Designrfix has just published an article considering the question of how a web designer can leverage effective user experience to influence visitors to his or her own site, or to sites owned by clients. The article starts by pointing to the obvious fact that the role of a web designer is indispensable in this day and age. With the web deeply integrated into our daily lives, most businesses no longer have to seriously consider the question of whether it is worthwhile for them to develop their own sites.

However, the overwhelming familiarity of the web has also led us to a historical moment in which you can personally fill the role of web designer for your own site, even if you have little to no experience in the field. This in turn leads to a much more serious question: is it sufficient for you to drawn on your own very limited experience while using a pre-fabricated template. The alternative, of course, is to employ a professional web designer to build your site from scratch.

Custom Web Design Advantages

Naturally, the latter option is more costly and also more time consuming. But it has distinct advantages for persons who plan to fully utilize the advantages of a unique, professional website. For one thing, it gives you the opportunity to get yourself ahead of any problems that might arise following the implementation of template based-design.

There is a new article at Craving Tech that considers this very question of templates versus custom web design, and it points out that the use of a template does not necessarily guarantee you won’t be calling a web designer in the near future to make relevant adjustments to user experience. For one thing, the issue of responsive web design, which we’ve discussed on this blog, means that there’s little guarantee your chosen template will display properly on the types of devices that your target audience is using to access your site.

The responsive design that adjusts for these differences is not generally a part of pre-fabricated templates. But if you hire a sufficiently knowledgeable and professional web designer, you’ll have an opportunity to discuss these differences with him or her, and make sure that your target audiences’ unique needs are served.

Data Analytics in Web Design and Beyond

This draws attention to something else that Designrfix points out about the role of the modern day web designer. Most such people don’t just build websites anymore; they also personalize user experience on the basis of data analysis regarding your target market and your competitors’ traffic patterns. And this in turn highlights another point made by Craving Tech: that custom website design is often the first step in the development of a marketing strategy.

The work of the web designer and marketing professional is often closely connected. And if you hire the correct web designer, you are also giving your website and your company early access to resources that could help you throughout the life of your business. The data analysis that helps with initial construction of a website also gives direction to your web marketing. And the professionals who can effectively utilize this for the first purpose are likely to be the same people who can drive traffic to your newly built website through social media marketing, search engine optimization, and so on.