When web designers don’t write their own HTML/CSS they are essentially cheating the client from an intuitive and natural design. Instead, they are shortcutting the code and doing a rather back door entry into web design. The minimization of a true, organic effect will take a website’s quality down by quite a bit. Trying to create a site around an “inventory” of sorts means that there isn’t the same spontaneous ability to be creative and tailor the website to the client. Instead, the client is being tailored to the website.
When making design choices for the sake of functionality and professionalism the web designer has to be able to make independent decisions. With coding, those decisions come naturally. Pulling anything from a stock resource prevents the entire design from following through that natural initial inspiration.
What is really remarkable is that there are still designers getting the bulk of their material from programs like Photoshop. The biggest problem with this, aside from the inventory, is that there is a significant limitation to the ability to select the appropriate themes, colors, even fonts, that create the site in its most honest form.
If you show up to a pottery class with a can of Play Dough you are never going to make the works of art the other students do. The refusal to work with the proper raw materials is exactly the same whether you’re talking about websites or pottery. Some of the replication may very well be close, but there is a distinct difference between replicating something seen
elsewhere and creating your own images from a blank canvas.
When you are hiring a team or a firm you have a general expectation that the results will be tailored to your business, your needs, and your expectations. When this falls through because of a limited inventory you are not likely to receive an explanation that is up front and honest. Most web designers are well aware that not doing your own coding is akin to cheating on
a test.
It doesn’t make sense to go about web design in this fashion. A true designer is going to carry a sense of pride in each creation. They are going to put just enough of themselves into it so that the desire for it to succeed is strong. Original creation comes from within, regardless of what that creation may be. There is a significant difference in the design quality, but also a significant difference in the quality of the designer.
Blending visual appeal with functional applications is the primary goal of a website. Without the specific coding ability of a true web designer, the implementation of visuals may very well be seamless. When it comes to how that operation is supposed to work on the site the codeless designer can not offer much. There is a disconnect between selecting a visual image and creating a cohesive website that allows for full interaction with an intuitive interface.
Creating the proper aesthetics generally begins with how the design will work. Once that is in place the question of imagery can come into the picture. Bringing the two together is actually done in the reverse order for web designers who write code. This is why they tend to have websites that not only look good but also function just as they are supposed to. The elements
that give a client a unique and functional website are the elements that must be written in HTML/CSS. Settling for anything less will have your website looking very much your Play Dough pottery. It can sit up on the mantle and look pretty, but it won’t be strong enough for real life uses.
