Someone recently wrote to me where they were concerned about the future of web design as a profession. I’ve summarized the question as follows:
Given the rampant spread of website templates and point-and-click site builder tools (that more and more web hosts are offering) can web designers realistically expect to continue to make a good living building web sites for small business using traditional (from scratch) web design methods?
The answer to this question (and to find out clues on how to move forward) all we need to do is to look to web design’s past.
But before we go on, there is also something else to consider:
Web designers also have to deal with the reality that there are lots of kids out there willing to use pirated copies of Dreamweaver and Photoshop, to build a website for a fraction of what professionals have to charge.
Since (I’m guessing) most web design professionals don’t live with their parents anymore, it’s hard for them to compete with teenage nerds who just need XBox money.
How about the quality of the web design work - doesn’t that have an affect on who people will choose to build their website?
… Unfortunately, sometimes quality (for short sighted business owners) doesn’t fit into the equation. That said, there is good news for professional web designers. Read on …
Continue reading ‘How the Web’s Past can Point to Web Design’s Future’
Every once and a while I use a question put to me, as the basis for an article. This time, we have Richard asking whether web design (as a profession,) will have bright future.
The email:
Thank you for having courses that make it easier for the average laymen to comprehend the basics which will allow the complex material to sink in. I have a question though.
I am in my fifties, have done many different things in my life, and I am looking for something as a career change to take me into my second half of life and into retirement. What do you think the opportunities are going to be in the future in this type of industry taking into consideration the advancements in technology?
In other words, where do you see a web page developer or designer 5, 10, 15 years from now. Thank you for your time and consideration in my attempts to make an educated decision about my future.
Sincerely,
Richard Sherban
Hi Richard,
I think the future is good for web design and development. That said, I would like point out a few things:
Continue reading ‘The Future of the Web Design Profession’
Back in about 1906, Vilfredo Pareto created a mathematical formula to describe the not so equal distribution of wealth in his country; he figured out that twenty percent of the people owned eighty percent of the wealth.
I’m sure Pareto thought that sucked pretty bad, needless to say, he had no idea how good they had it back then!
Continue reading ‘Use the ‘80/20’ rule to make your web design better.’
Many of my best articles come from email questions put to me by readers.
In this case, we have someone asking what to charge for private web design training.
The email:
i’ve been a member of your newsletter for years .. BIG FAN!
i recently met a guy that owns/founded an SEO company here in New York that works from home and is VERY successful/wealthy… he asked that i teach him photoshop and flash cs3.
i have NO IDEA what to quote him.
He wants to learn basic image manipulation in photoshop and then learn buttons, headers, and small PowerPoint like presentations in flash.
So minimal actionscript, tweening, and movie clip galore!
I assume i would charge him hourly….
i have an associates degree from WEA in interactive media about 5 years web design experience, and have been a flash developer for a fortune 500 company for just over 2 years now…
Can you help me come up with a good price to quote…keep in mind he may outsource work to me in the future so i need a strong price now so i can make real money later on, but not scare him away..
PLEASE!
THANK YOU!
Tina
Continue reading ‘Setting the Price for Private Web Design Training’
Recently someone asked me a bunch of questions related to getting their first web design job as an independent contractor - and so I figured an article was a good idea.
Tim asked:
Stefan,
With me being a newbie in the web design business, I have some questions. Long story short, I was talking with my friends wife one day and mentioned to her that I had thought about doing some web design on the side to make some extra money.
I live in a small town, with a lot of small businesses and I figure these businesses would have a use for a simple web site to help promote their business.
… So I’m thinking this would be something I could start within the next year or so, … two days ago I receive a call from my friends wife and she asks if I’m interested in doing a web site for her brother, who is a dentist in our town.
So, I say sure and she tells me that he will probably contact me soon to set up a meeting to discuss.
Now, this is great but I haven’t got a clue where to start. Hers’s my thought:
1. Meet with the client to discuss the site. How many pages, the content, etc. Maybe show some of my work.
2. Take the info from the meeting and come up with a quote.
3. Present my idea’s and the quote.
4. If he agree’s and accepts the quote, draw up a contract for him to sign.
Continue reading ‘Your First Web Design Contract’
