Web Design Customers in 2010 – A Fresh New Year’s Perspective

We’re now two years into 2010 and so far I’ve noticed a few things:

1) I’m writing the date “-10″ with the zero first.

2) People are anxious to start thinking about exciting and new things they can do with web design.

3) People are still very very scared about spending money.

The first one, well, that’s just me.  Every year I go through a two-month phase where I write the date wrong.  For changes in decades it’s doubly as bad.  Lucky for me the last decade started with a zero…

The second and third are slightly more pertinent to a graphic design blog.  In the past week I’ve spoken to a decent amount of sales leads about new web design projects.  These people are small business owners seriously thinking about boosting their existing image or starting a completely new venture.  They understand the technology that’s available and they’re aware enough of what’s out there to say what they do and do not want.  These potentials are specifically asking to have or not have e-commerce solutions.  They say yeah or nay to social networking.  They understand why that crazy looking button interface for your website isn’t really jiving with visitors.  When I start talking about user interface, search engine optimization and why it’s bad to have  music come up blaring when your website loads their eyes don’t glaze over.  They’re with me.  They’re getting it.  They want it.  Suddenly I’m beginning to think there’s still a place for talented graphic designers in the world.

What excites me the most about this prospect isn’t so much that small and medium business owners are beginning to speak the lingo; that just makes life easier.  What really excites me here is the fact that people are beginning to accept the technology as an essential part of web design and development.  It’s not that a potential client is looking at an e-commerce solution as extraneous; even if they specifically request not to have one, they acknowledge the fact that it is a rather necessary thing to have if you want to do business on the web.  Small and medium business owners are looking at the web as a standard tool for business.  Even if they aren’t accepting a payment directly through a secure web portal, they appreciate why it’s there and how they can use it.

What does this mean for designers?

Well, it means we can finally start raising the bar a bit.  I used to build projects by itemizing every single little piece of coding and design that went into the site.  Content Management System: $X.  Search Engine Optimization: $Y.  Custom registration module: $Z and so on.  Now, because the majority of potentials that are coming my way are somewhat appreciative of what a good web site should have it’s much easier to say that a website will cost $XYZ total and go from there.  The only breakdown in cost needs to come when there are non-standard elements that need to be included in a project, such as programming a site to sing happy birthday to a visitor in an accent based on his or her location (an example I use knowing full well that I have not nor hope to ever develop such an application…).  So when it comes down to deciding how much a website is going to cost, it becomes less about trying to justify every cost associated with the project and more about placing an accurate value on the amount and quality of the work that will go into developing the project.  It makes it much easier for us independent designers and freelancers to charge what our time is worth because the potential client sees value in a shopping card module, search engine optimization and an interface with their blog.  They understand and want Flash as part of their page and they know that it’s going to cost some money to get it done.

So, in theory, graphic designers and web designers specifically should be rolling in a giant hill of money right now.  Kinda like Scrooge McDuck only, you know, not ducks.

Well, in theory, yes.  The market is right to appreciate the technology and how much it costs.  What’s holding small and medium sized business owners back is not the technology, or even the cost of the technology.  It’s spending the money.

The trouble is, most of us are pretty broke.  Oh, sure, there are individuals who have found a degree of success in these trying times.  Many businesses that are weathering the storm, so to speak, have built enough ongoing business to keep them afloat.  In fact, for most of 2009 this is exactly how I sustained myself.  I relied on existing business to keep me churning along seeing only 5 new clients in my books for the entire year.  While I tend to see some creative professionals meandering about at networking events talking about how they need to find some freelance help to handle their workload the majority of folks I speak with are a different variation on the same story: I worked for x as a y designer and now I’m looking for work.  It seeds a bit of panic in the minds of the business owners that are keeping themselves alive.  It’s a panic that still exists despite the experts telling us that the economy is on the rise because a suit can give us good news, but we’re influenced by what we see in front of us and if that’s the threat of losing business, well, then suddenly that $2,000 website redesign seems slightly more frivolous.  As for the businesses that are dealing with reduced sales, well, they don’t have the cash flow to begin with and eating for that month is a lot more attractive than a new shopping cart.

