Best Online Associate in Web Design

Badge for BEST ONLINE ASSOCIATE'S IN WEB DESIGN

By Dr. Winston Ewert and Dr. James Barham

Published: Jul 7, 2021
Updated: Nov 22, 2023

An online associate’s degree in web design is a great choice for students who are interested in a career as a graphic designer, web developer, multimedia artist, animator, and more.

Top 10 Online Web Design Associate Degrees

Palomar College
St. Petersburg College
Amridge University
College of Southern Nevada
Wake Technical Community College
Nash Community College
Guilford Technical Community College
St. Clair County Community College
Grand Rapids Community College
Iowa Western Community College

St. Petersburg College
College of Southern Nevada
Palomar College
Scottsdale Community College
Wake Technical Community College
Lewis–Clark State College
Grand Rapids Community College
Amridge University
Guilford Technical Community College
Southwestern Community College

Lewis–Clark State College 87%

Rio Salado College 28 to 1
St. Petersburg College 22 to 1
Palomar College 21 to 1
Nash Community College 20 to 1
Iowa Western Community College 19 to 1
Grand Rapids Community College 18 to 1
Wake Technical Community College 18 to 1
College of Southern Nevada 17 to 1
Sheridan College 17 to 1
Guilford Technical Community College 17 to 1

Pittsburgh Technical College $16,974
St. Clair County Community College $9,300
Amridge University $9,000
Grand Rapids Community College $7,470
Lewis–Clark State College $6,996
Iowa Western Community College $6,030
College of Southern Nevada $3,383
Sheridan College $3,150
Metropolitan Community College $3,060
Nash Community College $2,600

Amridge University $10,800
Lewis–Clark State College $4,703

Pittsburgh Technical College
Scottsdale Community College
Metropolitan Community College
Rio Salado College
Sheridan College
Lewis–Clark State College
Paradise Valley Community College
Southwestern Community College
Iowa Western Community College
Grand Rapids Community College

Metropolitan Community College
Nash Community College
Sheridan College
St. Clair County Community College
Iowa Western Community College
Paradise Valley Community College
Pittsburgh Technical College
Rio Salado College
Southwestern Community College
Guilford Technical Community College

Lewis–Clark State College 87%

Southwestern Community College 10 to 1
Paradise Valley Community College 11 to 1
Amridge University 12 to 1
Pittsburgh Technical College 13 to 1
Scottsdale Community College 14 to 1
Metropolitan Community College 14 to 1
Lewis–Clark State College 15 to 1
St. Clair County Community College 15 to 1
College of Southern Nevada 17 to 1
Sheridan College 17 to 1

Palomar College $1,288
St. Petersburg College $1,943
Southwestern Community College $1,976
Rio Salado College $2,040
Scottsdale Community College $2,040
Paradise Valley Community College $2,040
Guilford Technical Community College $2,128
Wake Technical Community College $2,432
Nash Community College $2,600
Metropolitan Community College $3,060

Lewis–Clark State College $4,703
Amridge University $10,800

Key Takeaways

Federal data projects a 23% growth for web designing jobs, so pursuing an associate degree in web design or web development programs is a sound decision.
Community colleges offer the cheapest associate in web design programs, and many offer the program online.
Web designers play many roles in the industry, with specific skills being developed to focus on design, user interface, and other components of the job.

Table of Contents

Featured Programs

The Internet is an indispensable part of life. Today, it’s almost impossible for companies and organizations to expand and get the word out without leveraging the Internet’s power and reach.

Indeed, our lives are shaped by the web, but only a few realize how much work goes into building websites, which provide information of all types, even beyond the business intent.

If you’re fascinated with information technology and want to specialize in web designing, an online associate degree is an excellent place to start. Online web design degree programs give you the advantage of learning the fundamentals of this discipline and advancing on to a bachelor’s degree.

Of course, you can go straight to work—because an online associate degree in web design qualifies you for entry-level jobs.

Web development is a fascinating field to work in. People can build working websites more easily than ever before.

The complexity of high-end web development has risen due to technological innovation and continues to do so. The future of web development looks fantastic because of this.

