COMMENTS
Some good points made, but several points I strongly disagree with. I believe a redesign is not something that should be done annually, but the time does come when a site has lived it's life and needs to be redesigned. I'd compare it to a construction/remodeling job at your home - you don't do it all the time, but sometimes it's necessary. And during that process you don't have full functionality of your home, but once it's done you're better off.
i agree with everyone of these points. a great list of things to watch out for. sure site would look good, but no one would find it.
Solid advice.
It can take guts to fire your web person, and it's a hassle to find someone else.
But if you have these problems it's best to address them and move on.
As a web designer/developer I was annoyed by your headline. Thankfully I don't fall into any of the 6 categories.
At our studio we don't design a site that isn't SEO optimized. I have been handed sites that were SEO optimized and laughed because there was little to nothing done.
The next article you should post is why you should fire you SEO/SMM consultant because most of the work that I have seen by these specialists is laughable.
Hi Karen,
I knew I'd strike a nerve with that headline. :-) But I've seen so many clients' businesses suffer because of these points, and they really lose control because of a possessive designer.
I will ABSOLUTELY take you up on that challenge that my next post should be why you should fire your SEO consultant. I'll do that within the next couple weeks!
Thanks for your comment,
Diana
I'd fire them if they win a design award. Or even if they threaten to submit your site for one.
And I'd definitely fire them, bury them, and jump on their grave if they suggest turning the site into a Flash one.
It's not just about the impact on SEO. Far from enhancing the user experience, sites which are based on Flash (rather than just use it judiciously) tend to be content-free zones.
Diana,
Your post started a little aggressive on the need to prioritize functionality over design look/feel. Certainly the impact of the visuals and layout of the site makes a big difference on conversion rates and overall perceptions of your company, which has implications deeper into the "funnel".
But having said that I think your 6 reasons are very well-stated and spot on...I've suffered through all of them and it was never easy to tear the site away from over-bearing web "designers" (i.e., if can also be IT that holds the keys...which is perhaps the worst case scenario)!
- John
and number 2 is exactly why we are currently migrating our website to hubspot!
Well, I can relate. Our site was redesigned and I participated in the overall look of the site and was depending upon my designers to ensure that it was designed with best practices SEO in place. That didn't occur and now I'm being forced to spend more money with a SEO firm to get us noticed. Very sad. But the good news is that I can edit my content - just not any source code on the home page. Crazy huh? Anyone who is in this business can feel free to email me - I'm open to discussions at this point.
FLASH! If I had a $1 for everytime I had to beg a client NOT to use flash, for everytime I had to explain that with flash they would not be able to make updates without huge expense, that no one will be able to find your site, I would not have to design sites anymore.
Many don't care they just want all the swirling insanity.
There are many designers that do it wrong and they make life hard for those of us that do it right.
Remember we have to fight the client all the time to give them what is best for them rather than what they think is "pretty"
Diana,
Could not agree more with these points. As someone in the internet marketing industry, it's a shame to see web designers who really don't know what they're doing make those mistakes. At the same time, I've seen plenty of companies that masquerade as "internet marketing" agencies that should also be fired. The managing partner of my company just wrote a similar post,
Why Designers Need Smart Marketers and got very similar negative reactions from design people. It's not that all web designers are awful! It's just that many of them could benefit from a marketing mindset.
Complete and total awesomeness Diana, way to put this out there because many business owners have simply come to accept that their web master is king over all marketing when in reality the web master is servant to the biz owner, not the other way around.
If I had a dollar for every biz owner that I've talked to over the last year that is ready to pull their hair out because of the problems that come along with most webmasters, I'd be on RICH dude.
Well done lady. :-)
Not all designers or developers do these things -- only the bad ones with business models stuck in 2002.
As a designer/developer and a SEO who uses Inbound Marketing with
nearly all of my clients I kind of take offense at this.
On the other hand I see your point when working with people who are purely
designers and have no knowledge of SEO/SEM/SMO, Usability or how to build a proper lead/sales funnel.
If you're looking for someone to build your website, I always tell prospects to pick a company that has a well rounded set of disciplines. Freelance Designers ususally don't (they are cheaper, but that's usually for a reason).
Designers are not SEO people. That is not their job. Just as SEO people are not designers.
They should know best practices and the basics but the best case scenario is to have a team working together to give the client the best results with all things concerned.
I have been designing and developing since 1995. It was simple then, it has become a very sophisticated art. It is now a team effort.
If your designer says I can design, program and do SEO walk away. If they tell you I understand it all but I hire a team of experts, design, programming, SEO then you have found a good developer.
If they tell you I don't think you should do that because it will hurt the SEO or it will reduce the sites functionality, or you won't be able to easily update it, listen to them.
This will also let you know they are doing their job.
