Top 12 Web Designer Skills to Put on Your Resume

In a web that never sits still, your resume needs to show more than color sense and code snippets. It should broadcast fundamentals, fluency with modern tools, and the judgment to ship accessible, fast, resilient interfaces. The 12 skills below form a pragmatic stack—what hiring managers scan for, what teams rely on when deadlines snarl, what makes your work sing on any screen.

Web Designer Skills

1. HTML5
2. CSS3
3. JavaScript
4. Photoshop
5. Illustrator
6. Figma
7. Bootstrap
8. WordPress
9. SEO
10. UX/UI Design
11. React
12. Git

1. HTML5

HTML5 (more broadly, modern HTML) is the backbone of every page: structure, meaning, and built‑in features that cut code bloat. Think semantic landmarks, native media, form validation, and accessible patterns that work even when scripts falter.

Why It's Important

Clean, semantic HTML boosts accessibility and SEO, reduces reliance on heavy scripts, and sets a sturdy base for styling and interactivity. Better markup means faster, clearer, more maintainable sites.

How to Improve HTML5 Skills

1. Semantics first: Use elements that convey intent—header, nav, main, article, section, aside, footer, figure/figcaption. Screen readers and search engines understand you better.
2. Media that adapts: Serve responsive images with picture and srcset; apply loading="lazy" where appropriate; use video/audio tags with captions and controls.
3. Accessible forms: Label every control, pair inputs with associated labels, use fieldset/legend, and native validation states.
4. Modern APIs: Explore dialog, details/summary, and native popovers for lighter UI patterns.
5. Performance habits: Trim DOM depth, defer noncritical scripts, inline critical path CSS judiciously.
6. Continuous practice: Rebuild small pages with stricter semantics and audit with accessibility tools.

Good HTML is invisible when done right—quiet, sturdy, fast.

How to Display HTML5 Skills on Your Resume

2. CSS3

CSS3 shapes the experience: layout systems, theming, motion, and responsive behavior across an unruly device spectrum.

Why It's Important

Strong CSS unlocks adaptable, accessible interfaces that feel intentional on any screen size, without shipping a mountain of JS.

How to Improve CSS3 Skills

1. Layout mastery: Get fluent with Flexbox and Grid—then add subgrid for nested control and container queries for component‑level responsiveness.
2. Modern selectors and features: Use :has(), :is(), logical properties, cascade layers (@layer), and custom properties (CSS variables) for scalable systems.
3. Fluid design: Embrace clamp(), min(), max(), responsive units, and fluid typography/space ramps.
4. Design tokens: Centralize color, type, spacing via variables; theme with light/dark modes cleanly.
5. Motion with care: Prefer CSS transitions/keyframes; respect reduced‑motion preferences.
6. Debug fast: Live-edit with browser devtools, inspect accessibility, simulate devices and color vision.

Clarity over cleverness. Styles that breathe, scale, and remain legible months later.

How to Display CSS3 Skills on Your Resume

3. JavaScript

JavaScript adds behavior. It wires interactions, fetches data, and animates nuance—ideally in measured doses.

Why It's Important

Thoughtful JS elevates usability and polish while keeping pages resilient when scripts fail or networks sputter.

How to Improve JavaScript Skills

1. Strengthen the core: Scope, modules, promises/async‑await, ES6+ syntax, and DOM APIs.
2. Progressive enhancement: Start from a functional HTML/CSS baseline; layer JS for richer states.
3. Performance mindset: Ship less JS, split bundles, debounce/throttle, and use IntersectionObserver for lazy work.
4. Type awareness: Learn the basics of TypeScript—or at least JSDoc—for safer refactors.
5. Accessibility guards: Manage focus, ARIA states, and keyboard paths in interactive widgets.
6. Practice small: Build bite‑size components—tabs, modals, accordions—without dependencies.

Code less, design more; let JavaScript solve the right problems, not all of them.

How to Display JavaScript Skills on Your Resume

4. Photoshop

Photoshop remains a staple for image editing, retouching, and production‑ready exports. It’s the heavy lifter for raster work and detailed visual polish.