When considering a career in web design, explore your associate degree options. An online associate degree in web design can be a great choice for many students.

What to Expect from an Online Associate Degree in Web Design Program

Students must have creative and technical skills to pursue an associate degree in web design. A web design program can be a great fit for creative learners who want to enhance their technical skills.

An associate degree online normally requires at least 60 credits, which will take about 18 to 24 months, depending on your pace.

Students studying web design learn how to create and edit images, manage content, develop websites, and code. You will develop the essential skills required for web designing.

Concentrations are available in areas such as web development in some programs, but this is more technical as opposed to the creative aspects of web designing.

Foundational web design skills also involve a general knowledge of several key areas, including:

Web page development
Web application development
Project management
Computer science
Software development
Interactive web media
Search engine optimization

The type of associate degree in web design earned by prospective students varies depending on the college. Hands-on learning is a hallmark of an online associate in applied science (AAS) programs. As for online associate of science degree programs, more theoretical studies are involved.

Several online associate degrees in web design require students to complete web-based capstone projects . Choosing the right programming language and design software for each program is crucial for students.

Some students also choose to transfer credits to a bachelor’s program after completing an associate degree. While you can land an entry-level job in web design with an online associate’s degree, more advanced positions typically require a bachelor’s degree.

Career Outlook for Web Design

Professionals with an online associate’s degree in web design can pursue careers in both technical and creative fields. These graduates are often employed as web designers, web developers, user experience designers, and front-end developers.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, web designers earn an average annual salary of $79,890. As for its increasing demand, data shows there will be a 23% growth in demand for web designers in the next decade.

This is because almost every business needs a website, so web designers work in every industry. Website designers and developers remain in demand as more and more companies expand their business online.

There is an opportunity for web designers and developers to work for themselves too. Aside from being employed in companies and organizations, many graduates find a lucrative career through offering their services as a freelance web designer.

Frequently Asked Questions About Web Design Degrees

An associate degree in web design is an excellent starting point for students who are interested in helping companies create functioning, user-friendly websites. Whether you wish to study online or on campus, this degree provides an affordable avenue to the credentials and education you’ll need to succeed in the web design field.

At roughly 60 credits, this degree takes about two years to complete.

Students will take courses like Introduction to Adobe Photoshop, E-Commerce, Web Script Language Programming, and Fundamentals of Network Security.

Though some students will go on to earn their bachelor’s degree in a related field, graduates with an associate in web design will qualify for positions as graphic designers, web developers, and multimedia artists and animators.

Learn more about how to major in computer science.

How do we determine the best online web design associate's degree programs?

Methodology

Pursuing your degree online doesn’t mean you need to settle for an inferior school. Today, most universities and colleges offer online degrees, and many respected schools are seeing significant growth in their numbers of online students.

The people affiliated with a school are ultimately what make it great. This is why influence — i.e., the academic impact of faculty and alumni associated with a school — gets at the heart of what is truly best in education. The combined influence score of a college or university’s top academic influencers is the best indicator of academic excellence. For our online degree rankings, we focus on the academic influence of faculty and alumni in the specific disciplines we’re ranking.

If you are serious about finding the best online colleges, you should be asking where the most influential professors are teaching, and whether their graduates themselves are advancing the school’s reputation for academic excellence. Most ranking sites rely on an opaque combination of reputation surveys and arbitrary performance metrics. Influence, as measured by our InfluenceRanking engine, provides a ranking that is free from bias, insulated from manipulation, and reflective of real-world educational outcomes.

