.
Hi jon webb. I love your story of how you transitioned from software engineering to web design because that's the journey I'm currently on right now. Started learning UI/UX Design two weeks after high school and then got into college to study software engineering. I feel like you're telling my story...❤😂
@@jenwebbcreates Yeah so far it's been an incredible journey. Just recently I got my first job as a UI/UX Designer so basically I'm occupied with school and work and i kinda love the journey...😅💻
Thank you for sharing these insights and the roadmap. I am a freelance web designer and Framer developer with over a year of experience. I'm still learning new things about design and freelancing every day. I feel like the last step, "marketing yourself as a designer," is especially important. If you have any details or information about it, please let us know, as it is a consistent and practical approach and one of the most important steps to getting more clients.
the way I've been marketing myself is through this UA-cam channel! I should really step it up and post more content on social media and youtube but I just don't have time
@@jenwebbcreates That’s awesome, thank you for sharing! Marketing yourself through your UA-cam channel is such a smart move. I’ve been using LinkedIn and Twitter to market my services, and I recently joined Contra to connect with more clients.
I’m currently in a front end bootcamp and almost finished! I’ve been scared as the job postings for entry level are scary but this gives me peace in seeing that I can at least work for my self! Thank you
Haha, apparently I'm on the same step as you, and kinda the same background, same undercharge (still a little bit). Just older XD Thanks!, this was helpful!
I am a CS student who is more interested in design part of tech, So i started doing UI/UX couple of months ago along with my Development, and then after some months i got my first internship as a Product designer for a small startup, the pay isnt much great but i am learning and collaborating with them, work is all remote. Next i want to start utilising these design skills with my web development skills.
whaaat that's awful ! I will say that all my html/css myspace & neopets ventures were very much under the radar, I hid it from my parents because they were very strict 😆
I also went to Uni from 2008 to 2013, I also worked as a Front-end (for 5 years) and later started learning UX, UI, and mostly Design. I'm also starting again as a Freelance Web Designer this year, because someone came to me for some work... I was also trying to get into something corporate as a UX or UI at the beginning of the year when this project came, then another.
@@jenwebbcreates I had my first 5 yrs corporate job as Front-end, then I tried some free-lancing (during the pandemic), I even took a "Product Design" course in London after. But when applying (last year in 2023) I think it was the worst time to apply to jobs! I mean, LinkedIn took out the "applicantions number" because it was terrible to see But I also have to admit I didn't even try this year when some free-lancing started coming. But it was also all coincidential, so I still have to work in my marketing from now on! But I'll have 2 new (recent most importantly) websites and case studies to show, and as you said it is all about telling everyone! and showing your work! And I'm all up to!
@@simoncallelaverde thanks for sharing! Yeah it does seem like that was a bad time to be looking for work, I'm glad you've been getting some freelancing work though! good luck with everything 😊
I'm curious as to why not WordPress? I'm actually starting this same journey using WordPress as my main, and elementor as my builder of choice and cricoblock plugins for most of the under the hood things. Care to shed light on your stance?
I think people who just enter the market have newer and more modern tools to build websites on. I have been on WordPress since 2008 and running my business since 2013 and only did Wordpress until 2022 and easily made 6 figures a year so it can be done. But at some point its good to work with other platforms after you get your first one down
yes exactly what @series5tech said. I think if you're already using Wordpress and have experience with it, that's great. But I was more so talking to people just getting started in web design.
I can't find the exact classes I took since I took them several years ago but they were similar to the comprehensive classes you can find on Udemy: www.udemy.com/courses/search/?q=ui+ux+design&src=sac&kw=ui+ux
That's really hard , l tried this but failed at the end because there are in the freelancer work a lot of competition, very hard to appear and earn one client , it is easy to talk about freelancer work but when it come to action and work to earn clients it's really hard
Thanks for sharing your journey, I'm stuck now between web development and web design i dont to let go of my programming skills i know how to make a small full stack web app and i know how to design a good website Now I'm stuck on what career I should go to I love designing and coding I think im on fit on front end web development What website builder do you recommend for me?
If you like both development and design maybe you can work at a startup or something similar where you can wear both hats. I think any website builder I mentioned would be good (Squarespace, framer, webflow) but they mostly won't involve coding, unless you're doing a lot of custom styling and javascript.