So while business owners have gotten a lot more appreciative of what they can get out of a good web design project, they’re also quite appreciative of the mileage they can get out of their corporate bank account.  This is part of the reason there’s been a rise in the number of freelance jobs; rather than hire a full or even part-time employee, contract the work out to the lowest bidder.  But this rise in freelancers has also adversely effected the potential sales revenues of independent and freelance designers.  We’ve short-changed ourselves.  For a while now freelancers have been forced to offer services at lower and lower rates to compete with a) the available funds the client base has and b) the sheer number of freelancers offering services on the market.  It’s basic economics and it’s driving designers onto a very slippery slope.  While clients are expecting certain features of a good website they are still operating off of the presumption that a website can cost as little as $250.  What business owners aren’t completely aware of yet is that often these low-cost web design solutions didn’t involve more advanced functionality or, in many cases, offered cookie-cutter template solutions that has become a large portion of professional websites.  The result is a litany of boring, ineffective sites that stand out to a regular web user as unoriginal and appear to the casual browser as uninteresting.  Moreover, most of these sites are quick, one-shot deals on the part of the designer, who offers very little support for the site once it has been delivered.  As professional designers most of us want to provide the best possible web design service to our client base that we possibly can.  We want to give our clients everything they wish for, but the problem comes down to the fact that it becomes increasingly difficult to provide quality solutions that fit the budgets of some of America’s business owners.

On a personal note, the question also becomes, Do I lower my professional standards and take on projects at lower cost offering cheaper and quicker solutions?  Do I try to make a living off volume rather than quality?  I’ve often asked myself this question during my career as an independent designer and I’ve solidly said “No” time and time again.  I personally take a lot of pride and joy in my work as a designer and I have no desire to sully it by producing a series of one shot websites that I don’t support or even care about once they’ve been delivered.  I like to look at my work as a collection of artwork.  Sure, there have been sites I’ve designed that I don’t feel as proud about but even my black sheep still receive the love and attention they need, if they need it.

It isn’t my intention to sound all gloom and doom about the prospects of being an independent or freelance designer in 2010.  To be honest, I’m quite optimistic about this year.  What I mean to say is that the onus is on us, the professional designer, the digital artist, to convince our client base that, yes, spending that $2000 on a website is worth it.  We must convince them that now is the time to set themselves apart, to use the web in a unique fashion, to make their website more than just an unseen placeholder in the vastness that is the internet.  In 2010, the challenge isn’t to just do the work, it’s to do it right.

Use the tools of the time; social networking sites provide excellent resources for reaching your target market. http://ping.fm/GXO8T

Thought for the day: Your target market may not use social networking sites, but you can be certain someone close to them does.

New site is ready to go! Healthcare Access Links is a new take on social networking for health care. http://ping.fm/QSLIt

Social network sites + creative marketing = what can only be a great opportunity. ALarkin Design is officially in the web marketing business, let’s make it work!

Creative Design – Making the most out of your website

I often talk about creative design but I rarely make the distinction between a creative design and what a standard design might be. Creative design is taking an artistic approach to a functional project. In essence, creative design is an attempt to entice your audience with imagery that invokes a specific emotional response or thought without sacrificing form and functionality.

The most common application of creative design is the internet. There are billions of web pages on the internet, many of which are blocks of text with some rudimentary color. Some are smothered in ads and banners and widgets. Others still insist on a unique interface that, while fascinating, doesn’t convey information easily.

Creative design is making a site feel comfortable and safe. It’s making your visitor connect with you and your organization. It’s making the web easy, enjoyable and, dare I say, fun. It’s creatively using the tools we all have access to and making a presence on the web, in your advertising and even in your brand that you feel proud of.

To learn more about Creative Design and how ALarkin Design can take your design further visit www.alarkindesign.com today!

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Collaboration and Cooperation
Saying the economy is bad these days with any degree of surprise is like being shocked by the sudden fact that the sky is blue. How the economy effects creative professionals may not be as apparent. The inexorable truth is that when the economy slows, creative professionals become in the eyes of many businesses a luxury. Many of us with specific skills may find ourselves at a disadvantage. The solution? Collaboration! Pooling resources in this economic environment is absolutely necessary. Find individuals with skills that complement your own. Refer work to each other and support each others’ projects. As collaborative groups we find more strength than we can as individuals.

In a world where technology is easily implemented, creative design sets your business apart. See how at http://ping.fm/I3hSk