Howdy peeps,

 

This topic targets professional designers/developers currently in work with a company, as opposed to freelancers who can shape their own schedules.

 

I'm starting my first web design/development job in the coming weeks and I want to know what the average work load is like. I know that all companies have different numbers of clients and therefore no company's throughput is the same. The company I'm going to work for is quite small, probably around 3/4 people in the team and they're quite specialised with the kind of sites they make. Additionally, they make simple websites, nothing spectacular or mind-blowing, which obviously affects the workload.

 

So, my question: if you work for a company as a designer/developer (preferably in a small-ish team), how many sites do you produce in x amount of time? Do you work on different parts of a site each day? Can you provide specific examples (e.g. one day you just designed a logo, or a navigation menu, or refining a stylesheet etc).

 

I'd just like to be prepared, you know? Thanks.

well. i do remember when i worked in web agency many years ago its was like average 3-4 website permonth. due to heavy work load i resigned and to work in-house design which work load much much lesser. during the time in this company i was able to have more free time and built my client base through my freelance at my freetime, now resigning to become self employed soon.

 

well to answer your question. i was in the small team too that time. it was like 2 webdesigner, 2 programmer and with 3 account manager who dealing with clients. that all it takes. though nothing surprising with some mind-blowing website development what you so called. i'm able to skillup and improve. its a practise make perfect stuff due to heavy work load if you see from positive side. and yes each day i'll be touching 2-3 sites to put everything in schedule. the jobsheets including gantt chart was in my hand so i know how to manage my time and what comes first.

 

not really when you get hired, you just work on one thing liked just designing a logo, or just a menu navigation and refining a stylesheet. you need a breakthrough. to touch as much as possible in area of a web development if its not now its for your future. since this your first web design/development job, never never complaint about heavy load stuff. take it as practise and years come you will see yourself somewhere above many.

 

well thats my story, and it might be different to others. i would like to hear other sharing thier working life exprerience too.

Edited October 12, 201312 yr by vincentweb

to be more specified, projectA i was working with css. then i go for ProjectB which is content design its like content population when client cant make thier own or dont have time for it. projectC i do UI design for a website. all this sometimes i done it in a day. >.<" its history! i said and how frustrated i be sometimes !

Edited October 12, 201312 yr by vincentweb

I currently work for a company that does not specialize in web development but we have 3 web developers (plus two more web/software developers) one of us runs the day-to-day websites of the company and myself and another work on a web application what our product can be controlled from, work load can be very hectic one day and the next it can be dead as we are waiting on something (i.e. a server being built so we can test).

 

I cant realy comment on making xx websites in xx days as that's not really what i do, and depends on the coder and the work load/requirements.

work load can be very hectic one day and the next it can be dead as we are waiting on something (i.e. a server being built so we can test).

 

You make a good point sir. A small company is unlikely to face the task of designing sites by the bucketload each and every day. I imagine, as you said, it'll be a case of some days are hectic in the development of a new site, and other days rather mellow post-production of said website.

 

Thanks for your story vincentweb, it helped indeed.

I work for an agency, the workload can be random.

 

As we have many clients bugs may be discovered that need attention and the build I was working on goes out the window, but this is why I like the job.

 

You can build a great site and then one day a plugin updates and ruins it LOL

 

When a site/project goes live the day is pretty much looking at any issues with the servers and traffic as well as any bugs found during the launch etc (although we do try and get rid of all these before we go live)

 

Testing sites on different devices, platforms, browsers etc is also a big part of a working week

I work for an agency, the workload can be random.

 

As we have many clients bugs may be discovered that need attention and the build I was working on goes out the window, but this is why I like the job.

 

You can build a great site and then one day a plugin updates and ruins it LOL

 

When a site/project goes live the day is pretty much looking at any issues with the servers and traffic as well as any bugs found during the launch etc (although we do try and get rid of all these before we go live)

 

Testing sites on different devices, platforms, browsers etc is also a big part of a working week

 

Good to know. What CMS do you provide your clients with?

anything that the spec/client dictates really.

 

wordpress, magento, zend frameworks stuff etc

I too currently work for a small web development company. We're relatively small, roughly 9 people, but web development isn't the only thing that we do, so the work load can vary and each member of the team is also specialized to a specific area of work, but we also have to be flexible. For example, I'm the UX (User Experience) Designer, but user research, analysis, and testing isn't the only thing that I do. I also dabble with some Graphic Design, some Web Design, Front-End Development, and Project Management when the team requires assistance. We also have a SEO Specialist, Social Media Manager, Account Manager, Web Developer, Videographer, Content Writer, Lead Designer, and CEO.

 

Currently we're working on 2 new websites with a deadline of 3 months, while performing on-going maintenance and changes for 5 other clients. Depending on the people you work with, you may be expected to do more than what your job title specifies, so you have to remember that when you're working with such a small team, you really have to be flexible and willing to take on the extra work if needed.

 

Here's another example. This is what my typical work day looks like:

 

Check email > Address any issues > Login to Basecamp and check messages and any todo's that are assigned to me > Establish a list of tasks to be completed that day > Update the project board > Check emails as they come in and address any fires that need to be taken care of immediately while completing my set of tasks > Eat lunch somewhere in between > Attend team meetings or client meetings > Go home.

I work for an agency, the workload can be random.

 

As we have many clients bugs may be discovered that need attention and the build I was working on goes out the window, but this is why I like the job.

 

You can build a great site and then one day a plugin updates and ruins it LOL

 

When a site/project goes live the day is pretty much looking at any issues with the servers and traffic as well as any bugs found during the launch etc (although we do try and get rid of all these before we go live)

 

Testing sites on different devices, platforms, browsers etc is also a big part of a working week

thanks for sharing this, really useful for upcoming web designers. I am looking forward for my 1st web design position as been a graphic designer for almost 4 years and wanted to change my profession as I think web design is more cool than graphic design. Thanks!