Like any other high-tech industry, the world wide web is changing fast and both web designers and design agencies are facing unusual challenges. This can be explained by more and more customers beginning to trust smaller, independent agencies while large ones get fewer projects and, in turn, less revenue. As a result, the market of web design has become overly saturated as both small and large agencies fight for the same projects.
What happens next?
This may seem like deja vu for some designers, who already faced the threat of learning skills outside of their field just several years ago. Prior to that, coders were safe and web designers often had to learn how to code, which is actually an established trend now. This time, however, something different is happening:
Web design is becoming less about designing the layout and style of pages, and more about designing user experiences on different devices and platforms.
This trend has encouraged another question to enter the picture: should web designers learn to be marketeers as well? Naturally, most designers won’t be thrilled with this idea, since obtaining a wide range of new skills takes a whole lot of time and effort. Nodding in agreement? Well, this article will try to persuade you to align with the marketing profession by recognizing the benefits it can bring for you and your career.
Why you should convert into a marketeer
Remember that thing about web designers that were made to learn coding skills? This emergence of the two professions actually turned out great for designers because they obtained a new skillset that allowed them to be more productive, adapt to changes in the web development industry, and receive more profits. They thrived and succeeded because of these skills that helped them to meet the challenges of the new era of web development. It is safe to say that the same situation is happening again: the industry is changing and designers need to address the new challenges.
The recent changes in web design show that its traditional form is “dying.” Earlier, it was just about website pages, their layout, readability, and so on, but today it is about products, tools, and services. User experience (UX) is increasingly important now, and web pages are just one of the elements associated with this term. Therefore, adopting some online marketing skills actually is a good idea because it means meeting the trends and answering the challenges. Otherwise, web designers would not be able to design, plan, and manage everything they need to make their work successful.
Who is the new web designer/marketeer?
To deliver outstanding design work, the new professional should be a versatile UX designer who possesses sufficient knowledge and skills in online marketing. This professional will be able to design and create value across multiple channels, which is a critical requirement now.
How to switch my career?
Merging the careers of web designer and marketeer will be an easier task if you prepare yourself. The main focus during the transition should be on updating and improving the skills while going deep in several other skills. Need a few pointers? Well, we’ve prepared a complete guide on how to make the switch in a right way.
First and foremost, you have to understand a couple of things before we begin. The skills of making the switch are not taught in any college, so you can stop looking for them. The key to success is personal determination and learning.
Making the Switch:
Step 1: Prepare the foundation for the switch
The most effective way to prepare yourself for marketing is to learn five important areas; programming, UX, behavioral psychology, storytelling, and analytics. While you do not have to spend a lot of time mastering programming (just go for the basics: HTML and JavaScript), the other areas require some serious attention from you. For example, the design that is the friendliest to the visitor should be learned from top to bottom, and essential understanding of how people behave must be mastered too. You can’t design and market a product without understanding how to attract user interest, right?
Next, you need to learn how to tell the story of the brand and connect with your audience by sharing some feelings and aspirations. This is called storytelling and it is a great tool to position a product or brand as a leader amongst hundreds of others. Lastly, digital marketing has become increasingly data-driven, so analytics knowledge is needed to analyze the performance of certain pages.
Step 2: Learn some advanced marketing
There are three essential areas of marketing that need to be mastered: conversion rate optimization, copywriting, and funnel marketing. First, marketing is about converting leads into buyers, so conversion rate optimization knowledge will be highly useful for determining why website visitors are not doing what they are supposed to do, e.g. convert.
Next, a good marketeer should know how to create content that is interesting to visitors and encourages them to convert. While it is not a critical for a designer, writing skills are fundamental for marketers and will certainly come in handy.
Finally, the marketing funnel is defined as a tool that helps marketeers visualize the journey of buyers from the moment they become familiar with the company to becoming a lead. For example, you should be familiar with the five stages of the funnel: awareness, consideration, conversion, loyalty, and advocacy.
Conclusion
The web design industry is changing and requires more from designers, which can include things like learning online marketing. There are a lot of good web designers out there, but adopting the role of a skillful marketeer can be what makes you exceptional.
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