New data released by trend setting Israeli company Webydo, reveals some eye opening information about the web design industry.
The illuminating inforgraphics tell of 785 million websites in existence and an astounding 16 million added each month. The question is who is creating these millions of new business websites?
One of the fascinating revelations of this research is that although the DIY web design solutions for amateurs enjoy a great marketing 'buzz', in reality, professionals are still leading this huge market with non pros creating less than 3% of websites.
It is important to note that this analysis, accompanied by illuminating infographics produced in collaboration with Visual.ly, is the first such observation of data and research surrounding this topic, highlighting the role of professionals VS amateurs in creating business websites. Pointing to a rapidly evolving web design service market, a $20.1 billion industry in the US alone, the analysis reflects the democratising nature of new technology, where revolutionary tools such as Webydo are placing powerful creative tools in designers' hands.
"The numbers" explains Webydo's CEO Shmulik Grizim, "show clearly that the majority of business websites are currently created by professionals using professional tools. The market has seen a rise of low-cost DIY solutions (such as Wix, Homestead, Squarespace and Weebly) offering B2C platforms for small business owners. These "fast, fun and easy" solutions allow amateurs to choose from a limited selection of pre-designed templates in order to create basic websites. Yet less than 3% of websites are created using these do-it-yourself platforms. Amateurs find it hard to finish the process on their own and only a small percentage of registered users end up with a published website on domain. Creating advanced business websites demand professional knowledge and experience".
"It took me just minutes to create and publish a slick new website for my new documentary" I tell Grizim with understandable excitement, "not only was the creation process fast, easy and highly intuitive, I was astounded by the richness of features and the professional tools available to me within Webydo, tools I would have previously turned to Photoshop for when designing a website".
"Designers are savvy Photoshop users' replies Grizim, "most of them still use other graphic design softwares when creating and managing websites with Webydo. However, the development of features of Webydo's online software is decided by Webydo's devoted community of designers who are setting our roadmap for development..following the request of our designers, more features are added and indeed there are designers who prefer to do the whole design process in Webydo without using other softwares"
Static Photoshop designs, still need to be converted into code by developers where Webydo allows designers to design websites directly in browser from any computer. "Our designers wanted to be able to handle the entire website creation process' explains Grizim, "from designing and hosting to managing, without writing one line of code or hiring developers"
Designers' dialogue with their clients was also paramount for Webydo creators who considered the demand for constant website updating and managing. This need means that "the online software for web design must be integrated with a friendly CMS for the designers clients and is why Webydo offers designers two integrated work environments; a DMS (Design Management System)professional online software for creating and designing websites as well as CMS (Content Management System) for content updates by the website owner".
"Designers learned to rely on fantastic softwares such as Adobe Photoshop or InDesign for all their professional needs" adds Grizim, "but the market didn't provide a full solution for website creation by designers. The old professional process for creating websites (which hadn't changed much since the '90s) demanded hiring a developer in order to convert graphic design into code.
This process was slow and expensive, leaving 70% of the budget in the pockets of developers. We felt that there is an urgent need for a design-centered solution. The manual production of code was at the center of website creation for decades and it is time to put designers in the driver's seat, eliminating all these technical barriers letting designers focus on creating better visual storytelling, better user experience and a better web for us all. "We are living in a participatory culture" concludes Grizim, "with users wanting to have control over their work environment. This is why Webydo is a community lead platform where Webydo provides the technology, but our designers are the decision makers"