Should web designers be experts in more than one web builder?
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Should you learn multiple website builders for your clients and your service based web design business? That's a popular question. Today, I'm going to tackle that!
This is my (maybe) unpopular opinion on whether or not you should learn &/or specialize in multiple website building platforms like, WordPress, Wix, ShowIt, Weebly, Shopify, Squarespace, Webflow, ––all of the website builders.
So should we?
Should we not?
Let's discuss it!
The case against learning MULTIPLE web building platforms
Should new web designers specialize in using more than one web builder?
My answer is, … 🥁 drumroll, please 🥁 … NO.
Should experienced designers specialize in using more than one web building platform?
That’s up to you & what you feel comfortable with.
Here’s the thing, learning multiple platforms to see which one YOU like to design in is one thing, but specializing in multiple platforms is almost impossible and much harder to manage.
True “specialization” is in part developed by both time and experience, which newbies don’t have yet. (ie: time using the platform in detail, experience using it in a lot of different ways so you learn every pro & con, the intricacies and all the minute details that make you a confident expert on the platform, etc.)
So no, I don’t think new web designers need to be stretching themselves so thin while still learning the ropes, –especially not just because leads may feel scarce.
Yep, that’s right ––I’ve heard you wondering aloud and asking around if you should also learn Showit because your Squarespace leads are crickets so far. I hear you! But that’s not actually a solution to your current problem.
Dry leads (or no leads) is most likely a marketing problem, maybe a messaging problem also/instead, –but not a platform problem.
(…Unless you want to specialize in Weebly, because… 😬 really? 😒 Why? 🤔😂)
If you want to learn and manage, and keep up with learning and managing multiple platforms, –then go for it. You do you! Stephen Colbert (pictured) is not sitting next to you to whack your hand or smack your forehead every time you do it. 🤭
But would I waste my time doing that, were I you? Nope.
If you learn multiple platforms at once, it will take much longer to become an expert in each one. You also have to keep up with all the updates that they release & most web-based tech changes on a weekly basis so that’s not as easy as it sounds. Step away for a project or two and you may come back to see new features or UI changes you don’t recognize and don’t know how to use yet, which will slow down your work again.
Not to mention, just like with niching in business, if you're a generalist (ie: “I design on whatever platform you want, Client!”), you cannot master it all & you WILL have weak spots. The same applies for learning software (and in this case, website platforms).
The takeaway: Learn one platform first. Learning too much at once, context switching & multi-tasking slows us way down.
Learn more about how context switching & multi-tasking affects productivity in this post.
The case for specializing in ONE web builder
You’ll always be better at one of them, and not as good at the others.
While all web builders will have a pretty similar baseline or concept for what to do & where things are on the most basic level, and if you know how to use one, you can probably accomplish basics in another, most likely, ––that’s still not expertise in both/all. It’s either general knowledge in both/all, or expertise in one and basics in the other(s).
As I said before, there are intricacies to each of these platforms and when you hone in on just one, you can get really fast & really good at using it. You learn all those little intricacies and eventually you can work in it really quickly, like developing muscle memory.
Ever try to remember a keyboard command you use all the time but forget what it is when you’re not actually pressing the keys? That’s muscle memory; you developed the habit of performing that action so often that it has become so ingrained that you don’t even have to think about how to do it anymore; you just do it. It becomes like breathing!
Whereas, if you are using and slowly learning Shopify, ShowIt, Webflow, Wix, WordPress, Squarespace, Framer, ––all of these options, you WILL BE so much less efficient with how you work in all of those platforms. If you try learning them all at once, you’re not taking the time to develop that muscle memory in any of them. Soon you’ll forget where things are, or how to do X in Y platform, and wonder why you can’t get Z to work –before remembering this platform doesn’t do that thing, but this other one does. See what I mean? It WILL happen. It’s just too much for your brain to absorb & maintain at once.