Did you change your name to Webb, or is that just a coincidence? "Jen Webb" generate web design? Jen Webb, web designer? Has a nice ring to it! Thanks for the video!
too many to remember 😅 I took a few different ones on Udemy a while ago but I don't know the exact classes because I don't have access to that account anymore, since it was through my work. There are probably lots of better ones out there now that teach how to use figma, principles of UX/UI design, etc: www.udemy.com/courses/search/?src=ukw&q=web+design by the way you can always get Udemy courses at the lower cost, if you see it's only offered at the higher cost just clear your cache or try in an incognito browser. The web design course that I took most recently was the one I mentioned in the video: ilovecreatives.com/squarespace-design-course it is pricey compared to the classes you can take on Udemy though so I'd recommend starting there first or even just youtube videos. There are a few on Skillshare that I've taken but those are focused more on graphic design.
Hi, I am 38 years old and have been self-employed for 7 years, specializing in high-converting landing pages and short video ads. I face a lot of competition and want to start my own SOLO agency. Based on your experience, which of these skills do you think will be most valuable to me and my clients in the future? Your advice would be greatly appreciated and would help me avoid a distracted career path. -Landing page deign & building - Funnel Building - Ad Creative "Video & Static Ads" The goal is to have a job that is not too stressful due to the age factor and also can be done with just a laptop Thank you, 🙏 and sorry for the long message.
it sounds like you have way more experience than I do, so I'm not sure I'm the best person to offer advice! I've only been fully self employed for the past year and I'm still improving my skills in high-converting landing pages. Personally I think of the three things you mentioned, ad creative seems a bit separate from the other two, and I know how time-consuming video creation can be, so that might be the first thing I would drop if it were me.
Thanks for the video. I want to know , since many people mentions using Figma, is it really important. To design in Figma and then build on your platform of choice, Squarespace/Wordpress., etc. Why not just start building/Deigning on the platform and skip Figma. It sounds like double work. Like doing a summary of what you must study and then start studying. Why not just start studying.😊 It makes me feel that maybe Figma is mainly ro make you look important and a bit different to other designers when pitching and meeting with clients. You can let me know. Maybe Figma is more than that. I don't mind using things if ot really helps, but not. If it's actually unnecessary step. That without it same results will still be met.
it's a lot easier and more efficient to iterate on designs and make changes and compare different versions in figma, than in the website building platform. In fact you can't compare side by side in the website building platform because there's only one version. One of the key concepts of design is to iterate (copy/paste, make changes) until you arrive at something you like. if you just go with the first version you make in the website platform, it's not going to be great. plus there's the added collaboration feature in figma - so you can get quick feedback from the client directly on the wireframes before you spend more time making a final polished design. it's much easier and quicker to change around sketches and wireframes than a polished design.
Hey jen , really nice video ! I was wondering if I could help you with more Quality Editing in your videos and also make a highly engaging Thumbnail and also help you with the overall youtube strategy and growth ! Pls let me know what do you think ?
you can see my pinterest boards here: www.pinterest.com/jenwebbcreates1 I don't have the notion available as a template but I think I'll make a future video breaking down how to make your own 😊 thanks for the idea!
Ahhh you just brought back many nostalgic memories with the MySpace days. Those really were the wild west days of the internet.
it really was the wild west, I miss that time
Love your idea of using notion to create databases of web elements that inspire you. Will be incorporating that into my workflow as well ❤
This was fantastic! Organized, straight to the point and useful! Have no doubt you're a successful designer :)
I always laugh when someone brings up Neopets. This was LIFE for a generation of kids back in 2000's!
YES it was haha
Yessss 🙌🏽🙌🏽
Woow !! You are my OG !! I also dis the exact same thing
Thanks for sharing! Im currently building out my web design/ development business after not being able to land a job for 7 months. Love the roadmap you gave, it let me know I'm on the right path
awesome I'm glad it helped 😊good luck!!
