Are Website Designers Redundant?

15 Oct 2010

This a phrase which has been doing the rounds for a lot longer than you might think. Even in the late 1990's software was claiming that the website designers days were over. It is true that there is software which will build your website, which is good for small side projects, or a start-up business with no current presence, however there is more to web design than meets the eye...

Website Design

Free, or even small fee website self build packages often promise to provide free or easy to modify website designs. They are totally correct, they provide designs, but they are not individual, by using an individual website designer, you get your own unique design. Not always important for small projects, but I have even seen two Irish web agencies using the exact same Joomla template. It dilutes your brand, no matter how simple, and makes everything look grubby. Over complicated designs do more damage than simple, basic designs. If your company has more than two or three employees, you should be able to afford to pay a website and/or graphic designer a few hundred euro to mock up a simple, basic but crisp design.

 

The Cost Argument - Bounce Rates

Quite literally an argument, well for me anyway. Recently enough I got in an argument... creative discussion, with a client over the best way to do things online from a design sense, she wanted the design to be based on a PowerPoint document. Besides the fact that PowerPoint isn't a design tool, the last time I worked off such a model was 2006, and the site worked, because simplicity was a major factor, with features being functional and useful, rather than bloated and painful to endure. Eventually we talked through everything, and she realised that her page would have a high Bounce Rate - the amount of people leaving the site within a minute, and only viewing one page. This was due to the fact, as a non-designer she hadn't factored in basics of website design and usability, as well as other peoples preferences. In essence her page was highly effective if you were into visuals, but had no information, which made it look like a advert. You really don't get a second opinion when you self design, and risking issues like poor bounce rates can create real problems when trying to convey a message, again an extra few hundred euro can buy you a successful website.

Design is really make or break, you can skimp on other elements starting out, but design is really important to get right, and in turn, is not something for free websites, or out of box designs.

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