Why It's Important

Web projects still need crisp imagery, compositing, and careful optimization. Photoshop delivers that control.

How to Improve Photoshop Skills

• Non‑destructive workflow: Adjustment layers, smart objects, and masks—flexibility without rework.
• Export discipline: Use modern formats (WebP/AVIF where supported), proper color profiles, and size multiples for high‑density screens.
• Layer comps: Manage states and variations for design reviews and handoff.
• Grids and guides: Establish rhythm; keep spacing honest and repeatable.
• Automation: Actions and batch processing for repetitive production tasks.
• Consistent effects: Create style libraries for shadows, blurs, and overlays to avoid drift.

The goal: beautiful assets, tiny payloads, predictable results.

How to Display Photoshop Skills on Your Resume

5. Illustrator

Illustrator handles vector work—logos, icons, illustrations, and scalable UI graphics that stay razor‑sharp on any device.

Why It's Important

Vectors scale infinitely and export cleanly to SVG, the web’s native format for crisp, lightweight graphics.

How to Improve Illustrator Skills

• SVG‑first thinking: Design with strokes, symbols, and reusable components that map cleanly to SVG.
• Artboards for breakpoints: Prep variations sized for common viewports and densities.
• Precision tools: Master the pen tool, pathfinder, expand/offset paths, and pixel‑perfect alignment.
• Icon systems: Build consistent grids, corner radii, and stroke rules; export with predictable bounding boxes.
• Handoff ready: Name layers logically and test SVG output for accessibility (titles, roles when needed).

The cleaner the source, the smoother the export, the happier the build.

How to Display Illustrator Skills on Your Resume

6. Figma

Figma is the collaboration hub for interface design—real‑time co‑editing, components, prototypes, and tidy handoff in one place.

Why It's Important

It compresses feedback loops. Designs move from idea to prototype to dev‑ready specs without version chaos.

How to Improve Figma Skills

1. Auto Layout everywhere: Build components that stretch, wrap, and breathe like real UI.
2. Variants and variables: Create design systems with tokens (color, type, spacing) and stateful components.
3. Components over copies: Centralize patterns; propagate updates instead of patching screens.
4. Prototypes with intent: Wire realistic flows, micro‑interactions, and conditional logic for usability testing.
5. Dev Mode and handoff: Provide specs, redlines, and accessible names; keep documentation close to the work.

Orderly files, consistent naming, and ruthless reuse—speed without mess.

How to Display Figma Skills on Your Resume

7. Bootstrap

Bootstrap is a responsive CSS framework with components and utilities that jump‑start front‑end builds.

Why It's Important

It speeds delivery, enforces consistency, and reduces cross‑browser surprises—handy for MVPs and dashboards alike.

How to Improve Bootstrap Skills

1. Customize, don’t clone: Override with CSS variables and Sass maps; build your own theme instead of the “default look.”
2. Utility‑first balance: Use utilities for speed, but extract repeat patterns into classes to avoid churn.
3. Grid fluency: Combine Grid and Flex utilities; design for container queries when possible.
4. Accessibility checks: Validate component focus states, color contrast, and keyboard behavior.
5. Lean bundles: Import only what you need; tree‑shake JS and purge unused CSS.

The framework should disappear behind your design, not announce itself.

How to Display Bootstrap Skills on Your Resume

8. WordPress

WordPress is a flexible CMS powering blogs, marketing sites, and beyond—now with block themes and a Site Editor that brings layout control into the admin.

Why It's Important

Rapid content changes, huge plugin ecosystem, and a familiar admin experience make it a dependable choice for clients.

How to Improve WordPress Skills

1. Go block‑native: Learn block themes, theme.json, and patterns for consistent, design‑system‑driven sites.
2. Performance first: Optimize images, enable caching, defer noncritical scripts, and mind Core Web Vitals.
3. Selective plugins: Choose lightweight, well‑maintained tools; fewer plugins, fewer headaches.
4. Security hygiene: Keep core, themes, and plugins updated; use least‑privilege roles and backups.
5. Accessibility: Test templates and blocks for keyboard and screen reader support.
6. Editor experience: Create custom blocks and presets that empower content authors without breaking design.
7. Page builders (when needed): Use thoughtfully; lock down styles to prevent drift.
8. Local SEO: Set up Google Business Profile, consistent NAP, and structured data for location pages.