I test clients, if they insist on having their way, if they don't consider and take my best advice I fire them.
I don't want my reputation tarnished because a client does things that are counter productive to their end goal.
Like Karen, initially I was annoyed by the title and like Karen we do not fit any of the six mentioned criteria. However it is a rough playing field out there and acquisition is impacted by articles and blogs focusing on the negative aspects. Instead of an article on why to fire your SEO guy, I'd like to see an article on why you do have to hire a web designer. Let's focus on the added value of what we all do!
And yes I agree that if a designer says (s)he can do it all, that will not be the best solution. That is why we always have a team of a designer, a developer, an SEO and a social media specialist working on a project. Each one has their own knowledge and strength and together they give the best result.
Great post! It
is very frustrating when the creative design takes precedence over structure and functionality, and to your point, the whole purpose of having a website is brand awareness and conversions.
-Steve
Good design should present the attributes and a feeling about your company to a new visitor. In conjunction with presenting content well, with impact. A fully SEO'd dite with no design will not produce any leads. A site fully designed for aesthetics wont get you any either. Find a medium.
I agree with you Karen. Someone who says they do 'everything' is a red flag. Someone who says I - as the owner/project manager - know my way around all of the facets each person in the team will handle -- that's the company to look at working with.
I've been building websites since 1997 and back then - you're right - things were way easier. But in the nearly 15 years since it's just been smart business to learn the facets of other diciplines that intersect with the main one.
Someone has to know the big picture.
I know what #1 and #2 is all about. As soon as a website is live, the client is dead to the web designer ... old news.
Train existing staff!!!!!
Diana, This is an excellent article. I get very frustrated when I look at sites that are missing all the basics, such as unique descriptions for each page, simple navigation, 3 or more H1s on the Home page, etc. etc. After I see a site like that I sit back and wonder how much the business paid for the site? Probably lots. The thing is our customers may not know what all needs to be done to develop a great website. For example, they see lots of other sites that still use flash and they think, hey that looks cool, I want that too! It is up to us as web developers to stay current with new technology and then to reach out and educate clients as to what works and what doesn't, or what works today, but may not work in the future.
I too, like others took offense to this article initially. I cannot believe that in this day and age you can still claim that design will do nothing for your bottom line. I firmly believe that with any one weak point, design, marketing, seo, development, you are creating your own obstacle in the way of obtaining the best results possible from your website. The design, which inlcudes the structure of the site, brand perception/familiarity and more is as important as having people be able to find a site to begin with.
Are people going to perform the action you wanted on the page, once they find you site if the design sucks and the action is not evident? Good chance not.
I think that Craig hit the nail on the head!
A redesign shouldn't take months. I often find it's the client who drags the timeline out. "Please change this font to this" then a week later "hmm no change it back"...
What about clients who:
a) Want H1 image in place of H1 text?
b) Insist on large colorful image ATL of the index to attract attention?
c) Insist on not having to have call to action buttons ATL because 'they dont need it'?
d) is fickle minded and keep on changing the layout during the redesign process 25x at least?
I think you need a sub editor. You are sending mixed messages. Graphic design needs to be mentioned vs architectural design. You are writing about designer angst, IA, graphic design, usability (in the wrong c
I think you need a sub editor. You are sending mixed messages. Graphic design needs to be mentioned vs architectural design. You are writing about designer angst, IA, graphic design, usability (in the wrong ccontext). Anyway. You lost me at hello.
I am not very much sure about point no. 3. Even I have a mixed feeling for point no. 2. But I strongly feel that these points are really not sufficient enough to fire someone...
I've been developing web sites since 1993 when I developed Gopher sites. I have seen a ton of standards, and not-so-standard standards, come and go. I had to learn them all. I am well-rounded and that's the reason some developers and designers are reading HubSpot Blog to begin with.
I've developed huge sites as part of a team, and I have developed high profile sites, but in reality, ninety-nine percent of my clients are small office/home office mom-and-pop stores expanding beyond their brick-and-mortar walls. I have to convince many of my clients they NEED a web site. Frankly, most of them just don't care and are acting on what they've heard or on what their competition is doing. They don't want to learn anything about their web site, SMO, SEO, etc. Frankly, many can't even setup their email clients to receive mail.
Their day is hectic enough and they rely on me to do EVERYTHING for them at a reasonable cost. A lot of times they even want me to create content for them. No idea of what they want, need, or is possible. It's an exercise in hand-holding.
I say all this because it seems to me the responsibility for a company's web site is in their lap, not the developer or designer's. It's their company after all. They know their product. They know their market. They know their clients.
Yet, only 1 in 100 will actively get involved and actually direct me on what they want done. I consider my role as a designer/developer to take their ideas and vision and make it happen technologically using the best standards on that given day.
