Reading through back issues of .NET magazine, I noticed that there’s very little emphasis on WordPress developers. This is pretty strange given that 15% of the world’s top million sites are developed in WordPress.

Most of .NET’s articles seem to focus on designing and coding static websites. .NET presumably plan their content according to what their readers demand, suggesting that this approach is shared by the wider web design community. But I believe that static sites will become less common over the next few years. The future of web design lies in platforms such as WordPress – and therefore in WordPress developers.

What’s so great about WordPress?

With tens of thousands of pre-designed themes and more than 15,000 plugins available, you can use WordPress to design almost any website for a fraction of the price of developing from scratch. And as if this isn’t enough, its open-source format allows WordPress developers to reprogram and customize WordPress to do pretty much anything they want.

For example, take a WordPress e-commerce online shop. In the old days, the options were either to purchase an expensive e-commerce package or to pay a web developer to build one from scratch. Nowadays, WordPress offers a much cheaper alternative. With plenty of WordPress e-commerce plugins available, all you have to do is install the plugin, set it up with the options you require (discounts, stock control etc.) and customize it to reflect your overall website design. And in the unlikely event that it lacks any of the features you need, WordPress developers can reprogram it to add these features. This option simply wasn’t available a few years ago but is now a popular choice for small and medium companies alike.

So why don’t more developers use WordPress?

I think there’s a widespread attitude that using WordPress – and themes in particular – isn’t ‘proper web design’. Many designers and developers like the satisfaction of designing from scratch. This is their art and the reason they got into web design in the first place.

There will always be a role for bespoke web design, and more and more companies need this to be integrated into a content management system such as WordPress. Static sites are no longer sufficient as website owners need full control over their content.

It’s not easy for traditional web designers to switch to WordPress. Converting a Photoshop or HTML design to WordPress requires different skills and technologies, such as PHP programming and an understanding of how WordPress works. Those who see themselves as designers rather than web developers often don’t want to go in this direction. That’s why as expert WordPress developers, one of our main sources of enquiries comes from web designers who need their designs converting to WordPress.

So it looks like the future of web design lies largely in partnership working between web designers and WordPress developers.

Isn’t the point of WordPress to create websites without a web developer?

It’s easy to set up a WordPress website without much technical know-how. We see fewer and fewer clients who want us to develop and manage their whole website. Instead, lots of companies and individuals are teaching themselves WordPress and building their own websites.

Some web designers and developers feel threatened by this. But I see WordPress as an opportunity rather than a threat.

There’s still a big need for expert WordPress developers because:

• People get stuck and need help with WordPress
• Companies who have developed or commissioned a custom web design rather than a theme need it converting to WordPress
• Lots of clients need WordPress customization – modifying themes to reflect their brand identity, WordPress plugin development, etc.
• Bigger companies need an expert WordPress consultant to integrate WordPress with their existing IT systems and help them get the most out of WordPress

As WordPress developers, we need to accept that clients want more and more control over their website. Rather than resenting their input, we should embrace this and work in partnership with our clients.

Our role has become more of a technical consultant than a traditional ‘webmaster’. We respect the tasks that clients want to do themselves, and are on hand to offer expert advice and provide any technical expertise that is needed.

By being flexible and moving with the times, that’s why WordPress developers are the future of web design.