Is web design a dying art?
Jack Stow
Jack Stow
Freelance web developer
www.jackstow.com
“It’s getting harder for small web design companies to compete and to justify their prices. After all, why pay for something you can get for free? The fact is that if you choose carefully a great deal of this software is very well written, stuffed with features, cheap to host and well supported by the community. Take for example DotNetNuke (http://www.dotnetnuke.com), a free open source ASP.NET-based website creation and content management system. It’s fast, flexible, search-engine friendly, web standards compliant, the list goes on. Hosting companies offer it pre-installed and configured. Try building a bespoke site for a client with the same features while making a profit. As technology develops, this kind of software is only going to become more powerful and adaptable. AI-powered web development anyone?”
Curtis McHale
Lead creative, SFNaim
www.curtismchale.ca
“I relate the rise of automated blogging and drag and drop design tools on the web to the rise of desktop publishing. There are tons of cheap and free options around for designing print material, but a tool does not a good designer make. I have had a few clients over the years that started out with automated tools but found that they just weren’t designers. Eventually they hit a wall in the usability and design and hired me to give them a professional look.
“I realise that with some of the newest players on the market the design aspect has been addressed in many ways but I still think there’ll always be a market for professionals who take the time to research user and client needs and provide a solution that fits those needs.”
Jeffrey Tarter
Founder and CEO, J-Vision Designs
www.jvisiondesigns.com
“I do not believe that web design is a dying art, but evolving. Advances in technology have made it extremely easy for people to set up a ‘ready made’ site but as anyone knows there is a lot more to it if you want to stand out in the crowd.
“Of course, the average Joe will just install some CMS like WordPress, download some free template and that’s enough for him, even though there are thousands of carbon copy sites among the web. But all serious companies and corporations want to have their own unique website. All major websites (Twitter, Facebook, CNN, YouTube, Google, Yahoo! and so on) have unique, hand-coded scripts and unique designs. That’s where the future of web design is at, working for larger companies instead of individuals. No, web design is not going to die; it is just going to get more professional and exclusive.”
This article first appeared in Web Designer issue 159, authored by Adrian Bridgwater
Pages: 1 2
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Im a studying Web developer and i do get a bit curious has to question if there is any point learning a fascinating trade, which im so passionate about, when it seems that its being eaten up by so many evils.
Good web design is a subtle and fascinating media. Unfortunately, as the last poster has alleded to, the industry is corrupt and this puts good designers off the media. I believe entirely in designing for the best experience of my visitor. Rewards in this industry are split between the designer and the SEO and until the two are sympathetically joined the industry will continue to pay dividends to the SEO and pat the designers on the back.
The problem these days is everything is changing so rapidly, it’s mentally and physically exhausting to try and keep up as a web designer. While I’ve been doing web design for almost 12 years, it seems that no matter my knowledge or skill level, I just can’t learn all the facets of the web now and simultaneously have the time to build. It’s not just about the art of design anymore, it’s completely gone interactive. I’ve always considered what I do smart, but now I must be a coding genius to even compete with what’s taking over in web design. To anybody considering a web career, it’s about a 5 year cycle and I guarantee you, you will either grow tired and weary of it, or get into a different trade all together.
I have also found that the learning takes up a large part of my time. I try to learn as I build clients sites. It has been a huge investment of my time to learn web design well and to see the current proliferation of so many similar looking CMS based sites is sometimes rather sad as at heart I am an artist. I do beleive that there will always be a place for professional web design as many clients just cannot build a comprehensive site on their own and will always need the professional designers help.
Web design is a dead industry. No one out there gives two shits about paying for web custom design anymore. I’ve been desiging for about 8 years and literally don’t get anymore than MAYBE 1 client per month anymore. With the majority of them just turning out to be broke losers who waste your time.
I defenitely NEVER tell anyone to ever go to school to learn to be a web designer. It’s a complete waste of time as a career choice.
IS WEB DESIGNING A DYING ART.
IS WEB DESIGNING A DYING ART.
IS WEB DESIGNING A DYING ART.
IS WEB DESIGNING A DYING ART.?
IS IT A DYING ART?
SO WEB DESIGNING IS A …..
HAHAHAHAA
WELL, BACK TO THE WEB DESIGN!
It will be dead in the next five years. I get so many calls from prospective clients who all say the same thing… “I heard about this free site… Blah blah… So i can save money but can you set it up…” Automation destroyed a viable career. Anyone studying web based programming right now is wasting their time and needs to switch majors immediately. Don’t listen to someone with a decade of experience, and you’ll have yourself a nice degree you can whipe your ass with. You can’t compete with free, and customers are misinformed and believe these free tools are synonymous with content rich, which they aren’t. Oh well, time to go apply to corporate America.