To answer this question, I think we first have to ask, “what is a web designer?” Considering the web and its evolution over the years, the obvious answer, “someone who designs websites,” is not good enough.
When you’re a web designer working for a company, the process of web design is commonly divided into three areas:
Designers/UI (User Interface Designers) – Often referred to as “web designers,” these people design the website’s look and feel: layout, colors, fonts, etc. They are also responsible for the website’s usability; In other words, optimizing the site for ease of use.
Front-end coders – Typically called “web designers/developers,” front-end coders take the designs that the UI designers create and translate them for the web using HTML and CSS code. Front end coders often work with Javascript (Jquery) and other programming languages. The in-depth programming however, usually requires the expertise of the back-end people.
Back-end coders — Commonly called “web developers,” these people work with the database and write the code that connects the database with the rest of the site. They typically use languages such as SQL or MySQL and a server language such as PHP or ASP.
I like to further break web specialization down into two areas: technical and human. I’m a right brain, big picture thinker, most of the time; hopefully you relate to my simplified breakdown as well. If you’re designing pages and processes for the end user, you’re on the human side. If you’re designing systems for code to work with other code, you’re designing for the technical side. A good web designer or developer needs to specialize in the technical or human side, but also keep both sides in mind.
So what does this all mean to you? It means a lot if you’re thinking about trusting me to deliver you an awesome website. Basically, I’m a web designer who designs for humans. I keep the technical side in mind, but most of the serious coding I leave to the specialists.
My favorite coders are the people who develop for WordPress. Thanks to WordPress, I’m able to deliver you an incredibly functional website in very little time. In addition to WordPress, I’m also using the Genesis Framework from StudioPress. Genesis works flawlessly with WordPress to add additional functionality to your site. I suppose you could say that WordPress and Genesis are my web design team.
Teams aside, I strive to be a web designer you can trust. I do my best to stay on the leading edge of web progression because I see that as a major part of my role as a web designer. WordPress, Genesis, and a number of other people/websites help me stay progressive: Brian Clark at Copyblogger, Darren Rouse at Problogger, Collis and Cyan Ta’eed at Envato, Jon Morrow at Kissmetrics, Jeffery Zeldman at AListApart to name just a few.
Let me wrap this up by saying if you want a web designer you can trust, it’s a good idea to find out what sort of web designer they are. Are they human or technical? What do they specialize in? Are they working alone or with a team? Are they keeping up with the latest web technologies? Are they keeping up with design and usability? Those questions will give you a solid start toward getting to know if you can trust your web designer.
Want a cool, state of the art website that you’ll love for years to come? Get started at my services page!
