You’re sucked in by the marketing (Wix & Squarespace spring to mind), because they make designing and building websites look so simple. So slick! So professional! You then start working with your chosen ‘pre-designed’ template. The nice and easy ‘drag & drop’ system proves to have a mind of its own. Suddenly, you realise this is going to take hours of your valuable time; time spent more productively doing something that doesn’t feel like pulling teeth.
Technical issues aside, we all see things differently. Some people can just see light, space, angle and detail. A lot of people can’t (I’m now thinking of my husband when he says “doesn’t so-and-so look like insert famous person’s name” and I always say “NO!”). If web design isn’t your thing, relax. You’re probably more left brain than right (or is that the other way around, I honestly can’t remember).
Some people do a sterling job for their first DIY design effort, but it’s always the lack of margins, padding, gutters and general spacial awareness that tends to scream ‘I DID THIS MYSELF!’. You need to look professional. It’s your shop window, so please dress it nicely, or get someone who knows what they’re doing if you don’t.
AI has now found its way into DIY web design. Like most people, I’m always on the look out for anything that’ll make my life easier, but so far I’ve been less than impressed. The Americanisms in AI copywriting are bad enough, but with the advent of AI website builders the tackiness also extends to AI’s choice of imagery, fonts and layout. Even with a crystal-clear brief, the AI responses from my AI web design experiments so far have been hilarious (and unless you’re a stand-up comedian, I don’t expect this is the look that you’re after).
There is one area that AI is brilliant for, and that’s SEO; titles, descriptions, slugs, keyword phrases - every little helps, as the actress said to the bishop. Put your copy in and ask it to put your keywords into the copy in a way that isn’t contrived and Google will love. Time saved and JOB DONE.
The likes of Squarespace & Wix do at least have excellent built-in SEO, so I suppose that’s one less thing to worry about.
If you’re struggling with the design bit, give me a call.