Publish fast, stay fast—without trading away control or quality.

How to Display WordPress Skills on Your Resume

9. SEO

SEO is the craft of making content findable. Structure, speed, relevance, and intent—aligned with how people actually search.

Why It's Important

Great design unseen is wasted. SEO pulls in qualified visitors and amplifies your UX work.

How to Improve SEO Skills

1. Technical foundations: Clean semantics, proper headings, robots and sitemaps, HTTPS, and tidy URL structures.
2. Performance: Optimize Core Web Vitals—especially LCP, INP, CLS—with lean assets and predictable layout.
3. Mobile experience: Responsive, touch‑friendly targets, readable type, and accessible controls.
4. Structured data: Add schema for products, articles, events, and breadcrumbs to enrich results.
5. Content that answers: Clear headings, scannable sections, and helpful media; match search intent.
6. Internal linking: Connect related pages; build topic clusters that clarify hierarchy.
7. Reputation signals: Earn credible backlinks and demonstrate expertise, experience, and trust.

Fast, accessible, useful—that’s both UX and SEO pulling in the same direction.

How to Display SEO Skills on Your Resume

10. UX/UI Design

UX/UI blends human insight with visual systems. It’s research, structure, feedback loops, and the surface details that guide behavior.

Why It's Important

Good UX/UI reduces friction, increases conversion, and builds trust. Users feel in control, not lost.

How to Improve UX/UI Design Skills

1. Know your users: Interviews, surveys, analytics, and quick usability tests—evidence over hunches.
2. Information architecture: Card sorting, clear navigation, and page hierarchies that match mental models.
3. Design systems: Tokens, components, and patterns with documented usage and accessibility baked in.
4. Content first: Microcopy, error states, empty states, and helpful defaults—voice that guides.
5. Performance as UX: Faster sites feel better. Optimize before adding more features.
6. Accessibility: Color contrast, focus order, keyboard support, and ARIA only when native semantics aren’t enough.
7. Iterate: Prototype, test, refine. Small cycles beat grand reveals.

Clarity wins. Consistency soothes. Feedback teaches.

How to Display UX/UI Design Skills on Your Resume

11. React

React is a UI library for building component‑based interfaces with state and predictable rendering. It powers everything from small widgets to full apps.

Why It's Important

Reusable components and a unidirectional data flow make complex UI manageable, testable, and fast.

How to Improve React Skills

1. Hooks fluency: useState, useEffect (with cleanups), useMemo/useCallback, and custom hooks for reuse.
2. Component architecture: Break problems into clear boundaries; prefer composition over inheritance.
3. State strategy: Local vs. context vs. external stores—keep it as simple as possible, no simpler.
4. Performance: Avoid unnecessary re‑renders, split code, and stream data where suitable.
5. Server interaction: Handle loading, errors, and optimistic updates; cache where it counts.
6. Accessibility: Semantic JSX, managed focus, and ARIA for complex widgets.
7. Ecosystem awareness: Frameworks like Next.js and modern routing/data patterns are common in production.

Small, sharp components. Clear data flow. Fewer surprises.

How to Display React Skills on Your Resume

12. Git

Git tracks changes, enables parallel work, and makes rollback painless when experiments misfire.

Why It's Important

Design and front‑end work touches many files and people. Git keeps collaboration orderly and recoverable.

How to Improve Git Skills

1. Branch with intent: Feature branches, short‑lived work, and clean merges; rebase to keep history tidy when appropriate.
2. Commits that tell a story: Small, scoped commits with messages that explain why, not just what.
3. Pull requests: Use PRs for review, discussion, and documentation; attach previews when possible.
4. .gitignore discipline: Exclude build output, secrets, and bulky design exports.
5. Conflict confidence: Practice resolving merges; understand when to reset, revert, or cherry‑pick.
6. Platforms: Be comfortable in GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket workflows—issues, reviews, CI basics.

Version control isn’t overhead. It’s a safety net and a shared memory.

How to Display Git Skills on Your Resume