Web Design is Dead (v1) by Ben Hunt

Author:Ben Hunt
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2015-03-30T16:00:00+00:00

Of course, this skills map is highly simplified, we could break it down into dozens of more skill areas, but the key point remains that the lower-level, repetitive functions have either already been transformed into products, or they are in the process of being productized.

That commoditization of low-level publishing tasks leaves a domain of higher-level skills as the new frontier. By “high-level” I mean those that are more strategic (concerned with what we should do) than functional (concerned with actually doing it), and the good news is that those high-level services can never be fully standardized.

The future for the marketing service professional is to move up the food chain, away from low-level delivery, and into higher-level services.

The good news is, high-level skills are no more difficult than the low-level ones. In fact, I think they’re easier, partly because they don’t change so much over time. The core principles of marketing and strategy are eternal, because they’re based on common sense.

One other effect of systemization worth noting is that it facilitates assigning tasks to the “least possible skilled person”. This has always been a factor in the division of labor, but was taken to new levels following the Industrial Revolution. The principle is that, if you break down a complex task into smaller, discrete, simpler tasks, those minor tasks take less skill and can therefore be carried out by an individual with less skill or training, therefore saving money.

In the case of web publishing, we have seen the emergence of affordable resource markets, particularly through sites like ODesk and Fiverr. These Web2.0 platforms represent a bottom-up revolution of the old freelancing model, which now lets you access resources from all over the world.

I believe that the globalization of this marketplace should not be perceived as a threat to the smart web professional, only to those who hope to resist progress and cling on to selling low-level skills.

It is those more functional design, production, and coding skills that face the greatest threat from the proliferation of accessible publishing platforms, and also that are most suited to outsourcing. (Just check out how many providers are offering “PSD to HTML” services on Fiverr.)

The direction in which the market is moving is indisputable and unavoidable. That’s why old-school web designers who have failed to notice the signs and failed to adapt are going out of business and losing their homes.

I was one of the first old-school web designers. But I strongly believe this shift signifies progress, because it can make life better for all of us.

I think the future for the web publishing and marketing disciplines is brighter than ever, and the opportunities for the client sector are more exciting than ever before!

But before we can move forward we must fully and finally accept the following facts...

The design and publishing of websites is now a relatively cheap commoditized product.

The facility of publishing online is now universal, and no longer in the exclusive control of professional web designers.

The market for the traditional web design service is disappearing into the ground.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.