I do not have the time or desire to learn every client's business in intimate detail in order to write effective keywords and content. That is their job, not mine. My job is to make them aware of keywords and their importance, provide tools and training as needed, advice them on best practices such as call-to-actions, etc., etc., etc. To educate. Finally, to actually make their vision happen for them in a standards-compliant way.
I think the author needs to put the responsibility where it belongs! Since when, ever, has it been the developer/designer's role to decide such things?
As a web designer/graphic designer I have to wholeheartedly agree with every point you've made with the caveat, "It's not always the web designer's fault."
We designers have taken on the career that EVERYONE thinks they can do better. You have no idea how we struggle over a project to make it both (a) fully functional and (b) aesthetically pleasing only to have a clueless CEO or middle management wonk demand something useless be added to the piece. Usually breaking the functionality of it.
Currently, I refuse to add Flash to a project and I don't understand an entire Flash created site.
To me, putting Flash on a site is like having the entire staff of a company meet you at the front door to do a song and dance before you come in.
1. Not all web designers are a "he," or "him." Some are women too.
2. Not all website visitors are "leads," nor are all websites "lead-generating." Thinking that way is a very narrow idea of the internet. But, as a marketer, marketing is the lens through which you see the internet, so I can see how your bias would come through in this article.
3. Any competent web designer would not do any of reasons you have submitted. Either you have worked with incompetent web designers because you didn't want to pay the price for the good ones, or you are making this up for the sake of argument.
-N
Although I am a strong advocate of having powerful content, design sells. Numerous studies have been conducted in regards to user opinions of websites. If the website looks like crap no one will be interested in the content. You do make some strong points in respect to flash websites. Your 2nd point is a little off. Allowing clients to make changes themselves is a doing them a disservice. If they require a designer then obviously they do not know how to do stuff on their own. They should not be allowed to ruin their websites by attempting to edit them.
Nicely said. Designers who put creative concept and control above all else, even above basic functionality, are the web analog of those who take :28 of a :30 spot for the creative device and leave :02 for the client.
the post is quite an ordinary opinion piece but the discussion in the comments is great!
any idiot web designer would know these points. mostly it is the customers who need it explained and does a busy web designer have time for that? not often.
Thanks for this. I am a client so this helps. Flash was good as a drawing program but when Macromedia got ahold of it, it became inefficient, unstable, bloat ware. It will be gone in a couple years anyway. I did not know that a site had to be down to update it. That doesn't make sense to me but again, I'm the boss and things need to be explained. I learned from and appreciate the comments as well.
Some valid points about bad web development practices.
I don't see why any site should be 'dormant for months' during a redesign -- did you experience this yourself?
Interesting to note your site doesn't meet web standards -- 59 Errors, 6 warning(s) via the W3C validation service -- are you off to fire your web developer... ?
Cheers,
Tracy
Very intriguing. Some website designers do like to take advantage of what privileges you give them towards your site and some just don't do the things you want them to do. Take a look at my website and give us a call if you want a website made how you want it for your business.
Sensationalist headline, generalised to an offensive level, blindingly obvious, dated and hollow points that any web professional should be aware of in any case.
The fact this is almost solely aimed at the designer,
shows just how laughable this article really is.
This article reminds me of the crap about 'logos are dead' which is also utter hogwash.
Inflammatory headline but hey, it got people talking, and there are a couple of valid points.
Here's the deal folks: If you're site is held hostage, not getting you found and generally a pain-point then get out, and get out now. We transferred our host to HubSpot because of the internal control for a smaller business, SEO tools and ease of use and hey, it actually works.
If you don't see the value of good basic design, then I can't help you. Outsourcing to your buddy's 16-year old is probably not going to get you the quality or control do you expect. Do your homework!
Personally, if a website looks like garbage, it sends a message to me that a) They don't value first impressions and b) don't care enough to invest in their image or marketing, so what else have they skimped on? It's a virtual handshake so make it a good squeeze.
And finally, forget Flash - break up with it like a crazy ex and never look back. You are restricting iPhone and iPad users (which is a big number in my tech-savvy industry).
My employer found a happy medium. I admin/design the website, and handle all the marketing and wear several other hats.
I do not profess to be the world's greatest web designer, but I have a plenty of design experience. What my company has currently far exceeds what they had, both SEO terms and visually. It was why we chose HubSpot, and why my position was created!
Wait!!!
I strongly disagree with a lot of what this article is saying. Especially the first 2 points. I've been a web designer and developer for more than 10 years. I'm not sure who you use as a developer, but that's no where near the correct process in which a redesign goes through.
1) First, It's designed offline and done graphically so that you work out all the proper details without going into heavy coding.
2) After the design is o.k'd by the client, then it gets sliced up with HTML/CSS. Which is sliced from a graphic program. And this part of the process is offline and at the developers local computer.
