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Erin
Erin

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The Value of a Designer

Fun fact, I am a web designer (who knows enough code to get in trouble). I went to school to be a web designer. I’ve been through a boot camp, sat through Lynda and Udemy courses, read design theory books like they are going out of style, but why?

Why is that a thing when there are template sites and drop and drag services, so anyone can be a web designer, right? Wrong, a web designer and a website creator will get two different end products. A designer asks “how can i make this site better for my user” and a template asks, well it doesn’t ask anything, but the template designer makes sure it is intuitive and easy to use for the person building the site.

So, with all the options to create a website without a designer, why would you? I think there are instances where it absolutely makes sense to use the template or prebuilt model for a website, but not every time. If your website is purely informational and you don’t intend for your audience to take any sort of action within your site, then the template site will work perfectly for you. If you are looking to have any sort of return on your web traffic, you need a designer.

Why? Because every decision has a reason behind it, usually based on research. Rarely will you hear a designer tell you they made a decision solely based on something looking cool or because they liked it, odds are they have put a lot of time into understanding the behavior of the person looking at the component and knows what will garner an action, a feeling, a response. That is the true value of a designer.

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