Best Online Associate’s in Web Design Degree Programs

Career Outlook for Students with Web Design Degree

Go to Degree Finder tool

Web Page, Digital/Multimedia And Information Resources Design

Degree Level: Associate's

Location: The U.S. (Private Schools)
Avg. Cost of Degree*: $4,736
Avg. Expenses*: $14,853
Avg. Starting Salary*: $30,619
Avg. Salary after 4 Years*: $34,092
Avg. Cost Recoup Time**: 7 years
Job Growth: 4.15%
Number of Jobs: 685,000
* denotes ‘annually’
** denotes ‘at 15% of annual salary’

Career Salaries

Career	Job Growth	Avg. Salary
Computer and Information Systems Managers	17.42%	$169,510
Computer and Information Research Scientists	25.68%	$145,080
Database Architects	10.75%	$134,700
Software Developers	17.94%	$132,270
Data Scientists	36.03%	$108,020
Database Administrators	8.20%	$101,510
Computer Programmers	-9.61%	$99,700
Special Effects Artists and Animators	4.23%	$99,060
Web and Digital Interface Designers	7.93%	$98,540
Computer Science Teachers, Postsecondary	6.00%	$96,430

Top Industries

Industry	Avg. Salary
Computer and Information Systems Managers	$169,510
Computer and Information Research Scientists	$145,080
Database Architects	$134,700
Software Developers	$132,270
Data Scientists	$108,020
Database Administrators	$101,510
Computer Programmers	$99,700
Special Effects Artists and Animators	$99,060
Web and Digital Interface Designers	$98,540
Computer Science Teachers, Postsecondary	$96,430

Data from The Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Department of Education College Scorecard, The Department of Education NCES, and The Council for Community and Economic Research.

Online Degree Frequently Asked Questions

If this is your first time taking an online course, the experience may require a time of adjustment. Although you’ll typically learn the same material and take the same exams as your on-campus peers, going online will require greater independence and responsibility than going in person. You’ll be accountable for your own time management, for harnessing the online educational technology that you’ll need to use, and for completing the course requirements, such as listening to lectures, learning lessons, reading texts, and handing in assignments. This means you’ll need to create a suitable workspace for yourself, maintain a realistic schedule, and take the initiative in building relationships with your instructors and classmates. With online college, your goal is to find a balance between independence and engagement.

No. The only part of online education that’s easier than campus-based education is ease of access: all you need is a computer and an internet connection for online education. But even this seeming advantage of online education can be misleading: what’s easier, studying online with your computer and internet connection from your home where you need to cook, clean, pay rent, and maintain a job? Or studying on campus in a dorm where all your living needs are handled by the school, and college staff are there to help you every step of the way?

If you take the commute to campus out of the equation, campus-based education is easier. All the support structures available on campus for students, especially with real people to help you in person, are not there online. The demands on you as an online student will largely be the same as for your campus-based counterpart, but without the same helps.

In general, your online courses will present the same material and test you in the same way as traditional in-person courses. In many cases, you’ll even have the same instructors as your on-campus counterparts. In fact, if you are adjusting to the experience of independent learning with remote educational technology for the first time, online college may be considerably more challenging than campus-based college. For a few insights on how to manage this new online experience, check out our 10 Tips for Adjusting to School Online.

Accreditation is especially important when it comes to online college. This is because the online education landscape is a mix of highly-reputable non-profit institutions on the one end and less-than-reputable for-profit institutions on the other end. Accreditation gives you the power to identify the more reputable actors in online education. Accreditation is a stamp of approval from an independent accrediting agency indicating that a college or university is meeting standards of quality and credibility. School-wide accreditation falls into two major categories: regional and national accreditation. Regional accreditors generally hold jurisdiction only over schools in the states comprising their region, whereas national accreditors hold jurisdiction over schools in all states. Regional accreditation is widely regarded as a more rigorous standard of quality and credibility than national accreditation.

Attending a college or university that is not regionally accredited could limit your opportunities. For students seeking an online education, we strongly recommend that they opt for regionally accredited schools. Regional accreditation ensures eligibility for federal loans and grants, ensures your college credits can be transferred between schools, and ensures that your degree credits can be accepted if you wish to earn an advanced degree. For more on this important topic, check out our What is Accreditation and Why Does It Matter? College & University Accreditation Guide.

As long as your online college degree is regionally accredited (see the previous point), you should have little difficulty transferring most of your credits or credentials to another regionally accredited undergraduate school. Every school carries its own standards and procedures for granting a transfer of credits. In many cases, you will encounter some bureaucratic haggling in which some of your credits will be transferred and others may be refused. However, provided that you have attended an online school with recognized regional accreditation, you should be in good shape in transferring your credits earned online.

