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Jobs change. We all know this. Many of us have first hand or anecdotal evidence of a time where one modern job was done in the past by several different people. We get clauses in employment contracts like “and any other duties” and suddenly the remit of your responsibility has a scope beyond definition, and the nature of the job changes in consequence – often in a way people seem to dislike.
Web Designers are counted among this class. Once, the name spoke to the nature of the job. They designed websites. Web Developers developed them. Nowadays, these terms are essentially interchangeable – there are very few designers who can’t build sites. And maybe that’s not too bad; the architects of old were present at the construction of their designs too.
But the modern Web Developer faces an increasing tension that goes beyond this: market forces are almost tearing them away from doing the job they trained to do. They are becoming an ‘everything’ person for tech, and I wonder if this is entirely good, or fair.
The Internet’s Handyman
Handymen have a reputation. They are handy – they can do a bit of everything: paint a ceiling, fix a radiator leak, mow the lawn, clean the bins – but never is he considered to be an expert at anything. A jack of all trades and a master of none. The diversity of his skillset is the limiting factor on his income; he is a generalist, not a specialist.
Niche Down Is The Advice of the Age
When it comes to getting reach, engagement, and conversion online, the oft-trumpeted advice is to “niche down”. Implicitly, the pursuit is against generalism into specialism.
Don’t just be a “health” YouTuber, niche down into women’s health. Don’t just be a fashion blogger – be a vintage bohemian fashion blogger. You get the idea. It helps with conversion.
A higher percentage of your audience will like what you do if you are specific about what it is, and that is more likely to convert into an active, engaged, and even paying customer base. Just being a broad ‘fashion blogger’ won’t appeal to such a high percentage of your audience because some of them will be punks, some will be cottagecore enthusiasts, and others will be into ‘old money’ styles, and by talking about some modern clothing you’ll be talking to none of them.
How does this relate to my thoughts on Web Designers? Because the advice is the complete opposite, and yet in some ways, contradictory.
What Is The Role of the Web Designer?
The strangeness in the many roles a Web Designer is meant to play is not mirrored in how we think about real-world skills and jobs.
The advice, for example, that Web Designers should not sell websites but results is one of those that makes great taglines. It’s expanded to mean that customers want increased reach, conversions, revenue, etc. Of course they do – all businesses do.
But does a brick and mortar business contract the builders to do marketing too? And security? Of course they don’t; that would be ridiculous. They pay separately experts who are competent at security, and then others for media and advertising. Why would you ask that of your builders?
Moreover, if you did leave it to the builders and they failed in discharging their duties – especially over something like security – you’d be in serious trouble. In real life, that would be your shop robbed, and online that’s going to be people’s sensitive data (addresses, bank details) leaked. Failure to discharge legal duties to protect that data becomes a legal issue.
Yet in Web Design this broad expectation is precisely what people have: the Web Designer is meant to do everything from design to construction to marketing to social media management to security and so on.
Video Killed The Radio Star:
Perhaps one of the most pressing reasons Web Designers are reaching into other spaces, like SEO and security, etc., is because AI is coming for the Design market. I have written before about the risks for clients using AI websites though and would strongly recommend reading that if you haven’t already.
But it is a danger to the career of a Web Designer – plenty of clients they would have got will spend less (and get less, but that’s besides the point for this discussion) on an AI website that’s ready and online in minutes. It seems like a no-brainer. But although it is a poor business choice, it is a legitimate pressure on the Web Designer’s place in the market. How are they to distinguish themselves?
I think most of them could if they lean into the strengths of their design skills. If they are competent designers they will be suited to a wide range that conveys real personality – a great feature for a business, who needs to be memorable in a sea of templates and AI. This is a real selling point, but I see few trying to sell it.
Secondly, maintenance is the obvious leader here too. AI websites are a financial trap in a similar way to excessive electronics in modern cars. They make driving more easy and comfortable when they work but when they don’t work the whole car is crippled by consequence, even if the issue isn’t serious.
AI website builders are exactly the same mistake – they work great to build a (usually mediocre) website in 30 seconds and get it online. And then, when the site runs into issues, it’s done for. AI can’t look after or maintain the site. It can’t repair failed payment gateways or edit some formatting mistake that’s breaking your homepage.
You’ll need a Web Designer to fix this, and most of them (like me) won’t work on those cheap AI built sites because there’s often very little we can do. The way they are built makes them proprietary, locked-in to the company whose service you use. The same way you can’t repair your own car.
Web Design Agencies Are The Internet’s Handymen
Agencies do try, usually, to tick all of the boxes: web design, development, hosting, security, and SEO. But they are a group of several people; they probably have a specialist in most of those areas. This is not viable for the sole freelancer.
The problem with doing everything as a freelancer is that the quality of anything you do usually suffers. It’s not worth doing if you can’t do it well. And in a market like Web Design that is often cloaked in mystery, laid over with layers of jargon and with a bit of over-enthusiasm when it comes to promises and under-performance when it comes to results, a reputation for under-delivering is fast-earned, easily believed, and hard to shake. It’s a career ender.
Should Web Designer Do Everything? A Declaration:
I think Web Designers are at an interesting crossroads at the moment in defining the scope of their work, while still trying to remain relevant in a rapidly shifting market. They are under a lot of pressure to find their place. Agencies are swallowing up the big clients who want an all-in-one package and the AI site builders are swallowing the small clients who want the same.
AI builders are a categorical mistake. Nobody who cares about the longevity or ownership of their site should go anywhere near them, that is my earnest advice and I have repeatedly emphasised this on the blog. I stand by it.
But what’s the Web Designer to do? The freelancer is being torn by market pressures in all directions.
My resolution? Honesty is the best policy. I will not over-promise and under-deliver. I will not clout-chase, or obfuscate with jargon that which should be clear and straightforward.
I’m not a business therapist or strategist by trade. I’m certainly capable of ideas and insight, and if appropriate and wanted, would be happy to voice my thoughts, but I am not selling business strategy as a service.
I am not a security expert. I am certainly aware of common website vulnerabilities and will follow best practises to mitigate the risk – I use secure and reliable hosting, enforce two-factor authentication for all site admins, keep a deliberately very lean plugin library to prevent redundant code and security exploits hampering your site, and I put them behind Cloudflare to suppress bot traffic, and so on. I include competent security in my maintenance plans, but I am not selling security specialism as a service. If you have unique needs for higher security you would need to find someone who is an expert at that. He won’t be a web designer, and he won’t build websites.
I am not a marketer, either. I certainly design my sites with strong SEO foundations and know how to optimise posts within a competent degree for SEO, but I don’t write your blog posts for you or offer SEO services in relation to them. I build my sites with correct heading hierarchies, alt tags, mobile responsiveness, and with thought given to how users interact in order to boost retention and conversions – but I am not selling SEO optimisation as a service either.
I’m a Web Designer. I build websites that are beautiful, modern, customised (if you take a bespoke offering) and I maintain them to keep them – and your online presence – the best they can be.
I will be attentive to you and diligent about my work. I will communicate with you openly and honestly. I will help you to succeed as best I can. I am offering you my service.
I’m offering you collaboration, and a path to progress. I’m not selling results – I don’t know what the future looks like and will not stake my reputation on a falsehood.
I’m offering a partner, who handles some of the techy elements of your online world, to help you build what you envisage your in your dreams. I’m not selling you the dream.
I would love to work for you if you’ll have me.
Thank you for reading.