28 Top Web Design Statistics For 2024 (Latest Trends)

Ready for the latest web design statistics?

Web design is an important aspect of maintaining a successful website or mobile app.

That’s why in this post, we’ve collected the latest stats on the web design industry, mobile web design and web design trends.

General web design statistics

1. The US-based market size for the web design services industry is $42.2 billion

According to research conducted by IBISWorld, the market for the web design services industry was valued at $42.2 billion in the United States in 2023.

The market grew by 4% in 2023.

The industry had a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.6% between 2018 and 2023.

Source: IBISWorld

2. The web development industry will reach a market value of $89.01 billion by 2027

According to Business Research Insights, the global web development industry had a market value of $56 billion in 2021.

That number is expected to reach $89.01 billion by 2027.

The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.03% between now and 2027.

Websites will make up the majority of the market, but web applications come in at a close second.

Source: Business Research Insights

3. The US-based market size for website builders is $639.9 million

According to an analysis of the global market for website builders, the global market size for this industry is valued at $2.2 billion and is expected to reach $3.8 billion by 2030.

This puts the industry’s CAGR at 7% between now and 2030.

The market is valued at $639.9 million in the United States.

Source: Research and Markets

4. 46.1% of website visitors use design cues to determine a website’s credibility

According to a study conducted by researchers from Stanford University, Consumer WebWatch and Sliced Bread Design, 46.1% of internet users use visual cues to determine a website’s credibility.

Input from respondents included comments on layout, typography, white space, images and color schemes.

Most users prefer professional designs and were skeptical of websites that had “cheesy graphics” or “childish” designs.

Source: Stanford

Statistics on web design trends

5. 79% of mobile engineers believe AI will dramatically change mobile app development in the next five years

Out of all emerging technologies, 79% of mobile engineers believe artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning will have the biggest impact on mobile development over the next five years.

Here are other emerging technologies that may impact mobile app development within five years:

• AI and machine learning – 79% of mobile engineers believe this technology will affect mobile app development within five years
• Low or no-code development – 25%
• Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) – 25%
• Cloud computing – 20%
• IoT integration – 20%
• Blockchain – 12%
• Metaverse integration – 12%
• Edge computing – 8%
• Beacon technology – 3%

Source: Embrace

6. 58% of web designers have used AI for client projects

Squarespace Circle is a partner program Squarespace operates that connects Squarespace web designers with potential clients.

Typically, you need to have contributed to three active Squarespace sites in order to apply for the program.

In Squarespace Circle’s latest survey of its user base, which included responses from 1,000 professionals, 58% have used AI technology for client projects.

67% of those who have used AI have only used it for copy while 6% have used it for images.

27% have used AI for images and copy.

Source: Squarespace Circle

Website design statistics

7. 84% of web designers look at examples of finished websites for inspiration

According to Squarespace Circle’s survey, a large majority of web designers view examples of finished websites for inspiration when they create new projects.

Here are other sources of inspiration web designers use:

• Examples of finished websites – 84% of web designers use this for inspiration
• Portfolios of other web designers – 57%
• Art/design – 55%
• Social media – 52%
• Articles or case studies on websites and blogs – 32%
• Trade media, such as design publications – 22%
• Books – 15%
• TV shows/movies – 8%
• Video games – 5%
• Nothing in particular – 4%

Source: Squarespace Circle

Statistics on the web design services industry

8. Web designers make $26.65/hour on average

According to data from over 970 salaries reported to Indeed, the average web designer in the United States makes an average of $26.65/hour.

Web designers make as low as $15.66/hour and as high as $45.33/hour.

However, there are multiple job listings on Indeed that are more than $45/hour, including one that’s listed at $58.93/hour.

Source: Indeed¹

9. Web designers make $53,000/year on average

According to Indeed, the average web designer makes $53,011/year in the United States.

Salaries range from as low as $31,162/year to as high as $90,179/year.

However, salaries from job listings on Indeed go as high as $107,000/year.

Web developers make an average $79,616/year in comparison.

Source: Indeed¹

10. Web designers with six to nine years of experience make around $64,000/year

Indeed also has data on average salaries based on years of experience.

While they don’t have data on web designers with five or fewer years of experience, they do say that web designers with six to nine years of experience make an average of $64,986/year.

Web designers with over 10 years of experience make an average of $67,859/year.

Source: Indeed¹

11. Web designers knowledgeable with the scrum method earn 42.37% more than the base salary for web designers

Indeed’s data on the web designer job title states that web designers who are familiar with the scrum method are able to earn 42.37% more than the base salary for web designers.

