Will professional web design soon become a thing of thepast?

I am concerned that small, professional websites in the $1,000 to $10,000
dollar range could soon become a thing of the past owing to wysiwyg tools such
as Website tonight, MS small business website, etc. Do any other independent
designers have the same fears?... Am I too fearful?... Personally I think the
end result is rubbish but....

Paevo, I think you worry too much. I'd suggest taking up drinking.

There has been, and always will be folks that want to create their own site
using tools as you mentioned. But the majority of small and medium sized
businesses know better than to try to attempt design on their own.

Did MS Publisher put all of the printing houses out of business?

Paevo Kelley wrote:

I am concerned that small, professional websites in the $1,000 to
$10,000 dollar range could soon become a thing of the past owing to
wysiwyg tools such as Website tonight, MS small business website,
etc. Do any other independent designers have the same fears?... Am I
too fearful?... Personally I think the end result is rubbish but....

Consider these people more as a marketing tool for you.

If you can sell your added value to the client - such as standards compliant
code, an understanding of their business and it's place in the marketplace,
consultancy to show the client where they can make better profits - then
you'll pick up the same clients that you do now. You'll also start to win
clients who have tried these tools and found that it's not as easy as the
salesman says it is. You will also have clients who realise (or whom you can
advise) that their time is better spent running their business, not trying
to become a web developer for one single project.

Another thing to consider is that if you feel you'll lose small websites in
the range 1 - 10K, then aim higher. A client spending 20K is going to have
more of an understanding of what you can offer them - after all, that's why
they're thinking of spending the (comparitely) big money.

Of course, if all you do is code websites, and don't add any value, then
probably you *are* selling 1K websites,and a larger client job is still
beyond you. Start thinking about what you know that your client doesn't.

Consider that since the 1950's, DIY stores have become big business. But you
still see electricians out there doing work, even though we can purchase any
of the tools and equipment they use daily.

Regards,

Pete.
--
Peter Connolly
http://www.kpdirection.com
Utah

Paevo, there will always be a need for designers. And there will always be a
need for programmers. Companies will merge, fall apart and new ones are born.
As long as the free economy works the way it is supposed to new businesses will
always be formed and business will need to evolve.

If you are worried that designing websites is going away, think about
specializing more as a programmer or as a designer and either make programs or
work for a company to do this, or learn to design print in addition to web
media.

Excellent advice Peter et al, thanks, ***slurp***

Paevo, I think you worry too much. I'd suggest taking up drinking.
Brilliant! That was my immediate reaction given Paevo's seemingly constant

fretting & gnashing of teeth. Heavy drinking just might be the answer. Even
if he doesn't stop worrying, perhaps he'll forget what he's worrying about.

:-)

--

Walt


"JoeyD1978" <webforumsuser (AT) macromedia (DOT) com> wrote

Paevo, I think you worry too much. I'd suggest taking up drinking.

There has been, and always will be folks that want to create their own
site
using tools as you mentioned. But the majority of small and medium sized
businesses know better than to try to attempt design on their own.

Did MS Publisher put all of the printing houses out of business?

I think you're right. Perhaps you should consider needlepoint.

:-)

--

Walt


"Paevo Kelley" <webforumsuser (AT) macromedia (DOT) com> wrote

I am concerned that small, professional websites in the $1,000 to $10,000
dollar range could soon become a thing of the past owing to wysiwyg tools
such
as Website tonight, MS small business website, etc. Do any other
independent
designers have the same fears?... Am I too fearful?... Personally I think
the
end result is rubbish but....

to be fair to the question and for the sake of conversation, it could be noted
that the advent of the macintosh, quark, and the relative low cost of adobe
fonts didn't put the print designer out of business.... but rather the entire
field of professional typesetter dried up and blew away seemingly overnight -
only to be replaced by every hack with 1000 typefaces calling him or herself a
designer.

i dont think professional web design will become a thing of the past - but i
do think that the ability of some to deliver a "passable" job to clients who
either don't know better or don't care will drive the prices we can charge much
lower.

joeq wrote:

to be fair to the question and for the sake of conversation, it could
be noted that the advent of the macintosh, quark, and the relative
low cost of adobe fonts didn't put the print designer out of
business.... but rather the entire field of professional typesetter
dried up and blew away seemingly overnight - only to be replaced by
every hack with 1000 typefaces calling him or herself a designer.

i dont think professional web design will become a thing of the past
- but i do think that the ability of some to deliver a "passable" job
to clients who either don't know better or don't care will drive the
prices we can charge much lower.

It's a question of viewpoint. Yes, typesetters were pretty much thrown on
the scrapheap, but that was the technology they were working with - lead
type - was no longer available. It was replaced by computerised printers of
various types.

The whole issue, as I see it, is related to the value you put on your own
work, and the added value you can bring to the clients table. If a designer
is a bottom-feeder, constantly delivering work cheaply because he's up
against TemplateMonster or the equivalent, then yes - he will feel the hit
from the numerous automated web development tools coming along. This is
simply because he and they are aiming for the same market - cheap customers,
small money, big turnover. That's not something I personally can write a
business plan on; we prefer to work very closely with clients, creating a
relationship that goes far beyond client/supplier, and more into a
partnership role. We can't - and won't - do that for a client who just wants
a $1,000 website. If a client ever tries to compare us and our work directly
with an automated software product, then they're the sort of client we don't
want. We'll leave them to their fragile websites and 1,000 typeface
newsletters...

regards,

Pete.
--
Peter Connolly
http://www.kpdirection.com
Utah

Great thread -- I've been in the dumps (i.e. playing xbox 360 and
reading out on the deck enjoying the summer) for the past few months
instead of working contemplating the same ideas as the original poster
in this thread. The calls and new leads I get are always mentioning
and questioning my pricing and ideas against really stupid things like
'myspace' (pro athletes, artists and movie studios using this crap
really validated it in the minds of some business owners) and some
serious CMS frameworks like Joomla, etc.

luckily I still (as has been the case for the past 10+ years) have not
had to really make cold calls, beat the street or advertise for
business, it just finds its way to me via the web, word of mouth, etc.
-- but the number of opportunities that pan out past the quote and
deposit remittance phase has really slowed -- not sure if this is
economy-driven or due to the ability of the business owner to build
something themselves though.

Reading this gives me a fresh, new, optimistic perspective on it all
though and the 2 or 3 post it notes of folks I needed to call back
from recent inquiries / leads is at the top of my agenda for today!
(Along with trying to get my arms around how to design my own template
in Joomla 1.5 framework)... Im thinking having this sort of capability
and also adapting to the other major CMS frameworks, in addition to
custom, design and application building will be the key to another 10
years of this stuff.