Have you noticed that there seems to be a hierarchy in website design?
The old school coders and developers who seem to think they’re superior to people who use newer techniques like page builders for websites.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – there is room for everyone in the arena and there is room for every type of skillset and practice.
Whilst there are no formal qualifications in website design, it’s imperative that everyone who works as a website designer or developer keeps their skills up to date, embraces new practices and builds the best website they can with the experience they have. After all, practice makes progress and progress makes great websites.
Therefore it really winds me up when the old school coders come out to bully, belittle and criticise others on social media. Recently I was on a post where I said about websites which relied on a lightweight theme and ACF isn’t always the most practical way of building. Yes, it’s great for the designer and for flexibility. It also means that clients can’t really wreck their websites by building in new pages etc. However when we build a website for a client, sign it off and hand it over, that website then belongs to them. If they then choose to wreck it, that’s also their prerogative.
It can also depend on how much support they’re given post-launch. I create a website user manual for every website I build with video tutorials so the person can see exactly how their site has been built and how they can make amendments and do them well. The manuals include information on how to optimise images, use Headings correctly, add blog posts, etc….. It also has a walkthrough video of where layouts are, how to change theme colours etc. I also have a free 15 minute call option where any of my existing or previous clients can book a Zoom call and talk through anything they’re thinking of doing to the website or anything they’re unsure of. It works and I tend to hang onto clients for a very long time.
Back to the post I was on (it was on LinkedIn) where an old school coder told me that my opinion was ‘not relevant’ because he didn’t agree that clients should have access to their website beyond being able to fill in a few ACF fields.
I decided to reply once then leave it. Aside from the appalling behaviour of a man telling a woman that her practice and opinion isn’t relevant(!) I’m not willing to die on this mountain or give any more airtime to a man who thinks he knows it all, works in old fashioned ways and has ‘open to work’ on his LinkedIn profile.
But it did make me think of how important it is for us to always be reviewing our practices.
- Are we giving clients what they want?
- Are we using the best tools available?
- Are we transparent with pricing and what ongoing costs could be?
- Is there room for improvement?
- Are there new practices to learn?
Each year I like to choose one new practice to focus on and really give it my all. This could be Accessibility (2023/2024) Mobile Responsive (2021/2022) Speed (2022/2023) Aftercare (2024/2025). It means that at the end of learning everything I can, and putting it into practice, I feel confident in leading the way when building for clients and mentoring other web designers and developers in best practices.
A book that Mr ‘your opinion is irrelevant’ could take a leaf out of.
Do you continually develop your practice? Do you focus on one big topic or spend the time learning lots of little ones?
Is there something you’d like to learn more about that I may be able to help with?
Let me know in the comments below.
