My web design business is over 25 years old, and I’m not ashamed to admit that I started small. I worked with clients on the tiniest of budgets. Build an entire website for a couple of hundred dollars? That sounded like an opportunity to me.
These projects didn’t do much for my bank account. However, I learned a lot about web development and building professional relationships. It was a time and place to experiment and find what worked (and what didn’t).
Starting small seemed like a rite of passage for new designers and students. It was a way to get our feet wet in a growing industry. The goal was to “graduate” to something more lucrative and sustainable.
This is now a market targeted by artificial intelligence (AI) applications. We’re seeing new build tools that generate websites from a prompt. AI agents are now helping users navigate their content management system (CMS) and make changes. We’re at the beginning of a new era.
So, where does that leave the bottom portion of the web design market? Will AI destroy opportunities for new designers? Let’s try to make sense of what’s happening and what it means.
Is the Low End a Dead End?
Web technology has evolved over the past two decades. This means that even the simplest modern website is more complex than we could have dreamed of back in the day. For instance, old-school sites rarely required databases or languages beyond HTML. Now, we’re building brochure websites with PHP and various JavaScript flavors.
Client expectations have also trended upwards. The web is a mature platform, and features like e-commerce and automation are now commonplace. The costs of adding them have gone down considerably. As such, website owners across all market segments expect this sort of functionality.
Meanwhile, DIY website-building tools are becoming more capable. They’re now easier to use and more powerful than earlier versions. Perhaps the results aren’t at a professional level, but that’s good enough for a sizeable portion of the market.
This was becoming the case before AI entered the picture. The landscape was already flooded with web designers trying to undercut each other on price. AI site generators have accelerated the diminishing returns in this race to the bottom.
In that way, AI is yet another competitor that makes it harder to build a business on the lowest rungs of the ladder. Even so, new freelance designers have to start somewhere. So, what’s the alternative?
Identify Ways To Use AI to Your Advantage
Perhaps the answer lies in making the most out of these newfangled AI tools. After all, the results they produce are only as good as the person writing the prompts.
AI may reduce some technological barriers, but it’s not yet capable of reading your mind. It’s also unlikely to “think” of every need and niche use case. These tools work best when the user has a strong foundational knowledge. In other words, the more you know about building websites, the better the outcome.
In addition, web professionals don’t have to settle for what AI produces. We can take those initial results and expand on them. This scenario employs AI as a starting point – not the sole decision maker. And that’s where the potential lies for designers.
Your knowledge still holds value. Clients should still be informed about the consequences of using specific tools and technologies. They also need an expert to guide them on topics such as website performance and accessibility. Putting their business on autopilot is risky.
There’s an opportunity to help others get the most out of AI and other site-building tools. Thus, it’s worth experimenting with these apps, rather than dismissing them outright. They may help you serve the next generation of clients.
This also underlines the importance of learning (and continuing to learn) the fundamentals of web design and development. They will continue to serve as your advantage, no matter which tools you use.
New Web Designers Can Still Start Small
Yes, things are quite different from when I started my web design business. Everything seems to be on an accelerated pace these days. It’s enough to sow the seeds of doubt in your mind.
The positive of this blink-and-you’ll-miss-it landscape is that you’re forced to adapt. You’ll need that skill to survive in this industry. You may as well get used to it early in the game!
There are still opportunities to get your feet wet building websites for clients. As ever, it’s all about learning everything you can and applying it to your work. AI is just another stepping stone in your journey. Make it a point to experiment and become an authority.
The goal isn’t to stay at the bottom of the pricing scale forever. So, the more experience you gain, the faster you’ll move up the ladder.
That last part hasn’t changed a bit.
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