On Wednesday night I was invited to participate in a panel discussion on blogging and social media for a class at the at the University of Miami School of Communications. It was a good meeting, even if a rather small group, and there was a lot of valuable discussion.
During the event I had an incidental exchange with one of the other panelists which helped crystallize a thought I’d been kicking around for a while. In reference to the concept of setting up a blog I mentioned that when making decisions you need to consider your goals and purposes, and used the example of design. If your blog is a portion of a complete web presence — usually something corporate — then its design should reflect that brand. Conversely, if all you are doing is setting up a blog for personal use, with no purpose beyond self-expression, then design is of less importance.
One of my fellow panelists, a designer herself, took umbrage at this, and became quite animated in defending the supremacy of design over all other considerations. I won’t go into the particulars of the discussion in detail out of fairness to her; frankly, I was a bit taken aback by her apparent vehemence at what seemed a self-evident point — do you really need to hire a professional designer for your kid’s Little League blog? — and given my poor memory I wouldn’t want to misrepresent her arguments. But it did start me thinking.
When I found out I was going to have to change the machinery that runs Hidden City I started looking for someone to help with the programming and the redesign of the site. I was a bit shocked, I confess, to get initial quotes running as high as $8,000 for something that appeared to me to be relatively simple: migrate ten years of entries on Hidden City to the new system, and modify my current design for use with it, maybe refreshing it a bit. There were also some new features I was interested in adding, but they were purely on a “cost permitting” basis.
While I was in discussions with someone who offered a more reasonable price my financial situation shifted a bit, and I had to make the decision to go it alone. While I’m not experienced in WordPress, I’ve got years of experience with other content management systems so I think I’ll be okay. To address the design issues I spent a little money and bought a professionally designed template — a blank form, if you will — for the layout of the new Hidden City. I would rather have hired a designer, but for a site which has yet to generate it’s first dollar of income it just seemed to be an inappropriate use of my dwindling funds.
Does this decision to use my educated amateur design skills instead of hiring a professional make me a hypocrite?
It bothers me — personally and professionally — to see that America has decided that semi-literacy is good enough for written content. Corporate America feels there’s no need to pay someone to craft a compelling story or write an evocative headline when someone with a vague sense of composition (if not grammar) can satisfy its customers. Given that scenario, good writers are paid a pittance simply because unskilled writers are willing to accept it. The choice is to take it or go, and the writers are generally taking it because they don’t have any other options.
Years ago I built web sites for a few clients, back when HTML skills were still hard to find, and even then there was an attitude of “Well, my nephew took a couple of classes and says he’ll build it for $50.” Would the nephew-built site be as good as I could create? No, probably not, but many clients were willing to take that chance, because $50 was all that they budgeted for it. It was — in their opinions — good enough. I know that designers still face the same issues.
It takes tremendous skill to become a top-ranked chef, and to create an elegant ambiance in a fine restaurant. When I got hungry today I wanted a steak, and thought back to a really amazing meal I had at Morton’s once. Going there was out of the question; hell, Outback is out of my budget right now. Instead, I went to the kitchen and fixed a bowl of ramen. It was— well, no, it wasn’t good enough, but I had to make do.
I would never say that professional work isn’t worth the money, or isn’t necessary. I don’t begrudge a designer or a programmer a single dime of their fee. My decision not to take advantage of a service isn’t a rejection of its value; it’s a matter of balance. Still, too many people take it personally. I’m certainly guilty of that.
As a consumer we don’t always get to vacation in Tahiti, or drive fine automobiles, or drink expensive liquors. Does this mean we should give up on life, though, since we can’t have it all? Should a business die because they can’t afford to retain the largest ad agency, hire the most experienced staff, lease the most prestigious location? The simple fact is that we compromise every day, making decisions as to where we will allocate our limited resources, and where we’ll settle for less.
I wish I had the budget for a professional designer to create a new brand for me and for Hidden City. I wish I could hire an agent and a manager to handle the business aspects of my career so I could spend more time writing. Hell, while we’re at it, I wish I had a housekeeper! (I’m sure my cats do, too.)
Still, the focus of my world is my writing, and that’s where my resources need to go. Until my success will support those services, I have to handle them myself. It won’t be perfect, or even great, but it will be good enough.
{ 1 comment }
It has been my experience that the content is what matters. Sure, a nice design helps, but as long as it is functional and links don't vanish into 404ville, for me, the content is what makes a website good or bad.
Good luck.
Some Blogging Guy