Thank you so much for this video. I'm a full-time housewife, learning UX ui design on the side, After spending, 2 years of learning, and building 2 case studies, I found this video so so helpful, hopeful, I got into ux ui design, just like how you got into software engineering, but plot twist, I started liking user research, and now I have developed interest for design as well. I only worked on mobile real estate so far, and now I'm stepping into website designing for my portfolio. I loved your entire journey and story; not only it's relatable, but also it's very clear. Your breakdown of the roadmap, especially what is of immediate value and what can be upskilled in the future, was truly like solving all of my fears and thoughts in one go. thanks so much and all the best :)
yay omg I loved reading all of this and loved hearing your story 🥹 I'm so glad my video could help validate your thoughts and I'm glad the roadmap was helpful ! Wishing you the best of luck in your journey, I'll be cheering you on 👏👏
I’m glad I discovered your account! Love what you share and am learning a lot. I’m also planning to switch career paths and your journey and designs have been inspiring 💗
ah that's so great! good luck with your career-switch journey 😊
I've been working as a software engineer, and I finally enrolled in an online UI/UX design course. When you mentioned working on something behind the scenes besides front-end, I totally relate I used to feel the same way and hated it. I thought I was the only one! Hopefully, my transition will be smooth and I'll land a job that's both easier and more enjoyable for me. Thanks for sharing!
I hope it will be a smooth transition too! It's definitely not easy working a full time job and studying for another career path in your free time, but if you hold the vision and don't give up, eventually you'll get there. You got this! good luck 😊
hi Jen, i am also a cse student and i am doing it cuz it sounds "safe". when i came across your channel, i felt oddly seen. so thank you for your videos :)
aw I'm so glad 😊
This video really resonates with me. I’ve been a corporate software engineer (front end) for 10 years too and I’ve reached the point where I’m no longer enjoying it - have probably not enjoyed it for around 3 years in all honesty. I hate the constant churn of technologies and feeling like you’ve constantly got to keep up with the latest trend in order to stay relevant. I might be wrong but it feels like design is more about honing your craft and solving user problems instead of a constant battle with technology.
yes! I agree with this so much, it does feel like design is more about solving problems and coming up with creative solutions, while development is more about coding the designs someone else came up with, at least with front-end development. When I was in corporate I wasn't working on web development, we had our own enterprise software that I was working on, so as the years went by using this one specific technology, I felt like I was obsoleting myself since I wasn't keeping up with any of the new technologies that were coming out. and it was just too much work to study those new technologies in my free time, especially since it wasn't particularly interesting to me.
Hi jon webb.
I love your story of how you transitioned from software engineering to web design because that's the journey I'm currently on right now.
Started learning UI/UX Design two weeks after high school and then got into college to study software engineering.
I feel like you're telling my story...❤😂
ah it seems like a lot of people are resonating with this too! are you enjoying software engineering? good luck with everything !
@@jenwebbcreates Yeah so far it's been an incredible journey. Just recently I got my first job as a UI/UX Designer so basically I'm occupied with school and work and i kinda love the journey...😅💻
@@Winston_chibuike that's amazing!
Thank you for sharing these insights and the roadmap.
I am a freelance web designer and Framer developer with over a year of experience.
I'm still learning new things about design and freelancing every day.
I feel like the last step, "marketing yourself as a designer," is especially important.
If you have any details or information about it, please let us know,
as it is a consistent and practical approach and one of the most important steps to getting more clients.
the way I've been marketing myself is through this UA-cam channel! I should really step it up and post more content on social media and youtube but I just don't have time
@@jenwebbcreates That’s awesome, thank you for sharing! Marketing yourself through your UA-cam channel is such a smart move.
I’ve been using LinkedIn and Twitter to market my services, and I recently joined Contra to connect with more clients.
Go Jen! ❤ honestly love the growth and journey.❤❤
thanks Steph 😊
Thanks for Genuity, very inspiring.
I’m currently in a front end bootcamp and almost finished! I’ve been scared as the job postings for entry level are scary but this gives me peace in seeing that I can at least work for my self! Thank you
good luck!
Love your channel! 🎉 thank you for sharing!!
Love this video, Subbed!
very helpful i want to start a freelance web design business!!!
do it!!
Haha, apparently I'm on the same step as you, and kinda the same background, same undercharge (still a little bit). Just older XD
Thanks!, this was helpful!