3) Then the CMS/Programming is implemented. Even at this point your current website is still live. A new launch shouldn't even be visible. There should be no down time.
I don't get how this article made it on this site. So untrue in every way. Maybe I'm missing something. Obviously so.
And if you are dealing with a web designer that develop full websites for $99 then you have gotten what you've paid for.
And who even use full flash sites anymore? Pathetic. I hope you haven't experienced this non-sense.
This may sound like an obvious question but if I do fire them, how to I get my website created?
Where do I go to find someone who works by these principles? I'm an SMB/SME.
I agree with Diana's points in her post above! Not every Web Designer or Developer does what she is talking about but it is frustrating to run across the ones that do. I have seen sites for graphic designers that have been in business for 20 years do a complete flash site. And that was just 6 months ago. When I told him that he wouldn't receive much search engine traffic by doing that, he told me he didn't care.
I have seen sites taken offline with a message saying "site being redesigned, please come back later".
Why do that?
Just last week I came across a designers site that had that message. There is no need for that. The new site can be redesigned in the background and when it is done then take 20 minutes to upload it and replace the old site, and the job is done!
When I first read this post I though it was more of a consumer awareness post for them to read and understand, not for other designers to get all hyped up about.
I too get frustrated when I see professional designers\developers practice any of the points in this post because consumers may not be fully up to speedon the best practices when it comes to web design.
And you know what? It is not their job to be fully up to speed.
They have their own business to run.
It is up to us as professionals to offer them guidance and advice and to make sure that we are using the best technology out there so that their business will benefit from our work and they can relax knowing that they got their money's worth.
This article is simply opinionated and slashes designers that are really on point with the best and latest practices.
Any one that has a business...it is their job to fully understand and know what they are paying for. There is no excuse for not know who you've picked as your designer. I don't buy that one bit. Locally isn't always the best solution for your web design either. Sometimes you will find that the best fit is a web designer/developer who are 4 states away. That's the great thing about the industry.
And with offline: meaning: The current site is still live until the redesign is ready to be uploaded. Design, Coding, and Programming. Up-time for the site should be seamless.
Please do the research on the company and their process before getting into a mess. That would help people from fearing web designer and developers that are top tier.
Really BS if you ask me. What you are really trying to do is to get people to host their site on your CMS which is fine until you sell and/or your rates skyrocket anyway and then they are trapped because their site will be hijacked by whatever company is holding their site via CMS.
A company should have a developer/designer on site that can make the changes necessary or at least the company should have full ownership of the site once it is completed, meaning that the CMS should be open source like drupal or joomla.
Nothing would be worse to have your entire site surrendered to a company like Hubspot after you have been working on all your link building and SEO simply because a company can no longer afford to use their services.
The article is a sales pitch, not a bad one, but still a sales pitch for a CMS product.
Not that I disagree with all the comments there are people out there who don’t really think of supporting their clients.
The single best content management system in my humble opinion is a responsive human service provider who can action SEO, Design, Redesign (on test servers until ready for launch) and have their eye on the point, that being a business has a website to benefit the business. Sales, Sales Support, Sales & Marketing Collateral, Customer Support, HR Service whatever it’s function(s) it’s there to do a job.
A designers job should in my humble, cover all the above bases, but then I don’t come from a design background as mush as a sales and marketing background. I design and deploy, manage, redesign, market and SEO on behalf of my clients. Before taking a client on I ask them what it is they hope to achieve with a web presence. I treat them with the same respect I’d wish to be treated with as the owner of a business.
During the consultative phase, it isn’t rocket science to explain the pitfalls of Flash, the benefits of SEO, Social Media etc.
Web sites being held hostage, nice bit of scare mongery, marketing hurt and rescue, not that it doesn’t happen.
Header tags instead of images? How about header tags over background images. And h1 tags? Does Google really pay any attention to them anymore or is the h2 more significant and lets not forget the page title eh?
I have redesign on many sites that the text was all images!! That is not a web designer!!!
As a Web Marketing Consultant, I see this all the time... Clients with great looking web site that get little traffic and for the traffic that does find them no one converts.
The first questions you should ask your web designer is how have you helped your clients get more business. If they don't have a good answer move one. If they do, dig deeper. You wouldn't spend a bunch of money to print marketing materials and not put them in the hands of your customers. So, don't build a web site that won't get found in the search engines.
I couldn't agree more that design of the website is much overly prioritized, but in my case, by the clients. It's very annoying that they just want flash because they want something to move on their website! I hardly ever heard clients comment on the layout.
@Neena How come it is annoying to give you clients what they want. Isn't that what you are trying to accomplish :) ?
They credit you get for a good lay-out is a lead or a sale. Because of the good architecture they are able to easily follow the flow of your site and go where you want them to go