[thelist] RE: Does web design have a future in 'highwage'countries?

[Robert Hanson]

Here is what is happening: Many, many people can collect/edit images, and
write HTML (or work with some design program) and call themselves web
designers.  It used to be that many lower-income people (and countries)
could not afford computers, so computers were available to those who had
higher incomes - thus a large portion of web designers were in countries
where people had good access to computers.  Now the price of computers is
coming down, and many new people (that is, in lower-income countries) are
discovering that they can design web pages too.  After all, it is a skill
that requires a minimum of skill to get into.

So is it no shock that some basic web design and coding tasks are given to
people with lower wage requirements - after all, do you hire a busboy at
$20.00 when you can hire one at $8.00 per hour for the same work?

What we're seeing is the "hacks" being pushed out of the way.  This is
clearly the case for a few people on the list, who do not have time to
improve their skillsets or learn more complicated programming.  Today, a
web site requires a diverse set of skills - translating the needs of your
customer into a software solution; integrating that solution with other
inhouse systems, designing a site that is accessable, easy to use, and
performant.  You need to take into account buisiness needs and practices,
human-computer interface and usability issues; artistic concerns, and so
on.  Site design is just a small part of the skills you need.