I am a CS student who is more interested in design part of tech, So i started doing UI/UX couple of months ago along with my Development, and then after some months i got my first internship as a Product designer for a small startup, the pay isnt much great but i am learning and collaborating with them, work is all remote.
Next i want to start utilising these design skills with my web development skills.
that's amazing! great that you learned early on that you were more interested in the design part of tech. wishing you luck!
@@jenwebbcreates thank-you 😁
“if you’re still here, which you are, because you’re… here” made me cackle 😂😂
😂😂
I miss myspace so so much (I had a awesome profile :P)
same! I changed my profile like every month lol it was the best social media site
I wanted to make websites in High School, but I was strongly discouraged from doing so :(
whaaat that's awful ! I will say that all my html/css myspace & neopets ventures were very much under the radar, I hid it from my parents because they were very strict 😆
Could you do a video on how to go about learning CSS for Squarespace?
I did! 😊 ua-cam.com/video/-zhzzEvC8GQ/v-deo.html&lc=UgzFNWy8kxoM1ddpBwx4AaABAg&ab_channel=JenWebb
I also went to Uni from 2008 to 2013, I also worked as a Front-end (for 5 years) and later started learning UX, UI, and mostly Design. I'm also starting again as a Freelance Web Designer this year, because someone came to me for some work... I was also trying to get into something corporate as a UX or UI at the beginning of the year when this project came, then another.
so many similarities! I'm curious if you've been able to find a corporate job in UX/UI? or are you doing freelance design work at the moment?
@@jenwebbcreates I had my first 5 yrs corporate job as Front-end, then I tried some free-lancing (during the pandemic), I even took a "Product Design" course in London after. But when applying (last year in 2023) I think it was the worst time to apply to jobs!
I mean, LinkedIn took out the "applicantions number" because it was terrible to see
But I also have to admit I didn't even try this year when some free-lancing started coming. But it was also all coincidential, so I still have to work in my marketing from now on! But I'll have 2 new (recent most importantly) websites and case studies to show, and as you said it is all about telling everyone! and showing your work! And I'm all up to!
@@simoncallelaverde thanks for sharing! Yeah it does seem like that was a bad time to be looking for work, I'm glad you've been getting some freelancing work though! good luck with everything 😊
I'm curious as to why not WordPress? I'm actually starting this same journey using WordPress as my main, and elementor as my builder of choice and cricoblock plugins for most of the under the hood things. Care to shed light on your stance?
I think people who just enter the market have newer and more modern tools to build websites on. I have been on WordPress since 2008 and running my business since 2013 and only did Wordpress until 2022 and easily made 6 figures a year so it can be done. But at some point its good to work with other platforms after you get your first one down
yes exactly what @series5tech said. I think if you're already using Wordpress and have experience with it, that's great. But I was more so talking to people just getting started in web design.
Omg I literally became a web developer because of neopets too.
there must be a lot of us out there
Hi :) Thanks for inspiration us. Do you think to sell or give as a freebie in the future your notion designer template? 😊 Good luck!!
this is a good idea! I'll think on this, maybe I will make a video breaking it down
Hi Jen! I'd love to know which UX/UI courses you've taken?
I can't find the exact classes I took since I took them several years ago but they were similar to the comprehensive classes you can find on Udemy: www.udemy.com/courses/search/?q=ui+ux+design&src=sac&kw=ui+ux
@@jenwebbcreates Thanks so much! Any courses that you'd recommend for branding?
That's really hard , l tried this but failed at the end because there are in the freelancer work a lot of competition, very hard to appear and earn one client , it is easy to talk about freelancer work but when it come to action and work to earn clients it's really hard
yes it is hard, I'm still working on that myself but I have been getting some clients who found me from my youtube channel
Thanks for sharing your journey, I'm stuck now between web development and web design i dont to let go of my programming skills i know how to make a small full stack web app and i know how to design a good website Now I'm stuck on what career I should go to I love designing and coding I think im on fit on front end web development
What website builder do you recommend for me?
If you like both development and design maybe you can work at a startup or something similar where you can wear both hats. I think any website builder I mentioned would be good (Squarespace, framer, webflow) but they mostly won't involve coding, unless you're doing a lot of custom styling and javascript.
