is web design dead now?

I suppose you could say much the same thing about any skill that has experienced some serious dents do to social media and a host of Done-For-You Software applications.

Nevertheless, your skills are still in demand. Years ago I was using Xsite Pro for my website and everyone was saying go with Wordpress and how easy it is to use. I, like lot a lot of others, found it difficult to work with at first and there are still many others who don't know the first thing about building a landing page. They simply don't know where to look and they don't know how to get started if they did.

These folks aren't stupid. They just don't have the technical know-how. And someone like yourself can help. The problem is that your problem is like everyone else who does what you do. You have to find these folks and you probably have to spend money on advertising and you have to compete with all the others on the Freelance sites.

The online world is filled with opportunities and there's a lot of satisfaction in creating and selling stuff, but the competition is considerable. The good new is that some of the software that others don't know how to work with can make it a lot easier for you. Similarly, the social media platforms that have all these groups and pages can help you find a targeted audience to connect with or advertise to.

Hang in there and keep going if this is what you sincerely want to do. A client here and there can add to your testimonial page and make it easier for you over time.

The issue with web design is web designers themselves. Back in the early 2000s, you could feasibly sell websites for clueless business owners for a few thousand dollars. Now it's just not the case. With things like Wordpress and plugins to set up e-commerce stores widely available for cheap, the web design industry has to evolve.

You have to start diving deeper into web design "niches". Build Word Press plugins, build themes, sell them on the marketplace, master Shopify custom coding. Mobile Responsiveness (not just tossing together a "responsive" design). Landing Page design, banners, responsive ads, etc. Learn what people actually need help with.

Visit freelancer and check out what people are looking for, they are looking for specific plugins, customizations, improvements and fixes on their already existing system. Learn to adapt, you may not be able to sell the cars anymore, but there's plenty of web design projects out there.

Failure to adapt is why Toys'R'Us and other previously successful businesses closed their doors.


EDIT: That being said, we have two designers on staff, both working 30-40/hrs a week on various projects.

I never took web design seriously but in last 2 months, I targeted Indian girls who are into bikini competitions and gymming and muscle building etc. I showed them dummy websites of their competitors and they were more than willing to pay for gettting a website created.

So far, my developer has created over 50 websites and I have made good money by doing absolutely nothing..

The answer to your question is : NO

No, it won't be dead anytime soon as well.

As long as the internet is still around people with need websites and are willing to pay to get them designed.

You just have to find your market...

Hi Xzon,

Nope.

Still billions of websites out there. Each needs designing.

With so many DIY Website Builders around, it would be easy to buy into the notion that web designers are gradually being pushed out of the market. Heck, I have asked this question to myself before and believe that many are in fact quitting the industry, for fear of being redundant by such site builders.

Don't lose faith. There is so much a web designer can offer that a Site Builder cannot.

Site Builder
As you know, a Site Builder is there to help people build a website. Typically, a Site Builder is used by those who do not possess the required skill set to code a website themselves. Often, it's users may have a 'Why pay for a web designer when I can just drag and drop myself' mentality.

Of course, a Site Builder has its place. Personally, I see a Site Builder as:

• Useful in helping beginners get online, with a straight forward website;
• Great for those whose activity is mainly offline, where they only need a few informational pages.

It does, however, have its limitations. To name just a very brief few:

• Duplicate design (CSS) entries can often contribute to slower page load speed;
• You may not have complete control over layout (Margins, Padding etc);
• Possible restrictions on responsiveness;
• Compatibility issues with Plugins (WordPress) and other features.

Good Web Design
Ultimately, a website is a touch point between its owner(s) and its visitors. In other words, it should be seen as part of the owner(s) marketing arsenal; just like Brochures, Business Cards and the like.

A good web designer would be aware of this and factor all of this within the web design. Looking at factors, such as:

• Brand Consistency: Ensuring that the website adheres to any Style Guides and that its colour scheme compliments any other marketing material;
• Website Structure: Implement great website architecture as well as produce organised page layouts;
• Performance: Create a fast loading web site, eliminating any bloatware;
• Usability: Is the website an eCommerce site? If so, work with the owner to create the best routes from touch point to conversion possible;
• SEO Ready: Don't forget that most clients are likely wanting to perform well in Search Results. Even if you do not plan on offering SEO Services, a good web design will work with the Client to implement any relevant Rich Snippers and Schemas etc.

Marketing
As mentioned above, a website is another part of the marketing arsenal. Whenever I approach a new website, I look at it from a marketing perspective first. The bottom line is, a successful website is created for its users not its owner. Explain this to the owner and work with them to perform some preliminary marketing as to help you with the web design.

Social Media
You did mention that you have come across some people who questioned why they needed a website, since they operate mainly on social media platforms. On the surface, this may sound like a valid question. The reality, however, is that if everyone is operating on social media, they will all eventually blend in with each other, offering the same kind of user experience. If you do come across this response again, educate the person in the importance of being unique. Explain that by offering a unique user experience, on a well put together website, will help them stand out and help towards getting that desired conversion.

The Bottom Line
There is more to great web design than just 'looking good'. A great website not only has all of the required functionality but it also needs to perform well. Many such requirements, being beyond the scope of a Site Builder.

Ultimately, it is the perception of your value that will play a role in your success rate. With many people believing Web Design is now as simple as 'drag and drop', you may wish to branch out into Web Development as to boost your survival hopes. In fact, why not look into whether you want to further enhance your value, by embracing:

• SEO;
• PPC;
• Social Media Marketing.

