There has been a tremendous evolution in the practice of web design over the last two decades. Even some of the critics prophesying about the dead of web designing as a profession still comes to the conclusion that the work of designers will continue to be relevant in our world. Here is an example. In his controversial article published in UX Magazine in 2015, Sergio Nouvel used five symptoms to make his case on why web design is a dead profession. It is, however, surprising that Sergio' conclusion in the same article still stress that fact that the demand for UX designers will continue to be on the rise. I agree with the fact the days where web developers and web designers will create designs using Photoshop and later slice them into HTML are long gone. However, I am of the opinion that web designers with vast experiences and the knowledge will continue to remain highly valuable. Here are six reasons why we cannot at any time consider web designing as a dying profession:
1.Web Security And Maintenance
Having secure websites is essential for safeguarding the reputation of any serious company. Similarly, website design, structure, and maintenance are crucial to search engine optimization (SEO). Hacker always seeks to take advantage of vulnerable websites that have outdated security details. Vulnerability in security may either leak sensitive information of clients or infect the computers of the website visitors. Therefore, one of the requirements a firm need to consider in choosing an SEO company or web designer is the maintenance of their website and the frequency of security updates. Since not many people are technically shrewd to patch up the security of their websites and perform maintenance activities they require the services of a professional web designer. Complex websites such as those that collect customers' information or the e-commerce websites, require having an experienced web designer who is always updated.
2.Specialized Online Branding
In a recent conversation with Nirmal Gyanwali, a web design experts in Sydney, he made the submission that the roles of a web designer are facilitating the delivery of quality content and specialized branding messages to website visitors. I came to agree with this because it explains why large corporation's web designers are part of the marketing team and not the IT department. In her recent articles on web design trends of 2016, Nicole Boyer, a professional web, and graphic designer made the point that the ability of a web designer to design pages that forward the brand of the company is very vital. This, therefore, leads to the integration of the marketing and web design. Since the wall that existed between marketing and technology has long been broken down, web designers should diversify their skills by learning about content, marketing, and branding.
3.Specialized Web Functions
With the rapid evolution of technology, almost anything that we do on a daily basis is linked to use the internet web design and development has not left untouched. This, therefore, means that the skills and knowledge of any web developer should evolve. Web developers need to diversify their knowledge to learn new skills such as android coding, customized blogging, and customized apps among others. To say the least web design is not a dying career but an evolving one just like any other.
4.Online Branding and Marketing Expertise.
Having a digital marketing strategy facilitates an efficient budgeting of the necessary marketing activities, the right online marketing activities and the scheduling of appropriate content distribution. Though there are marketing planners that are readily available on the online platform, the knowledge and experience of a web designer who is an active help to get the best from your marketing activities.
5.Web Design As An Art
Web design is still viable as a profession to those who are willing to learn new ideas and incorporate them into their designs. Today people talk about user experience to refer to the feel, look, and the content that the website visitor expect when they visit a particular website. According to Nicole Boyer, the expectations of the web visitors will continue to grow when it comes to the feel and look of the website. Elements such as fonts, backgrounds, infographics, color schemes, videos, and layouts will continue to increase in importance in web design. Therefore, web designing remains a viable career to those that take the opportunity to learn.
6.Quality vs Standard Websites.
A big proportion of the content that is found on the internet today is produced by a framework such as Drupal, WordPress, Blogger and any other. These frameworks just provide standard as opposed to quality websites that are foundational and shortcuts that enable you to save time and money. The web technological advancement in the last decade has made readymade templates of almost anything possible. There are now themes with templates for any kind of website you could imagine. Nonetheless, there are still intricacies involved in making a website relevance for conversion that is still difficult to be achieved with the mere use of templates. An example of this is web design for AdWords relevance. According to Haris Bacic, automation will never replace the need for quality websites though it may lower the opportunities for the web designers who provide these services. Though most small business owners are simply interested with web presence only and getting more time for content development, there are still many chances for professional web designers in the market.
In conclusion, web designing is alive and well and will continue as long as the designers are willing to adapt to the emerging trends in the industry.