We're going over seven web design certifications that you can use to increase your hourly rate here, on The Journey. All right, now we're going over ways to increase your hourly rate as a web designer Minneapolis. As we know, super important, we gotta get paid, right? Yeah, exactly, and most of these certifications they do require at least a little bit of experience or study. But, most of them can be completed online and they are relatively affordable and most are even free. And, to help you out, we've compiled this list of seven web design certifications to keep your freelance business competitive. Now, these certifications are not just gonna cover web design. They're gonna diversify your skillset to really set you apart. In that way, you can become a one-stop-shop for your clients. So, rather than just developing their website you can actually offer all of these other skills, as well.

Now, starting off that list is Google Analytics IQ. This certification is absolutely free and I know what you're thinking of Google Analytics. That's not really web design or social media. But, it's definitely a Minneapolis SEO Services skill that's in high demand. And when it comes to analytics, Google Analytics is the heavyweight. Basing your web design decisions on data rather than just assumptions is actually gonna lead to a lot more results for your client, right? So you'll be able to tell them here's what's working with your site, here's what's not working and maybe even save them money down the road. It's definitely a skill set that's going to set you apart from others. Cause, yes, many people can throw together a website and make it look pretty, but, you'll actually use data to drive results for their business. The certification is valid for 18 months but you do have to retake it to make sure that you're keeping up with that. And what's cool about Google Analytics is they give you a couple of beginner and advanced courses. Just brush up on different concepts and make sure that you can ace that exam and, most importantly, deliver results to your clients. Then the exam will take about 90 minutes.

Now, next up on our list is Minneapolis SEO Adobe Certified Expert or ACE for short. The cost for this is a hundred and eighty dollars per product. You essentially get certified by the products themselves. Luckily, Adobe does offer specials sometimes, like, buy one get one. It's cool and being that Adobe has just a large suite of products you can get certified with things that can really compliment your business. Adobe has a ton of products, right? Adobe Premiere Pro, Photoshop, Illustrator, all these things so you can really pick the ones that make sense for you and your business. So, Adobe keeps really close control of their testing process and their certification curriculum. So, this is a really rare certification that can help you actually stand out as an expert for these products. And the good news with these certifications is that they don't expire. You get certified once and you're good for life. Now, that doesn't mean that you might want to retake it periodically because, as we know, Adobe makes tons of updates to their products. So, check in every now and then and retake that test just to make sure you're up to date. Number three is the General Assembly Bootcamp Courses. So, these typically range anywhere from being free to four thousand dollars. These are the most extensive and really in-depth courses and certifications that you can get. What's cool about this is they offer in-person sessions or online. Just depending on whatever's best for you. And, these courses are taught by industry experts. So, it's not just someone random that picked up the curriculum and they're teaching it. These are people that are actually walking the walk not just talking the talk. Topics can range from front end web design to JavaScript frameworks to mobile app development and even digital marketing. And general assembly does offer some free introductory courses to give you a little taste of the full experience.

Number four on our list is FreeCodeCamp and, as you can guess, the cost is free. FreeCodeCamp offers web design and development skills for free and their library cannot be beaten. There are articles and video lessons and workshops and all these different things. What's even better about it is they offer different study groups in your area. So, you can get with people that are just like you and learn these tactics, too. And, the unique thing that FreeCodeCamp does is they let you get that hands-on experience if you're just starting out by contributing to these open source software projects for non-profits. It's so cool and what's even better about it is you can use those projects and put it on your resume and your portfolio as things you've contributed too. The fifth certification is Google Mobile Web Specialist Minneapolis. So, this one costs ninety-nine dollars but that does include a study guide, as well as three exam attempts in case, you know, third times a charm. In case you fail the first couple. But, what's cool about it is it helps you set you apart from other web developers that show off your skills on mobile. We all know mobile's important. It's over half of all internet searches. You want to make sure that all sites look great on mobile. It's really what your clients are worried about at the end of the day. Now this certification will help you test that and really give you hands-on experience with real-world tasks that you may have to face in the future. It includes topics like a progressive web application or performance optimization. And even accessibility or mobile web forms. Completing this certification also gives you that really nice digital badge that you can display on your website or your different social media platforms. And, what's even cooler, is Google actually adds you to a directory of all their developers that have passed the exam. Which is just another way to really show off your skills and potentially get more leads.

Number six is HubSpot Academy Certification and each course is available for free. So, what's important is that your clients want an online presence that not only looks good but actually sells their products or their services and that's where digital marketing comes in. Think about it, if you can not only combine your web design skills now with your digital marketing skills you're gonna help your client increase their leads and conversion. Not only that, but you also get to charge more for it, too, because you're adding more value than just a website provides. But, web designers will most likely find the most value in their inbound certification course. This course will really take you through understanding inbound marketing, the buyer's journey, and more. And most of these courses only take about two to four hours to complete. So, it's something that you can spend a weekend on and up your game.  Last, but definitely not least, is the Facebook Blueprint Certification. So, each one costs a hundred and fifty dollars. But, the certification requires two exams so that means three hundred dollars. But this one can really set you apart because Facebook is one of the most powerful advertising platforms available right now. Becoming Facebook Blueprint certified through that certification process does make you highly valuable to your clients and businesses alike because it shows that you're experienced with the platform and you can help them with their marketing goals. Exactly, a lot of the clients that I work with, you know, they've tried Facebook boosting in the past and they didn't quite see any results but it's because they didn't quite know how to utilize these tools. So, if you're the expert then you can show them how to really take better advantage of the money that their spending and get the best, you know, return on investment. This certification is administered and proctored by Facebook to basically test how you do create ad campaigns, measuring results, and troubleshooting any issues that do arise. And each exam must be retaken once a year to maintain that certification.

Now, all of this is great, and all but landing those great Minneapolis web design, clients are going to require more than being certified with Facebook Blueprint or having a HubSpot badge on your website. Ultimately clients care about how you're actually going to help their business grow and they don't want to spend all this time talking to a million different people. So, if you offer all of these services, you know, for them so that it's just one place they have to go, one person, they have to talk to, then think about all the money you could be making from that client. Exactly, or if they just come to you because you build websites and then you can really show off that hey, cool, I do not only build websites but I could also help you convert more leads. I can do X, Y, and Z with all these cool certifications that I have and really bring in those big bucks. So, there are the seven web design certifications you can use to help boost your hourly rate. Be sure to like this video and comment down below. Subscribe to our channel and ring that bell so you get these episodes first. This is The Journey, we'll see you next time.