My opinion on AI as a Website Designer

Let's cut to the chase:

Do I think AI will take away my job? No.

Do I think it will speed things up and enable more new businesses to DIY? Yes and heres why.

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The human experience

I find it quite disheartened to know that AI can learn in minutes, what took me years. But with one big flaw, ever heard the saying "Don't believe everything you read on the internet" well LLMs are just that. They have soaked up the internet information until 2024 (you can ask chat GPT how up to date it is) with some set rules by the developers at the company that built it and then summarise what it knows and restructure it to answer my question or prompt.

AI that can design websites work in the exact same way. They have set components and rules of a website (like a library) you ask it to build you a SASS website and ta da! here is a blue gradient website with some abstract images and elusive titles. Don't get me wrong this is a quick way to get a website up and running but I would argue its not the best way.

In my experience, business owners know they need a website but they do not know what they want or what it can really be used for. They normally start out with a template or AI and try to squeeze themselves into a design that was not made for them because they liked the way it looks. Then after a couple years of it being up and it not bringing any leads in they start to question it and re-do it. They might seek help from a professional and find out why its not working.

When I meet these business owners they generally follow the same story but then I start to delve deeper into what they do and why do they do it and who they serve or want to serve. This is a crucial part of creating a website and is often overlooked. Let's say you are a B2B coach and you need a new website. You might go to an AI builder and type something like "My business name is xyz coaching and I need a website that reflects my skills and services I offer, [add services] and I would like it to be green". You will get a website that does just that. Generic layout with differnet green tones and a 3 column layout for your services with some icons.

This totally lacks that business personality, what's important to them and why they do what they do. Who specifically they help and any previous case studies or testimonials or other content that would help convince potential leads land in their inbox. AI will do what it's told and maybe ask 1 or 2 additional questions but that's about it. If you do not know exactly what you want and are good at writing AI propmts you will spend copious amounts of time faffing and trying to make it perfect. It might save money but definitely not time.

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Did you know that there are new jobs now to tidy up AI code - Imagine that.

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Same sh*t different company

Imagine a magic genie offered you a free house and you could pick from a new build or an old rustic cottage. Based of aesthetics alone which one would you pick? The one which is exactly the same as 100 other people or the one with character, stories and interesting features? My guess would be the old rustic cottage.

So why would you choose the new build for your website, why would you want to be the same as everyone else if you are in fact unique. I asked a client which colors resonated with her on a personal level, she responded with "red and green, but you don't normally see them on a therapist website". My response: so? why not, you want to stand out from the group and the soft pastel colors.

A little exercise you can do - hop over to google and type in SASS website design and look at the images. In the first two rows of images can you identify any major differences in the design? Likely you will see blue or purple gradient designs with graphs or people pointing at things.

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The good stuff

AI does make building websites more efficient, developers have been using libraries for years to build websites and apps. These libraries hold code snippets that do specific things - Need a quote block that will grab the information from the backend and display - no problem. Write the code that grabs that and then style it in CSS. AI speeds this process up, however developers and designers are still needed to improve the initial library to make sure it doesn't become outdated or use code that can be hacked.

When you are starting a company and have very little money then AI can be a cost efficient way to "get something up" but it won't be the best website you could do and will have. Website's should not be a set and forget it thing, instead they should continiously evolve as your company does. You don't need to update it every day but every quater take a look, what could be better? is this content still true? Are these team members still here?

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Summary

Do I think AI will take my job? No, but it will need to adjust. I will need to make it apart of my workflow to keep up with others. Apply for opportunities to train or build components for libraries that AI uses. But at the end of the day, businesses will still want to be unique (and so they should) and maybe not be willing to invest in the time into learning how to build a website with AI and so come to an expert.

Do I think it will speed things up and enable more new businesses to DIY? Absolutely, what used to take months could now be achieved in one. AI websites can be a launch pad but not the end goal.

This is my unfiltered opinion from being a website developer/designer for 10 years, accumulation of experience and what I have seen in trends. If AI ever fully took over my job I guess I will have to become a full time pickleball player which doesn't sound that bad!

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