Can anyone build a website?

In the web design industry, I run into people who just don’t understand the value of what I do. What’s amazing is that, even in this high-tech world in which we live, there are still people who think that anyone can build a great website.

Some think that because they can easily complete a few related tasks, web design requires little skill. Designers simply need to click the right buttons and don’t have any value beyond their mouse-handling skills. (There are plenty of people who use DIY tools to build websites – and that’s fine, it’s more about having respect for someone else’s profession).

Things Only a Pro Would Know

Think of an expert baking decorating a 3D cake.

More than once, I’ve said to myself, “I wish I could create something like that.” The precision and seeming ease with which such a baker does his/her job reminds me that every profession has its intricacies – ones that only the true experts can navigate.

Web design is certainly in that category. Some challenges require an eye for design and a brain for code. Things like knowing what desktop feature will scale down nicely to mobile or how to customise shopping cart behaviour are the result of experience.

They’re not tasks that just anyone off the street can do. Just like this baker knews exactly how to create that dragon climbing the cake, web designers know how to solve problems specific to their craft.

It’s easy to write off a certain profession as “easy” or surmise that “anyone can do that” – but it’s also very wrong.