In my first stint as a freelancer I was all about being a one stop shop for small businesses and their design needs. I would do logos and websites and marketing materials, and the list goes on. I still do all that, but I’m redefining myself as a web designer. Doing this is allowing me to focus on designing and building websites, not spreading myself too thin with other projects. My latest projects have only been websites, and they’re the best I’ve built.
So, what is a web designer? Well a simple explanation is one who designs and builds websites. Someone who only designs them is a designer and one who only builds them is a developer. But, these are all just pointless labels. A designer may be technical enough to understand the limitations of what can be done, and a developer will remember to make things different colors with padding around them.
A web designer doesn’t just build a website. They have to understand why a client wants a function so they can come up with a design and coding approach that looks and works well on any device. A flexible and reusable framework is key. When I build a site in WordPress or HubSpot, I build flexible columns and widget areas everywhere. This means the client is going to be able to make changes to their site easily without having to waste time redoing the code. A web designer is also a master of architecture, having to visualize all the components of every page, and how they’re going to work together coherently.
Web designers need to build a site for the future needs of the client, not just for today.
