Running a web design business is much more than just being a web designer. So many companies out there learn a little bit about WordPress backend and market themselves as a web design company. But they are lacking in so many other areas.
Reasons why you need to be a Mr. know it all
A designer and a programmer are actually two different skill sets. As a web designer you actually have to know how the elements are going to translate to code. You need to design with a small file size in mind, this means creating graphics that either repeat themselves (patterns) or that you know can translate into straight CSS. You need to know that the page has a certain block set layout and repeat that design across multiple pages. You have to be aware of how responsive code works and how it will translate your desktop design into a mobile design.
As a programmer you need to be aware of SEO. Just writing code to match the mockup isn’t enough. You need to structure the code in an SEO friendly manner. Making sure the H tags are in the right spots, making sure there are alt and title tags on the page. Making meta data unique or giving dynamic access to meta data for the person adding content to the page. If you are building on a CMS (content management system) or building your own CMS you need to make sure the user interface is friendly. Having a WYSIWYG with a bunch of HTML in it is not a user friendly system. The client doesn’t know HTML and they surely won’t be able to edit the page with all that HTML in their WYSIWYG.
As a WordPress expert or “WordPress shop”, you need to be aware that if you are taking an existing website and putting it on a WordPress platform, you will and should be worrying about redirects from the old site pages to the new site pages. Mostly this is SEO best practices, redirecting all old pages of the website to their new respective pages. There are some so called “WordPres Experts” whom aren’t even aware or knowledgeable enough to even think of this. But if the old site has any bit of traffic or been around for a while this is a MUST!
As a person or company offering website solutions you must be aware of web security or hacking. Hackers are running wild, especially with so many people or companies getting into the industry who don’t even bother with brushing up on their security skills. With a push of a button you can install a WordPress site and another push of a button install a paid theme and you are up and running. But what about those weak passwords? What about that login page, and protecting it from brute force attacks? How are you going to protect that? Ive seen so many WordPress websites hacked it is unbelievable. Mainly because the developer didn’t emphasis any security measures. And didn’t emphasis to the client they need a password that is better than “lastname1”. I wrote a nice little random password generator for anyone interested.
With the evolving space that is technology and the web, having or owning a web design business is more than just putting up websites. You have to be a designer, a programmer, an SEO expert as well as an ethical hacker (or at least be aware of security best practices). Now not everyone is going to spend the time to learn all these skills, and that is where a team of specialist come in. But to run an efficient workflow each of these people have to be somewhat familiar with some of these elements. And hence why you really do need to be Mr. know it all.