It’s listed as a top skill for web designers on Indeed along with agile web development, SharePoint, Sketch and ASP.NET.

Source: Indeed¹

12. 51% of web designers are satisfied with their salaries

According to simple job satisfaction surveys conducted by Indeed, 51% of web designers think their salaries are a good fit for the cost of living in their area.

Source: Indeed¹

13. 45% of web designers say finding new clients is their biggest challenge

According to Squarespace Circle’s survey, the majority of web designers say finding new clients is their biggest challenge.

Here are other challenges web designers face:

• Finding new clients – 45% of web designers say this is a challenge for them
• Pricing my services – 36%
• Dealing with scope creep – 34%
• Managing my time – 27%
• Scaling my business – 25%
• Dealing with difficult/demanding clients – 24%
• Feeling financial uncertainty – 23%
• Lacking coding skills – 18%
• Lacking design skills – 4%
• No challenges in particular – 3%

Source: Squarespace Circle

14. 78% of web designers find new clients by word of mouth

According to Squarespace Circle’s survey, the majority of web designers find new clients through referrals.

Web designers rely on other methods far less:

• Word of mouth/referrals – 78% of web designers use this method to find new clients
• Online marketing, such as social media ads and posts – 6%
• Global website traffic (direct and organic) – 6%
• Marketplaces or job boards – 3%
• Cold pitching – 2%
• Physical marketing, such as business cards or flyers – 0%
• No method in particular – 3%

Source: Squarespace Circle

15. 57% of web designers have fired clients or refused to work with clients again

Squarespace Circle asked 1,000 web design professionals whether or not they’ve ever fired clients or refused to work on additional projects with specific clients.

57% have while 38% have not.

5% preferred not to answer this question.

When asked about “fireable offenses,” the majority of web designers, or 56%, said their clients had unrealistic expectations.

Here are other reasons web designers may fire clients or refuse to work with them again:

• They had unrealistic expectations – 56%
• They were disrespectful – 45%
• They didn’t pay on time or didn’t pay at all – 40%
• They didn’t value my expertise or listen to my advice – 39%
• They were too demanding – 34%
• Scope creep – 29%
• The client failed to deliver content or assets – 26%
• The project timeline became too lengthy – 14%
• Prefer not to say – 3%

Source: Squarespace Circle

16. 67% of web designers also offer logo design services

According to Squarespace Circle’s survey, 67% of web designers also offer logo design services to their clients.

Squarespace Circle included a long list of options in their survey. These are the top five results:

• Brand and logo design – 67% of web designers offer this service
• Content creation – 51%
• Email marketing – 45%
• Copywriting – 43%
• Social media – 43%

As you can see, there are a lot of additional revenue streams that web designers can offer to clients.

Source: Squarespace Circle

17. Only 8% of web designers never partner with people outside of their own teams

Squarespace Circle asked web designers how often they partner with people outside of their own teams.

Only 8% of respondents chose the “never” option, which means 92% of web designers have partnered with someone outside of their own teams at least once.

6% always partner with someone outside of their own teams, 23% often do and 34% sometimes do.

29% of web designers rarely partner with someone outside of their own teams.

Source: Squarespace Circle

18. User interface designers make $89,000/year on average

According to over 700 salaries reported to Indeed, user interface designers make $89,833/year on average in the United States.

Salaries go as low as $55,453/year for this job title and as high as $145,528/year.

Salaries from actual job listings go as high as $158,000/year.

Source: Indeed²

19. User experience designers make $127,000/year on average

According to over 1,100 salaries reported to Indeed, user experience designers make an average of $127,117/year in the United States.

Salaries go as low as $84,705/year and as high as $190,766/year.

Salaries from actual job listings go as high as $216,000/year.

Source: Indeed³

Mobile web design statistics

20. 48% of mobile users experience performance issues at least once a day

Embrace’s latest report on mobile user experience states that 66% of mobile users experience performance issues at least once a week while 48% experience issues at least once a day.

Of those who experience performance issues on a daily basis, 53% say the biggest issue is apps that are slow to start.

Here are other issues mobile app users experience on a daily basis:

• Slow startup – 53% of mobile users who experience performance issues on a daily basis experience this issue
• Slow video – 50%
• Slow images – 49%
• Crashes – 45%
• App is frozen – 44%
• Unresponsive forms – 40%
• Unresponsive buttons or links – 39%

Source: Embrace

21. 39% of mobile users find it extremely frustrating when a mobile app crashes suddenly

According to Embrace’s survey, 86% of mobile users find it frustrating when a mobile app crashes suddenly.

