Is Web Design Dying?

Persistent Growth

Data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the overall employment of web developers and designers will increase by 16% from 2022 to 2032, which is higher than the average for all professions. This goes to show that web designers and developers are at no risk of fading away in the near future. Some of the key factors that continue to drive growth include:

• Increased complexity. Given that websites continue to become increasingly complex, there is a growth in demand for designers and developers who can meet challenging requirements. Amateur designers, online website builders, and AI tools can do little to deliver optimum results.
• Rise in eCommerce. Statista estimates that the global eCommerce market will generate 8.1 trillion dollars in sales by 2026. Given this surge in online shopping, businesses from across sectors are hoping to make the most of the digital landscape to boost sales. Since creating an eCommerce website is significantly more complicated than building a regular website, the need for professional web designers and developers remains firmly etched.
• New technologies. New technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR) are finding use in web design and development. Consequently, there’s an increase in demand for web designers and developers who know how to use these technologies to the advantage of their clients.

Website Maintenance and Security

Website security is crucial to safeguard the reputation of a business. Besides, your website’s structure, design, and maintenance are also important when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO). Bear in mind that hackers keep scouting the web looking for websites that have outdated security. Poor security might lead to a leak of users’ data or an infection of visitors’ computers.

The main reason why a business needs a professional web designer and an SEO expert is to make sure that its website’s security stays up-to-date. If you have a complex website or one that requires personal customer details, you need an experienced designer who has a firm grip on the latest security protocols.

Exceptional Online Branding

Web design plays an important role in the facilitation of high-quality content created for branding purposes. If in any doubt, all you need to do is look at the websites of large businesses. These companies usually have in-house marketing and branding teams that also comprise web designers.

Web designers have the ability to create web pages that work positively toward marketing a company’s brand, and this is where you see a great amalgamation of design and marketing. It comes as no surprise, then, that this field has long crossed the line that existed between marketing and technology. Now, web designers have expanded their skill sets by learning different aspects of marketing and branding, which is another reason they continue to remain relevant.

Improved Functionalities and Features

Technology is evolving rapidly, and almost everything we do on a daily basis has some connection to the internet. However, web design and development has come a long way over the decades and modern-day websites boast of features and functionalities you could not find even a few years ago. For example, it’s fairly common now for websites to include chatbots, make use of intuitive designs, and offer different accessibility options.

Given the continuous evolution, professionals from this field need to understand different concepts like visual design, user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design, responsive design, and color theory. They also need to have in-depth knowledge of content management systems (CMSs) like WordPress, search engine optimization, and web server management.

Is web development dying? No, it’s not. This profession is evolving like any other, and it’s a mistake to consider that it’s on its way out.

Marketing Expertise

If you rely on a good digital marketing strategy when creating a new website, your budgeting will remain on track and cover all the necessary expenses. Your strategy can also give you the means to correct possible online marketing mistakes and it paves the way for creating and scheduling appropriate content.

While you may use the services of content planners to handle this aspect for you, the experience and skills of web designers will go a long way to help you optimize your marketing strategy.

It’s important to remember that marketing and design work together in new-age design concepts to create high-quality websites. In addition to being visually appealing, these websites target their audiences in an effective manner and serve their purpose. This can be to promote a business, build brand awareness, attract more traffic, increase leads, or boost sales.

Web Design Is Part Art

The best web designers are willing to learn new skills, adapt new ideas, and incorporate them into their work. This holds true from the visual design point of view too, given that creating a website works best when you put creativity to the test. Sure, web design involves various technicalities, but aesthetic appeal continues to play an important role in attracting and engaging users.

Web designers worth their salt know they need to think out of the box to come up with unique designs that can help present their clients in the best possible light. They need to define what a website’s atmosphere should look and feel like based on its target audience. Besides, they also need to pay attention to selecting suitable images and colors, page layouts, and the use of buttons/icons.

