Should UX designers know coding?

Today, we are going to talk about one of the most frequently asked questions. Should a UX designer know coding?

The two-word answer would be, It depends.

It depends on various factors. That’s what we will learn.

Factors:

There are many, but let’s talk about these three essentials:

• What’s your goal?
• Are you looking for ways to be better at what you do?
• Have you explored other options, like no-code tools?

Let’s start with the first question.

What’s your goal?

If you are a fresher looking for a job and wondering if your design skills are enough or not, then don’t sweat too much. Design skills are enough to get you a job. You don’t have to learn anything other than design skills to call yourself a UX designer.

If you are a working professional, you are already working closely with developers and product managers. A basic understanding of the lingo and/or technology, like knowing HTML/CSS, will definitely give you an edge. That being said, you don't have to know how to write code yourself.

If you are a working professional and want to learn, then yes, you can give coding a try. Or not even coding: just put some hours into learning the foundation of coding.

Understand what a browser can and can’t do. You’ll be able to understand the gaps if there are any.

So before you jump into anything, understand your why and goal. Let’s learn how the second question will help

Are you looking for ways to be better at what you do?

If you iterate your design multiple times before you think it is good to go, then these are the questions you should ask yourself:

1. If learning to code will help you in becoming a better designer.
2. If “no, UX designers shouldn’t learn to code” is a bias or not.

If you get yes as an answer to both of them, then you are good to go. Learn the language that you have chosen.

Let’s understand how important the third question is.

Have you explored other options, like no-code tools?

No code tools exist because not everyone needs to learn to code. However, when required, even a non-coder can do what a coder can do.

As a designer, you can leverage no-code tools like:

• Figma to build interactive prototypes
• Webflow for building CMS-driven websites
• Framer to create high-fidelity prototypes with code-like interactions to quickly bring your concepts to life.

Learning a no-code tool requires time and effort, and some would prefer to put that into understanding the basics of coding.

If you are still confused and don’t understand how you can decide if you want to learn to code or not, let’s understand the pros and cons!

Benefits of learning how to code

The essential part of being a UX designer is collaborating with developers and product managers. When you are working with a team of developers, it’s easier to communicate with them when you understand the basics of what they say or open a ticket about.

Learning coding, or even the basics, will lead to:

Greater design control:

You will have more control over the final product. You’ll make sure to design what’s feasible, which automatically gives you control

Rapid Prototyping:

It will allow you to create functional prototypes quickly. You don’t need to, but it gives you a chance if you want to

Upskilling:

You’ll have more than one skill that you can work on. It does open up a few more opportunities than you currently have.

The fun part is that most experienced UX designers who know coding well usually never need to code. It’s basically to understand the ecosystem.

As long as you can converse with developers about the technical feasibility and implementation of your ideas.

That being said, let’s understand why learning to code might not be for you.

Disadvantages of learning how to code

With the current trend, companies prefer to hire candidates with multiple skills, but that could result in the following disadvantages for the candidate:

Unrealistic expectations:

To deliver a great user experience, a UX designer would also need to be part of other business operations. Where would you draw the line?

Blind spot:

Designers who know how to code may be limited in their creativity. Programming knowledge can be a double-edged sword for designers. The more you know about the possibilities and limitations of technology, the more it shapes the way you think.

Inefficient use of time:

Technology evolves faster nowadays. For a software developer who knows the foundation, basics, and multiple programming languages, it is comparatively easier to be updated with new technology than the UX designer, who knows one language, etc.

This may not be the best use of UX designer's time. Instead, they should be better updated on the latest technology and trends, in their core field.

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To conclude, the focus of UX designers should be to first learn core design skills like user research, UI design, and communication.

Once you have a strong foundation in these areas, you can consider learning the basics of HTML and CSS. Designers who can code are more valuable to their teams because they can better understand and communicate with developers. And they can create more realistic and implementable designs.