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Studies & Degrees in Web Design

Web design is the planning and making of websites and other screen interfaces: how pages are structured, how they look, and how people find their way through them. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) separates two linked jobs. Digital designers develop, create and test the layout, functions and navigation of a website or interface for usability; web developers create and maintain the site itself. Most courses teach some of both.

Students learn visual design (typography, colour, layout, image editing), user experience and interface design (UX/UI), and the languages in which pages are written. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) calls HTML the cornerstone of the web, with CSS and other technologies built on it. Courses also cover responsive design for phones, content management systems and accessibility. W3C defines web accessibility as designing and developing websites so that people with disabilities can use them, and its Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are the international standard for this.

Qualifications and levels

Web design can be studied at very different levels, from a short online course to a full bachelor's degree, and it is often part of a broader programme in digital design, multimedia or computing.

  • Short courses and certificates. Private schools and online centres teach web design in courses of a few months. INESEM, for example, lists an online course in website creation of 450 hours, which it describes as its own qualification (título propio), not an official one.
  • Vocational training in Spain. The official higher vocational qualification Técnico Superior en Desarrollo de Aplicaciones Web lasts 2,000 hours. It is more technical than a design course and leads to jobs such as web programmer. Entry normally requires the Bachiller or an equivalent qualification.
  • Associate degrees in the United States. Community and technical colleges teach web skills inside information technology programmes. Somerset Community College in Kentucky, for example, offers an Associate in Applied Science (AAS) in Computer and Information Technologies with an Internet Technologies track in web programming.
  • Bachelor's degrees. In Spain a bachelor's degree (grado) has 240 ECTS credits. The Grado en Diseño Digital of U-tad, in Las Rozas (Madrid), has 240 credits, is taught in Spanish on campus and online, and includes subjects on interface design and usability and on web and app layout. At the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) in Australia, the Bachelor of Design lasts three years and lets students specialise in interactive media, digital culture, game design or visual communication.
  • Master's degrees. Official master's degrees in Spain have 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits. Master's programmes in this field usually carry names such as UX design, interaction design or digital design.

For courses that are not part of the official system, ask the school what recognition the qualification has.

Where to study web design

SpainExchange lists 59 active schools for web design. The United States has 36, most of them community and technical colleges, and Spain has 12. The United Kingdom has four and Greece two; Australia, Denmark, Ecuador, Uruguay and Germany have one each.

In Spain the list includes U-tad, the Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, the visual arts school ARTENEO in Madrid and online centres such as INESEM and Neptunos Formación. In the United States it includes Alexandria Technical & Community College, Bucks County Community College, Broward College, Bergen Community College and Tennessee Tech University. Elsewhere it includes York St John University in England, the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar in Germany, VIA University College in Denmark, the Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL) in Guayaquil and the Universidad de la Empresa (UDE) in Montevideo.

Teaching is normally in the language of the country. The tools and the code are the same everywhere, so a portfolio of finished work travels well between countries.

Careers

Graduates work as web designers, UX/UI designers, front-end developers and content managers, in agencies, in the digital teams of companies and public bodies, or on their own account. According to the BLS, 18 percent of web developers and digital designers in the United States were self-employed.

The BLS counted 220,100 jobs for web developers and digital designers in 2025 and projects employment to grow 5 percent from 2025 to 2035. It notes that educational requirements range from a high school diploma to a bachelor's degree, and that web developers need a thorough understanding of HTML. Employers usually ask to see a portfolio.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a degree to work in web design?

Not always. The BLS states that educational requirements for web developers and digital designers range from a high school diploma to a bachelor's degree, depending on the employer and the job.

What is the difference between web design and web development?

Design deals with layout, navigation and usability; development builds and maintains the site and its technical performance. Many programmes and many jobs combine the two.

How long does it take to study web design?

It depends on the level. In Spain the higher vocational qualification in web application development lasts 2,000 hours and a bachelor's degree has 240 ECTS credits; short courses are much shorter, such as the 450-hour online course listed by INESEM.

Can I study web design online?

Yes. U-tad offers its Grado en Diseño Digital on campus and online, and several of the listed centres teach only online.