For example:
Learning little things like setting up header navigation works differently in Squarespace, vs Wix, vs Showit, vs Shopify. Squarespace does it the most simply, intuitively & automatically. Wix & Showit are both manual from-scratch creation processes which can be a lot more customized, and Shopify is somewhere in between. AND don’t forget that there are different versions of those navigations for mobile vs desktop in each platform too. How do I know this? Because I've built websites in several of them (Squarespace, Showit, and Shopify), and just used the editor in one them (Wix).I prefer using Squarespace, still. Why? Because I can build in it soooo quickly and painlessly. One & done! That's my favorite method of developing websites, because it keeps me from getting bored or resentful of long & drawn-out projects and it keeps me challenged by taking on new situations, needs & styles with each build. It's also easiest & most efficient for the client to manage it on their own so they are WAY less likely to “break” their new custom design on Squarespace than any other platform. That means they don't need me for ongoing website related shit (that’s a huge ‘pro’ for us both)! 🙌
That’s why I love Squarespace. ShowIt is different. Webflow is different too ––a lot different. Shopify is its own game too, but I just don't like e-commerce builds.
All platforms have their unique pros and cons. Each one does something better than the others, and something else worse than the others, ––otherwise they wouldn’t be competition for each other.
So lean into picking ONE platform that you can specialize in to start, and IF you feel like you've mastered that one, then go ahead & begin to learn another if you want.
Or maybe, dive in even further on the one you love! That could mean learning how to write platform-specific custom code, like I learned in Standout Squarespace* (because I would honestly rather do that than learn ShowIt on the same caliber that I understand Squarespace).
At one time, ShowIt felt like a natural progression from Squarespace. I even started developing Launch the Damn Thing®’s first website in ShowIt. What I learned from that experience? I just don't like ShowIt’s platform as much, because while it’s fun to have nearly (yes, I said NEARLY) total free reign on the design, ultimately that became too tedious for me. REAL FAST. 😂 I don't want to build and animate each element of every single button from scratch, every time I add one (ie: box color & size, text color & size, animations for box & text, then style the same set of elements for mobile individually too). I want to spend that time doing other things with my life! Also, I hated their lack of responsive design (for more on responsive web design tips, read this post next!)
And the same goes for Webflow, Wix and all of these other more granular, ‘pixel perfect’ website builders. That's why I like Squarespace; it’s for the same reason that my clients love it.
The takeaway: my best advice for you is to PICK ONE platform that YOU enjoy using for yourself and give yourself the time and experience to become an expert in it first. Then, add other platforms one at a time, if you want to.
Client Expecations & Web Platform Selection
Notice I said “if you want to.” Because you don't need to.
That's just fear talking. It’s FOMO. All the people that have asked this question, ‘do I need to learn’ or ‘should I offer multiple platforms?’ ––No. No, you don't need to.
Most likely, if you’re even asking those questions, the answer is no. 😬
Don't let your client dictate what platform you design in. It is YOUR business. YOU design it and run it the way you want.
Instead, focus on attracting (marketing to) the types of clients that will be a good fit for the platform you like using.
Besides, our clients don't actually know what platform they want to be on most of the time, and many of them don’t even (truly) care.
Yes, many business owners will hear ‘WordPress is the best,’ but that’s literally because WordPress has been around the longest so it’s had the most development time. However, WordPress is not the only option anymore AND it’s definitely not always the best option for every type of website. In fact, I’d argue that it’s NOT the best for a lot of smaller businesses, –not because it isn’t capable, but because it’s not convenient or intuitive to manage without constant expertise which smaller businesses don’t have in-house & just can’t afford to constantly hire out.
There are so many options out there now! So yes, there are particular web platforms that work better for particular situations, but you don't know that is until you talk to the client and find out more about what they need the website to do for their business. You have to ask them guided questions, find out what functionalities the website needs, and then you can match it up with a web builder that will suit them for their particular use case. And yes, sometimes that means you may need to refer a lead to another designer that specializes in that platform because you don’t.
For me, because I do not offer (& do not want to offer) WordPress websites, I won't touch it with a f*cking 10ft pole! #sorrynotsorry
I focus on Squarespace, and on discovery calls I listen to the person’s needs FIRST then evaluate whether my platform of choice would work for them or not, then tell them I only work on Squarespace. I do NOT make this decision based on monetary needs. If I feel like we're a good fit for each other personality-wise, AND they are interested in being on Squarespace, then I am happy to work with them.
