What Is Expected Now From a Web Designer?

In the past ten years or so, web design has advanced in leaps and bounds, making it a very different thing than it was before. Better technology plus a wide variety of different devices on which to access the internet has changed the entire landscape of building for the internet, requiring those who work in this profession to always be current with constant changes. As the job of internet design has itself been recreated, specialists must always be learning and training to be able to build the best and most efficient websites.

Website Designer – A Different Job

When internet design was simpler, involving the basics that did what was needed for a certain desired appearance, handling such a task was not very involved and was easy to understand. It was mostly layout work, and little else. Currently, between how competitive the internet has become, the new and different ways that websites are accessed, and the many different features that are a part of actual, good design, this job title encompasses more than it did.

Current website design involves more than just appearance and layout, which is how it used to be. A good layout gave a good appearance and everyone was happy. Now layout and visual appeal is still important; however, both must coexist with other important elements such as optimization, being user friendly, and most importantly the ability to be viewed accurately on any type or size of device of platform, both desktop and mobile. Since all of these things must work together, it has become even more vital that internet design professionals learn and consider the other areas that should be incorporated during the web creation process.

New Required Skills

The main new skill that has become very important for today’s internet design professionals is the ability to understand and know how to apply good SEO principles. This involves having accurate knowledge of how optimization works in different situations as well as the various features that will affect an optimization effort.

It is up to the designer to know enough information to properly and accurately apply good SEO principles to the website as it is being built. Some of the know-how that is needed as part of any good optimization plan is: understanding the client's goals for an internet presence; knowing the targeted audience; and determining how that audience can best be reached. Tools must be put in place to track performance and then interpret the gathered information to help determine if any changes should be made.

End Result

Essentially, creating a website today is much more than just layout and appearance. They are certainly important elements of any internet presence, especially the need to function in a way that that keeps users happy. What cannot be overlooked is that there are now many other requirements involved in creating a user-friendly, optimized, and audience-reaching website that meets desired goals than there was before.

Designers have basically gone from being specialized in design features only to being somewhat of a jack-of-all-trades internet technician of sorts. The process now works so that Feature A must work with Feature B; Feature B must work with Feature C; Feature C must work with A, B and S all at the same time. Failure to understand and implement all of this often results in not achieving desired website goals. It's a new global internet world with an entire basket of new skills to shape a website to function the way it should.

While it may sound like an lot for any one person to know, the fact is that websites are much more complex than ever before – so more knowledge is needed to create one. Today, the finished product is especially deserving of praise considering the number of individual jobs that have been rolled into the title of website designer!

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Chris Hunter is an expert in Web Design, Search Engine Marketing, and Reputation Management. To find out more about Austin Website Design, go to the main website at: www.webunlimited.com.

Posted on 2013-10-22, By: Chris M. Hunter *

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