WebspaceWorks Articles/News
Why pay for web design?
Quick facts
Browsers: Major page rendering differences exist between browsers, and even across different versions of the same browser on the same platform.
Accessibility: In some parts of the world legislation now coming into effect will require websites to be accessible to the disabled, including the visually impaired.
Technique: Technical aspects of the web constrain design in ways very different from other media, requiring specific skills and awareness in the developer.
False economies
It is unwise to pay too much, but it is unwise to pay too little.
When you pay too much you lose a little money, that is all.
When you pay too little you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing you bought it to do.
The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot.
It can’t be done.
If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run.
And if you do that, you will have enough to pay for something better.
– John Ruskin (1819-1900)
Your website is your public face on the internet. It has the potential to reach a far wider audience than any other form of promotional media, and for many it will be the only source of information about you that is easily available.
How it loads, what it contains and the manner in which it is delivered, will have a profound effect upon visitors’ first impressions about who you are and what the site represents.
A web presence is therefore at least on a level with other more traditional forms of publicity, and yet it is frequently the one to which least attention, budget or professionalism is applied.
But anyone can build a website!
True, and the internet is full of the results. However, in the same way that possession of a spanner doesn’t make someone a skilled mechanic, access to web authoring software does not automagically provide the skills and knowledge necessary to competent web development.
The quality of the product depends ultimately upon the skills of those who plan and implement it. All too frequently websites get thrown together on minimal budgets, with even less planning or strategy, by individuals who “know a bit of html” and who can do it in their spare time.
But professional designers are expensive!
Looking at the numbers alone, yes.
On the other hand, a professional web designer (an individual or organisation whose primary focus is web design) will bring a range of skills and experience to a project, and avoid many of the hidden costs and pitfalls associated with apparently cheaper alternatives.
Among the advantages of using professional services are:
- Professional website design services and experience
- Knowledge of current best practices and internet effectiveness
- Objectiveness toward the subject matter not available in a purely in-house development
- Advice on what is useful to include and what is not
- Guidance regarding suitability of various support technologies outside the immediate scope of the website
- Economies in time… get it right first time
- Comprehensive cross-browser, cross-platform testing
- Free the client of concerns regarding website development, allowing them to remain focussed on their core business
Cheap? No. Cost effective? We’d like to think so!
