Who should you trust to develop your online identity?
By: Eric Karkovack
 I’ve been designing and maintaining websites professionally since 1996. Over the years, I have witnessed more than a few people who decided to let a traditional graphic artist design their website. On many occasions, the client has been disappointed in the result.
Why? Because print and web design are two completely different animals. Both have their own unique set of standards and intricacies. It’s rare to find someone who is fluent in both mediums.
Often times, small business owners aren’t aware of the differences and assume that either a print or web designer is an all-in-one, jack of all trades. More often than not this isn’t the case.
Now, before I receive any nasty messages from print designers: I have the utmost respect for what you do! Ask me to do the layout for a major print magazine or newspaper and I’d get lost pretty quickly. The same is true when many print designers try their hand at the web.
The requirements of websites and printed materials are vastly different:
| • Must load quickly – Even with broadband connections, your website still needs to load in a fairly short amount of time. Graphic files must be optimized for the web. |
• Have no file size requirements – Since they’re going to be printed on paper rather than downloaded to a computer, load time is not an issue. |
| • Require interactivity and navigation – A good website utilizes a user-friendly interface. It must be easy to navigate. |
• Are static – Your average print ad doesn’t change much once it is printed! No interactivity is required. |
| • Grow over time – A website should be able to expand with new content without needing a major reconstruction project. |
• Don’t have future considerations – Print materials aren’t designed with the possibility of new content being added in the future. With a website, planning ahead is a must. |
| • Must work on a variety of screen sizes and operating systems – Maybe that design looks cool on your artists’ 30 inch monitor – but how does it look on your customer’s 17 inch screen? A variety of people using a variety of different computer systems (not to mention mobile devices) will view your website. You need to make sure that the overwhelming majority of people can view your website as it was intended. |
• Are designed for one size – A brochure is, well, a brochure. It’s printed on thousands of sheets of paper – all the same size. There doesn’t have to be different considerations for different readers. |
Suffice it to say that print and web design are, on many levels, polar opposites of one another. That’s not to say there aren’t talented people out there who are knowledgeable in both. But when considering your website, make sure you’re hiring someone who is qualified. Ask to see some of their previous web work so that you can avoid a common (and costly) mistake.
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