Websites are based on a markup language known as HTML. It is the most basic skill that a web designer must first learn. I learned how to write in this language back in 1998. This was the very early days of the Internet and things were so different then.
If you had a business and you wanted a website, you either needed to learn the necessary skills to create your website but more likely you had to pay someone to create it for you, especially if you wanted something that looked professional.
I started experimenting by creating personal websites and I then created a business website for a friend of mine just so I could practise my skills. It took me many hours to learn and to this day (2021) I am still learning all the time.
In 2003, an open source project released its first version. It was known as Wordpress. You may have heard of it. The original intention was to facilitate the creation of personal blog pages without the headache of learning HTML. Gradually, the scope of Wordpress expanded substantially to the point we have arrived at today when some 37% of the world's websites are written in Wordpress.
In theory, a Wordpress site allows you to cost-effectively create your own website without having to learn all the skills I have worked hard to master over many years. However, a certain level of competence is required along with feeling comfortable working with computers.
Many web designers also design their websites using Wordpress as they see it as a quick way of creating websites on behalf of their customers. I naturally investigated whether this was the right fit for me and I surprisingly decided against using the most popular CMS in the world.
As I had already learned HTML along with CSS, JavaScript, PHP and MySql, I personally found it easier and quicker to write websites from scratch rather than trying to adapt Wordpress which has become very bloated. Admittedly it is very extensive but this inevitably means that it is also very bloated.
Irrespective of whether or not your web designer uses Wordpress, there are many skills that we can bring to the table that means it makes sense to appoint a professional, should you budget permit:
The technical skills I have learned are important to me. But even more valuable is the business experience I have gained over the years in understanding how customers use websites.
So whether you choose a web designer to design your site for you or you decide to go it alone will depend on your budget and your own confidence in your own computer skills. It could also depend on how much spare time you have.
If you do decide to choose a web designer, please call me today and I can show you how I can help your business succeed on the web.