The creativity aspect also extends to user experience, which is an essential element of web design. It refers to how users interact with your website and the experience it delivers in regard to ease of use, utility, and efficiency. User expectations are at an all-time high when it comes to how a website should look and feel, which requires designers to put their best creative foot forward.

Sure, basic elements such as backgrounds, fonts, layouts, videos, and color schemes will always remain important in web design. However, for designers who take time to learn a few more skills every year, the profession will always be in demand.

It’s plain to see that designing a website is becoming more of an art form than before, which is not without reason. After all, if you eliminate the artistic element, what you’ll end up getting is a perfunctory website that is dull, boring, and forgettable. This can be a recipe for disaster in an age where branding is crucial.

High-Quality vs. Mediocre Sites

Several business owners still rely on online website builders and templates to create new websites. However, these platforms provide rather ordinary websites as opposed to high-quality websites that are foundational for growth and offer tools and functionalities that enable website owners to save time and money.

Some people might lead you to believe that there have been plenty of advancements in the web design world and you can find templates for almost anything, and that you can find themes that can help you make almost any type of website. The truth, though, is that web design involves dealing with various complexities, which is not possible with mere templates.

According to some experts, artificial intelligence (AI) will become popular soon, but it will never replace the need for a quality website. While there’s a good chance AI will work better than run-of-the-mill templates and bring down the number of opportunities, the need for high-quality websites will still keep good designers and developers in business.

Even if small business owners are only interested in websites that help them present an online face, there are plenty that want their visitors to have great user experiences, so custom web design will continue to find takers. As a result, designers who sharpen their skills will still have a lot of opportunities.

Will AI Replace Web Design?

With artificial intelligence making inroads in different areas, a common question many people have is, “Will web development be replaced by AI?” On its part, AI has already paved the way for quicker and more efficient web design and development, mainly because it works well in simplifying and streamlining repetitive tasks. In addition, some AI tools are capable of evaluating patterns and detecting abnormalities.

AI can also help make websites more personalized and intuitive. For example, you may use an AI-based chatbot that has natural language processing (NLP) capabilities to provide real-time customer support. In addition, you may use an AI tool to analyze data and optimize your website with the aim of delivering a better user experience.

However, while AI can help increase efficiency and automate repetitive tasks, professional web designers/developers play a vital role in creating a good website. This is not only because of their creativity, intuition, and problem-solving skills, but also because of the emotional intelligence that AI lacks. After all, being able to emphasize with the end-user is crucial to come up with an effective design.

If you use any of the popular AI tools that let you create websites in a few minutes, you’ll realize just where the technology stands. For starters, you’ll typically get a website that lacks personality and is far from what you imagined and expected. Besides, AI is nowhere close to being a good copywriter, which will make your website content less than appealing.

So, the answer to, “Will AI replace web design?” is that even though this technology can replicate and automate different processes, humans still rule the roost when it comes to fully understanding context and nuances.

What Do Web Designers Do On a Daily Basis?

Often, web designers work on multiple projects side-by-side. As a result, a typical day can involve collaborating with clients, planning, ideating, designing graphics, creating mockups and wireframes, and making changes based on the feedback they receive. Coming up with the design of a webpage requires paying attention to different elements such as colors, typography, images, and other visual elements. All in all, a web designer’s day can involve collaborative, creative, and technical work.

Given that some web designers specialize in user experience and others in user interface, their roles vary accordingly. While UX designers focus on identifying pain points and problems that web users might face and fixing them, UI designers focus on the visual elements to create intuitive and interactive interfaces.

Conclusion

As long as web designers and developers are willing to upgrade their skill sets and embrace new ideas, they will continue to play an integral part in designing websites for clients from across industries, all the more so because an increasing number of businesses are shifting to responsive web design.

Is web design dying? Not by a long shot, and there are multiple reasons that justify this answer. For instance, while templates are passé, AI does not make the cut yet. If anything, the role of a custom web design agency has become more pronounced than ever before,  mainly because it needs to do more than just build websites – it also needs to ensure that the websites it creates deliver desired results.