After all, most websites are considered a failure if they do not perform well on the above channels.

thanks for all replys and keep the replys coming to it helps thanks


good to know its not dead but there is lot of alternative options now and yes at start of the yr it was just 'build websites and job done' but its clear now that i need to adapt to how the market changing!


i'm gonna hang in there but at same time i'm sort of having to start over again and re think how to adapt? lots of hard work

a]

do you guys face this common problem with people who are simply not willing to pay for web services? or say its too expensive even when i'm really giving them a cheapest deal.



i find it annoying that people will causally pay for dentist fees, expensive coffees without question but they think they can get away with 'i want it cheap' with us web developers and that we have to fight to get a deal done. i tried to bargain with a dentist and it was straight no, its the price, no deals are to be made. why can they do this and not us?
is this a common issue and how does one show more authority and demand clients take them seriously.


b]


how do you guys react to this one, i go to a client who owns a shop, doesn't have a website and they simply turn round and say well i've been doing this for 10 or so years or longer and i don't need or want a website and i'm not interested despite facts, news and me reminding them that high streets are suffering and shops are closing, heck just 20min from where i was today about 50% shops are closed. can you believe the mindset of these people lol. its same mindset that clearly caused the major brands to close. just stupid. do you guys just walk away or do you have tricks to convince these people?





i'm certainly not giving up, i have another good lead today and another 12 nearby business to look into.

It is hard to say that Web design is dead. In fact, the latest technology, tools, plugin for SEO change the way of web designing and development. Social Media also affect hardly.

No, it is still working or need designing on update way.

I wouldn't say it's dead, but it's not nearly the cash cow that it used to be.

It will also be difficult due to the number of readily available CMS' and site builders now.

It's making more money than ever

What changed?

Design is now integrated with other services

Adapt with the times by providing ADDED VALUE to basic design

Good Old Microsoft Web killed the business.

this is just the begining of website design! we have many clients coming!

Its not that web design is dead, its the way in which you are presenting it is. As much as things change they stay the same right? Everyone is migrating to social, is a great example. Because they don't have just one social account, they have a Facebook, a twitter an Instagram a this and a that. A website, even in its most basic form in a overall macro view of marketing should be at the center of this. Go real broad Macro with this and inject newspaper ads and billboards and radio ads etc etc in conjunction with the social efforts and a website without question has its place - it then becomes a matter of presentation.

Take this even a step further - going ahead of the curve. Cel phones as we know them are starting to evolve. The technology in our homes is starting to evolve. The consumption of podcast are increasing. EVERYTHING is migrating ever not so slowly to VOICE.

Ask potential clients if they have Google Home or Alexa in their homes or even in their office. Ask them to inquire on said device about their business.. guess what... no website or at the very least no Google my Business listing... there will be anything but what the potential client wants to hear. I actually bring these devices with me to presentations now.. the impact is a bit overwhelming

Sure you went to school for design and blah blah blah, but NOW.. you run a business and it is YOUR JOB to better than anyone else articulate the VALUE of your service. Extract the potential clients thinking from the micro "Facebook works great" to the MACRO, Social is just a stepping stone to the "Internet of things" The VOICE boat hasn't just set sail, its well on its way to winning the race, and coming full circle... Its websites that will fuel the age of VOICE driven internet.

The answer is NO. Custom web designers with marketing experience who understand UX Design are very much in demand.

1. CYBER SECURITY
2. BRAND IDENTITY
3. CUSTOM WEBSITES


In other words, web design is NOT dead. It has just transformed and morphed.

Commoditization by Templates
Automation and Artificial Intelligence are Already Doing the Job
Web Design Patterns are Mature
MOBILE APPS

Web design is not dead.
In the future, the website is becoming more and more demanding for web designers.
Users pay more attention to the visual experience and interactive experience of the website.
In the case of the Google search engine, Google prefers to give higher rankings to sites with good user experience.
A good user experience is a test of the skills of web designers.

I say no. Probably you are on wrong track. There are lots of demands for web development and designing work. If you are a good developer surely you can earn a good amount of money from the marketplace. There have good freelancing where lots of web development job available. Build a strong portfolio and open an account there like- upwork, fiverr, people per hour. I hope you'll get good job.

All the best buddy!

I actually feel it's rising not dead... but since there are a lot of people who does it now, then it makes the thing cheaper than how it used to be.. plus you can now design your site without any experience.

Web design is not dead. You just have to evolve beyond what you used to do. No matter how many cms and social media platforms there are, people still beed customization and certain features that a cheap template can't provide.

If your clients think that a FB page is more important than a website, you need to educate them properly why that's not the case. When you depend on one platform you are the slave of it. They can simply ban you and you are out of business. A real thriving business has an amazing website. Period.

Well, I have seen many companies they open their website builder or cms or even website builder to create a website, but they don't put reliability on it.

Yep. Its totally over man.
Didn't you hear? The internet has been cancelled as of January 12th.

Maybe it's not dead but the social media are every thing on the internet. for me when I speak about the internet I mean the social media which are the internet for the people nowadays, there are another thing you haven't mention which are Wordpress and the other platforms which help people to make easy website and full control without knowing any thing about coding. these sites are a big problem for web designer nowadays

Nope, who said web design is dead. There are lots of demand still in the marketplace. If you are good web designer then I don't you'll have to wait for your first job.

Yes and No

Yes, because lots of site builders available in the market so the business owners with less budget prefer to use that.

No, because still there are lots of business owners who want a premium designs and lots of other tools which can improve their business and get more leads.

Web design is not dead there is a condition that if you are creative than web design not dead. If you not going to add some unique creative design than you do not stand in the market.

Nope! Never!!!