Did you change your name to Webb, or is that just a coincidence? "Jen Webb" generate web design? Jen Webb, web designer? Has a nice ring to it! Thanks for the video!
it's just coincidence 😆 or maybe it was fated for me to become a web designer
Madame webb ❤😂
that's me 😆
Neo pets, MySpace. Hello fellow early 90s baby
Could you please share the courses you have taken? I am in the same boat, currently working a 9-5 while working on the website design on the side.
too many to remember 😅 I took a few different ones on Udemy a while ago but I don't know the exact classes because I don't have access to that account anymore, since it was through my work. There are probably lots of better ones out there now that teach how to use figma, principles of UX/UI design, etc: www.udemy.com/courses/search/?src=ukw&q=web+design
by the way you can always get Udemy courses at the lower cost, if you see it's only offered at the higher cost just clear your cache or try in an incognito browser.
The web design course that I took most recently was the one I mentioned in the video: ilovecreatives.com/squarespace-design-course
it is pricey compared to the classes you can take on Udemy though so I'd recommend starting there first or even just youtube videos. There are a few on Skillshare that I've taken but those are focused more on graphic design.
Can i still use Adobe XD to work for potential clients in 2024
I've never used it before so I don't have the best advice on that!
Hi,
I am 38 years old and have been self-employed for 7 years, specializing in high-converting landing pages and short video ads. I face a lot of competition and want to start my own SOLO agency.
Based on your experience, which of these skills do you think will be most valuable to me and my clients in the future? Your advice would be greatly appreciated and would help me avoid a distracted career path.
-Landing page deign & building
- Funnel Building
- Ad Creative "Video & Static Ads"
The goal is to have a job that is not too stressful due to the age factor and also can be done with just a laptop
Thank you, 🙏 and sorry for the long message.
it sounds like you have way more experience than I do, so I'm not sure I'm the best person to offer advice! I've only been fully self employed for the past year and I'm still improving my skills in high-converting landing pages. Personally I think of the three things you mentioned, ad creative seems a bit separate from the other two, and I know how time-consuming video creation can be, so that might be the first thing I would drop if it were me.
So according to me you should start web designing series
I actually do have a web design playlist on my channel haha not sure if that counts
I can't 😢
if you are looking for a web developer to help you with day to day tasks, lets discuss.
Thanks for the video. I want to know , since many people mentions using Figma, is it really important. To design in Figma and then build on your platform of choice, Squarespace/Wordpress., etc.
Why not just start building/Deigning on the platform and skip Figma. It sounds like double work.
Like doing a summary of what you must study and then start studying. Why not just start studying.😊
It makes me feel that maybe Figma is mainly ro make you look important and a bit different to other designers when pitching and meeting with clients.
You can let me know. Maybe Figma is more than that.
I don't mind using things if ot really helps, but not. If it's actually unnecessary step. That without it same results will still be met.
it's a lot easier and more efficient to iterate on designs and make changes and compare different versions in figma, than in the website building platform. In fact you can't compare side by side in the website building platform because there's only one version. One of the key concepts of design is to iterate (copy/paste, make changes) until you arrive at something you like. if you just go with the first version you make in the website platform, it's not going to be great.
plus there's the added collaboration feature in figma - so you can get quick feedback from the client directly on the wireframes before you spend more time making a final polished design. it's much easier and quicker to change around sketches and wireframes than a polished design.
@@jenwebbcreates thanks for the explanation and feedback. I give it a go and see how it goes. Have a wonderful day.
Hey jen , really nice video ! I was wondering if I could help you with more Quality Editing in your videos and also make a highly engaging Thumbnail and also help you with the overall youtube strategy and growth ! Pls let me know what do you think ?
divy, I'm hurt 😢 I thought my editing and thumbnail quality was very good in this video
@@jenwebbcreates Hey Jen , it Looks good but i think it can be improved a lot and i can help you with it , Let me share you my portfolio !!!
Webb designer
that's me 😆
Can u share with us ur notion and Pinterest board I will be help a lot 🥹 thank un so much for such a great and informative video
you can see my pinterest boards here: www.pinterest.com/jenwebbcreates1
I don't have the notion available as a template but I think I'll make a future video breaking down how to make your own 😊 thanks for the idea!