Contrary to what you may have read, professional website design does not seem dead. The professional website designer is still around, and the business is doing well.
Popular media outlets Mashable.com claim that low-cost WordPress templates and artificial intelligence are killing professional website design. However, these headlines are geared to driving discussion and traffic. These claims are made to promote rather than to be true.
Are you wondering how these statements can make me so confident? It’s simple. Humans are human, and humans need to create an environment that allows other people to connect emotionally.
We are only human
The internet connects people around the globe and continues to grow in usage with every month, season, and year. Although desktop web usage has declined, overall internet usage continues to rise at a remarkable rate. Mobile phones and tablets are used by users to stay connected to the outside world.
As internet adoption grows and device usage changes, the content we consume is changing. The internet of things connects humans and machines and almost everything else.
Professional web design is a necessity for B2B as well as C2C businesses around the globe. This belief is not just my conviction, but it is also something I have experienced daily as a web designer.
Artificial Intelligence and Templates are not able to solve human problems
My team and I assist companies with WordPress development projects each week. But, we don’t just create a website. These days, anyone can create a website.
Every web design project aims to assist businesses with real-world problems. These problems could be related to traditional marketing and sales issues or problems facing our clients.
The professional website design should identify and use the internet to resolve a problem.
Keep seeing ads and articles about the new grid style of website development. They claim that no designer was required. The software can solve all your design problems by reviewing your content. Really? It’s not that easy. It’s not.
Grid systems that are purely focused on text and images will not solve business problems. It’s meant to provide a quick solution to low-budget website development projects.
It is centred on the site owner’s technology perspective and does not address the website owner’s goals or problems.
You’ve probably been involved in a structured website design project. This process involves a lot of discovery and using best practices and experience to find a solution.
Although a grid-based website design package might seem appealing, it fails to ask important questions. It doesn’t ask website owners questions about their target market, product or service offerings, project objectives and goals, traffic flow or how the project will be judged a success.