Should Writing Be Part of a Freelance Web Designer’s Skillset?
Late last night I was browsing through some online articles to get some ideas. I ran across an article about web designers and the author thought that writing is an important skill a web designer should have.
The author writes:
It’s the designer’s job to think about your site the way a user does, and tell them what they need to hear, and when they need to hear it. A designer worth their salt will be able to do it. And if your designer says, “I’m not a writer,†it may be time to find one who is.
and:
…Design is about communication, and it takes more than pixels to communicate.
I have to agree in part. I have received content before from clients whose sites I’ve designed and I’ve cringed at the poorly worded text and spelling errors. So I’ve had to suggest tactfully other ways of saying the same thing. I’ve definitely added Copy Editing to my list of services because nothing’s worse than creating a nice site for someone only to have it filled with crappy content.
Sometimes the clients don’t want you to edit anything because maybe they’re on a tight budget. So after patiently explaining to them that they need to appear professional and their content quality is far more important than the snazzy design I’m creating for them, the decision is ultimately the clients’. Time is money so it makes sense not to waste time trying to reason with a client who has his or her mind made up.
The bottom line is this: to me a site is great only if it has good quality content that’s well-written and if it means learning to write copy well so that your fabulous design stands out even more, why not give that client the extra service by offering to copy edit if the project needs it.
RSS Entries
May 18th, 2006 at 10:31 pm
Agreed! A good content is just as important as a cool design!
May 18th, 2006 at 10:40 pm
Great article! I’ve had this problem with sites as well. No matter how good the design is it means nothing without great content.
Nice job on the blog conversion as well:)
May 19th, 2006 at 1:57 am
thanks for the comments, Mike, and Stan, I’m glad you like my conversion…it was worth the hard work
May 19th, 2006 at 2:17 am
After talking with you I went looking for the full article and found it:
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/learntowrite
There’s a lot of good reading there and I agree with you. Content is very important but sometimes no matter how good the advise we give the clients, in the end, we do what they want. You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink.
It’s always nice when you can have a nice mix of a good design and good content. It’s also nice when the client lets you work your magic and when you can even get paid for it, that’s a bonus.
Keep up the good work Karen!
May 19th, 2006 at 1:02 pm
Sean,
Thanks for your support!
I agree…It’s always a challenge trying to
explain that what a client wants is not necessarily what they need.