In most cases, as long you graduate from a well-regarded, regionally-accredited online college, prospective employers won’t look sideways at your degree. In fact, unless you attend an exclusively online college or university, there will likely be no specific indicator on your degree, transcript, or resumé differentiating your school from its brick-and-mortar counterpart. This means that your employer will likely only differentiate between an online and in-person degree if you mention this distinction.

Some employers may express the concern that because you did your degree online, you may need to transition from an online education experience to in-person workplace experience. But in an age of Covid, that concern seems much diminished. The fact is that much employment these days is remote. And collaboration increasingly happens online over Zoom. Many employers will therefore view your online degree as evidence of valuable 21st century professional skills such as independence, self-motivation, time management, and tech savvy.

If you are a student who thrives on the dynamic energy of in-person discussion, who requires the physical surroundings of a classroom to feel engaged, or who considers the social aspects of education to be of equal importance to the actual content of your courses, online education will be less than ideal for you (though depending on your circumstances, it may also be the only viable option).

While there is much in traditional campus-based education that can be substituted or simulated through the online medium, some students may find that there is nothing that can replace the conversation, collaboration, and motivation that occur in an actual in-person classroom setting. As you transition to online education, one of the biggest challenges you will likely face in getting the most out of your online classes is overcoming this difference between “real reality” and “virtual reality.” Fortunately, we’ve got some great Tips for Online Education Beginners.

The advantages of online classes are many. Above all, online courses give you the freedom and flexibility to attend class from anywhere that works for you, whether you’re at home, in a coffee shop, or in a quiet conference room at work. In many cases, you’ll also enjoy the convenience of asynchronous learning opportunities-educational experiences that you can complete at your own pace and on your own schedule. This may include pre-taped lectures, ongoing chat-board discussions, and 24/7 access to digital materials. And of course, just as there are some learners who prefer the energy of a live classroom, there are those who learn best when working in their own personal space, free from distractions. If this sounds like you, you might find the solitude of online learning to be a major advantage.

Whether you’re just getting started on your college search, you’re looking for survival tips on your way to a bachelor’s degree, or you’re preparing for the transition into grad school, we’ve got guides, how to’s and tons of other valuable resources to keep you moving forward in your educational journey.

Do you have a question about this topic? Ask it here

Best Online Associate in Web Design

Top 10 Online Web Design Associate Degrees

Key Takeaways

Featured Programs

What to Expect from an Online Associate Degree in Web Design Program

Career Outlook for Web Design

Frequently Asked Questions About Web Design Degrees

Why get an associate in web design?

How long does it take to get an associate in web design?

What courses are required while getting an associate in web design?

What can you do with an associate in web design?

Best Online Associate’s in Web Design Degree Programs

Career Outlook for Web Design degree at Palomar College

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Web Design degree at St. Petersburg College

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Web Design degree at Amridge University

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Web Design degree at College of Southern Nevada

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Web Design degree at Wake Technical Community College

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Web Design degree at Nash Community College

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Web Design degree at Guilford Technical Community College

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Web Design degree at St. Clair County Community College

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Web Design degree at Grand Rapids Community College

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Web Design degree at Iowa Western Community College

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Web Design degree at Southwestern Community College

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Web Design degree at Paradise Valley Community College

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Web Design degree at Lewis–Clark State College

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Web Design degree at Sheridan College

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Web Design degree at Rio Salado College

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Web Design degree at Metropolitan Community College

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Web Design degree at Scottsdale Community College

Online Degrees

Career Outlook for Web Design degree at Pittsburgh Technical College

Online Degrees

Concentrations

Career Outlook for Students with Web Design Degree

Web Page, Digital/Multimedia And Information Resources Design

Degree Level: Associate's

Career Salaries

Top Industries

Online Degree Frequently Asked Questions

What can I expect from an online college course?+

Is online college easier than campus-based college?+

Why does accreditation matter in online college?+

Will I be able to transfer my online college degree?+

Will employers respect my online degree?+

What are the disadvantages of online classes?+

What are the advantages of online classes?+

Resources for Online College-Bound Students