Of course at MVG Media we love software. We embrace the tools we use and the constantly changing technologies that keep us engaged and improve what we deliver. Having said this BE CAREFUL as it seems software is taking over the world, moulding our bahavior and dictating what we do, when and how we do it!

How does this affect web design? Well, clients are typically becoming more savvy. Recently we’ve had some very specific requests for ‘a Wordpress site’ or a ‘Magento online store’ or ‘an Open Cart solution’.  Now whilst I don’t have a problem with these solutions (we've use Wordpress a fair amount and we’re currently looking at Magento) it can be dangerous to approach a project with a pre-conceived idea on how it will be delivered.

The functional specification

A whole range of exciting Open Source, proprietry and bespoke in-house software is continually evolving, however it’s still vital to fully scope the project before embarking on any given route – considering your users, roles, permissions, administration requirements, modules, functions, design, site structure and most importantly ‘sharing a vision’ with your web agency should always be your first consideration. It is also important to fully understand the project constraints – timings, budget, linking with internal systems etc. A ‘non-technical’ specification is an extremely useful document to our designers and developers. This outlines exactly ‘what the system needs to do’ – it is then a task for the development team to decide ‘how to do it’.

Let’s take CMS for example

Choosing a content management system can be tricky. Without a clearly defined set of requirements, you will be seduced by fancy functionality that you will never use or a system that doesn’t deliver to your needs.

My favourite quote of the week ...
“The two most dangerous things in the world are hand guns and content management systems!”
Brendan Dawes, Magnetic North

The options are extensive for Open Source CMS, we’ve looked at many of them (Wordpress, Drupal, Joomla!). We have no issues with adopting some of these if they can save us all time and money and will deliver on the requirements clarified in the non-technical specification. Having said that it’s more common for us to deliver a bespoke solution as we often believe that we can build better tools that match the clients requirements more accurately. Also stability and security are extremely important in web design and hacking something like Wordpress to death to achieve your goals is not something we would recommend!

Stunting creativity

There is also an argument that we’re sacrificing our more artistic side as we focus on the tools. Design is a form of communication that should not be compromised and it’s a real shame if the software / cms restrictions are in the back for the designers mind whilst he’s trying to be creative. Design is exciting. It’s a fluid, creative process that can produce fantastic work that we (and the client) can be proud of .... it’s not something that we like to be repressed by the technical boundaries of a cms. 

Conclusion

Approach every project with a clear mind. Let’s not get lazy and have a ‘default’ mindset when approaching a project, nor should we become a slave to the software. Web design is a moving, twisting, changing thing that spores fantastic tools and resources that are at our disposal but it’s our minds and creativity that really shapes what we design and deliver – let’s keep it that way!