39% find it extremely frustrating while 6% don’t find it frustrating at all.

Mobile users also find the following issues extremely frustrating:

• App is frozen – 33% of mobile users find this issue extremely frustrating
• Can’t fill in a form – 30%
• Buttons or links are unresponsive – 27%
• Video not loading – 17%
• Slow startup – 15%
• Slow loading image – 15%

Source: Embrace

22. 32% of mobile users are extremely likely to delete an app that crashes suddenly a few times

Embrace’s survey revealed that 94% of mobile users would delete apps that crash suddenly a few times.

32% are extremely likely to while only 6% aren’t at all likely to delete apps that crash.

Here’s what percentage of mobile users are extremely likely to delete apps based on multiple occurrences of common issues:

• App crashes suddenly – 32% of mobile users would be extremely likely to delete an app that has this issue
• App is frozen – 28%
• Can’t fill out a form – 26%
• Buttons or links are unresponsive – 22%
• Slow startup – 14%
• Slow loading video – 13%
• Slow loading image – 13%

Source: Embrace

23. 50% of smartphone users prefer to shop with a brand’s mobile site

According to Think with Google, half of smartphone users will shop with a brand’s mobile site if they aren’t willing to or aren’t able to download that brand’s mobile app.

Furthermore, 30% of smartphone users are more likely to use mobile sites for first or one-time purchases.

Source: Think with Google¹, Think with Google²

24. 13% of mobile users would only wait five seconds if an app was being slow while they were trying to check out

According to a survey question from Embrace’s latest report on mobile user experience, 13% of mobile users would only wait as long as five seconds before quitting if an app was being slow while they were trying to check out or make a purchase.

33% would wait as long as 30 seconds.

19% of users would wait as long as five seconds if an app was being slow while they were trying to log in. 40% would wait for 30 seconds.

19% of users would wait for up to five seconds if an app was being slow while they were trying to play an audio or video clip. 37% would for as long as 30 seconds.

Source: Embrace

25. 58% of smartphone users have a more positive opinion of websites and apps that remember who they are

Think with Google’s data on smartphone users states that 58% of users have a more favorable attitude toward companies whose mobile websites or apps remember their past behavior.

Source: Think with Google³

26. 31% of mobile engineers find it frustrating to build for multiple devices and operating systems

When Embrace asked mobile engineers about the top challenges they or their teams face when building mobile apps, 50% named “monitoring performance issues” as their biggest challenge while 44% said “keeping up with frequent changes.”

However, 31% also find it difficult to keep their apps compatible with multiple mobile devices and operating systems.

Here are other challenges mobile engineers face:

• Monitoring app performance – 50% of mobile engineers find this aspect of mobile app development challenging
• Keeping up with frequent changes – 44%
• Building for multiple device and OS compatibility – 31%
• Supporting older versions and devices – 29%
• Maintaining data privacy compliance – 17%
• Building for complex IT infrastructure – 15%
• Security and authentication – 14%

Source: Embrace

Ecommerce web design statistics

27. 13.03% of Android sessions trigger low-memory warnings compared to 5.25% of iOS sessions in the ecommerce industry

According to Embrace’s report, 13.03% of Android app sessions in the ecommerce industry trigger low-memory warnings compared to 5.25% of iOS app sessions in the same industry.

Overall, 12.94% of Android app sessions trigger low-memory warnings compared to 5.49% of iOS app sessions.

Source: Embrace

Website speed statistics

28. Bounce rate increases by 32% when a page’s speed increases from one second to three

According to research published by Think with Google, the probability of bounce increases by 32% when a website’s page load speed increases from one second to three seconds.

Source: Think with Google⁴

Final thoughts

That concludes our latest collection of web design statistics.

We learned the importance of web design and how much a poorly-designed website or mobile app can impact your user base.

In general, so long as website designers optimize a website’s main image and use a mobile-friendly website design, they should be fine.

If you need help optimizing your website, check out our guide on optimization tools for websites.

Sources

• IBISWorld
• Business Research Insights
• Research and Markets
• Stanford
• Embrace
• Squarespace Circle
• Indeed¹
• Indeed²
• Indeed³
• Think with Google¹
• Think with Google²
• Think with Google³
• Think with Google⁴