Yes its Working: The Web and the Rise of Modern Creative Careers

Technology has improved by leaps and bounds over the past two decades. While our personal lives have been revamped thanks to personalization and engagement algorithms, the corporate world has remained relatively stable. We still think of a high-paying job as something that requires a university education coupled with many hours spent building a corporate persona.

However, Gen Z and Millennials are turning this thought on its head. Well-versed with technology from a young age, these generations are changing the way we think of creatives. Needless to say, the internet is where these new-age creatives express themselves.

Research conducted by Elementor discovered that 55% of Millennials surveyed identified web creation as their full-time job while Boomers were more likely to view this task as a side hustle. These findings give rise to the question: Who are these new web creators?

The changing role of designers

Websites these days are critical for any business. Thanks to the power of the internet, anyone can create a shop and begin running an enterprise with customers worldwide. These advances have led to a growing demand for web designers who understand the nuances of various niches.

For instance, website designers are expected to do much more than just create a pretty-looking website. They must understand aspects of microcopy, UX, and niche-specific UI elements. In essence, these new-age designers aren’t just designing a website. They’re designing a journey that must appeal to a niche’s audience.

Executing these tasks calls for a wide range of knowledge. Designers must have traditional design skills but must also understand the basics of copywriting and technical understanding of responsive design. For instance, a designer must understand how design elements react to the various platforms users access a website from.

Some features might work well on mobile but not on a tablet. It’s a designer’s job to anticipate and solve these issues before the website is live. Prior experience using websites helps, of course. Perhaps this is why Elementor’s survey highlighted that 67% of new-age web creators were Gen-Zers or Millennials.

Technical skills married to design

In the past, web development was hardly thought of as a creative skill. While it took creative ability to get code to work, it was the realm of technically trained professionals who didn’t fit the stereotype of the typical creative.

However, this picture is changing. A website’s success hinges on its performance and ability to rank high on search results. Thanks to search engines prioritizing website speed, technical abilities such as web programming are in high demand. Of course, it isn’t enough for a website to merely run quickly: It has to look great as well.

A new breed of creative is emerging these days. These people have deep backend development knowledge throughout the stack but also understand the nuances of frontend design. Any complex website project typically requires input from both elements. This modern creative is replacing entire teams these days as they bring all necessary skills to the table.

Elementor’s recently launched Web Creators campaign spotlighted this breed of creative by highlighting how a website’s backend functionality married to the front end creates spectacular results. The most interesting aspect of this new-age creative is that they marry marketing, technical, and design skills to form an unbeatable package.

As part of the campaign, Elementor has launched a hub for creator stories that promise to engage this community. It also features design templates for striking websites, digital swag, and other interactive features including learning opportunities for web creators. The campaign is a part of Elementor’s commitment to helping web creators realize their full potential.

Conversion scientists

Elementor’s survey highlighted that 80% of Millennials admitted that their families are happy with their choice to pursue a new-age web creator career. There’s a good reason for this: These professionals are in high demand, and web creation careers pay well.

Central to this demand is the modern creative’s ability to understand buyer psychology and implement experiments to test their assumptions. Conversion optimization might sound like esoteric expertise, but it cuts to the heart of marketing and design.

Conversion optimization professionals immerse themselves in design aspects such as button colors, shapes, and page positions. They use data to test different design options and measure effectiveness. Thus, the modern creative marries science and art to create highly-effective buyer experiences that boost business profits.

For instance, a new-age creative might test different versions of a product description or a checkout button on a website. They might change their color, shape, or the text on the button. Software these days allows creative to create multiple versions of a page and deploy them to select audiences.

Thus, design isn’t about “what looks good” anymore. It’s about measuring data and scientifically plotting your way to the top.

An evolving space

Creativity has never been stationary. It has always evolved, and the latest evolution is perhaps the most exciting one yet. By bringing various aspects of web design under a single roof, new-age web creators are set to leave a mark on our digital world.

As with all content creation and marketing, it all comes down to catering to the needs of your audience. Not only is it important to have the necessary tools and solutions in place for creating your content, but it’s also just as important that it’s easy to access and deliverable right to your audience.

Guest author: Zac Johnson is a world-renowned blogger and entrepreneur with nearly 20 years of experience in the online marketing space and has helped his readers generate millions of dollars online. He shares his story and guidance at ZacJohnson.com

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