But if we are a good personality fit and they want or I think they really would be better off on WordPress, Webflow, ShowIt, Wix, or Shopify, instead? I ain't their girl. I don't want to do it. I just don't. I've been there, tried that, done that, and I'm done with that all-over-the-place bullshit. Ultimately it will serve that client BEST to work with a designer that specializes in the platform they want/need to be on; if that’s not me, I’m happy to refer them to someone else!
I specialize in the platform I enjoy using the most, and the platform that I can manage most easily, ––because it's efficient for me to only know one platform really, really well.
The fear around this is, “but if I don't learn more than one web builder, then I won't be able to work with the clients that want to be on Wix, or Showit, or Webflow, or WordPress, or Shopify.”
It seems like a logical line of thought, I know. I’ve felt that fear myself, earlier in my business. But that fear is not necessarily true or based on fact.
By narrowing your choice of platforms, just like with niching if you pick a more specific industry, you can market more clearly to those specific people which helps attract warmer leads that easier to sell to. Why? Because you are laser-focused on the thing that they're interested in, or you can become the go-to expert or authority on that platform for that niche. With a smaller audience, it’s A LOT easier to get clients that way, than to cast a wider net in an area where there may not be any fish, so-to-speak.
Yes, there are situations where certain web builders may be more attractive for niched businesses or specialists.
For example:
Photographers tend to lean towards ShowIt most often because ShowIt has marketed to that niche for so long, but they could just as easily work on Squarespace & have less tech & details to manage.
Bloggers tend to lean towards WordPress most often because that’s one thing it’s most known for, especially for those who traditionally monetize their blog posts with ads, but they could just easily use ShowIt with WordPress for the blog, or even Squarespace with less tech to manage, depending on what functionalities are most important to the business owner that manages the site.
My point is, that it’s ultimately up to you and you SHOULD NOT be influenced or pressured to add more work to your plate, just because you’re afraid of what will happen if you don’t.
Fear is NOT a good enough reason.
We don’t make great decisions when we’re afraid.
It's your business, so decide what to do based on what you will have the most fun with for a while, so that you can truly enjoy running your business, love doing the work, and not resent your clients &/or projects that require you to work in the platform(s) you don’t like as much.
Don’t learn a platform for a specific client, unless you WANTED to anyway & you have extra time to allow for the slower build time. If you take on the work because you’re afraid not to take it, you are going to hate/resent that project. Whereas if you are operating in, working in, designing in, and creating in a platform that you are really, really, really familiar with, you're going to do that work a lot faster with a higher quality of work, because you know every in and out of that platform.
You can't be a true “expert” in multiple different platforms, all at the same time.
The takeaway: use the platform that brings YOU the most joy; then you will love your work and your clients will love working with you.
“But what about [insert argument here]?”
I know that I've said this 10 different ways so far, but I'm just gonna say it one more time for the people in the back...
Pick the web builder that YOU like best.
You.
You.
Not what Rache de Luna of SquareStylist likes, not what Elizabeth McCravy chose, not what Shannon Mattern picked, not what Ran Segall prefers, and not what Morgan Rapp uses. All of those ‘profesh’ web designers may have really fun/cool styles or seem to make lots of money, ––but what makes them truly special?
They’ve all niched to primarily using ONE platform to build websites:
Rache de Luna → Squarespace
Elizabeth McCravy → Showit
Shannon Mattern → WordPress
Ran Segall → Webflow
Morgan Rapp → Shopify
Though they may use more than one web builder after they’ve been working for a while, they are most known for using ONE platform. For specializing in ONE web builder.
So don't do what they're doing NOW (after lots of time & development expertise).
Do what you're doing, NOW.
I'm going to leave you with this one thought.
Jenna Kutcher says this often & I LOVE this because it’s so true, “Don't compare your beginning to someone else's middle.”
You're in a different season; a different stage in your journey than the people you look up to. That's okay and it’s normal.
To get where they are you don't have to be (& shouldn’t be) doing the exact same thing that I'm doing, or the exact same thing that they’re doing now, because we’re all in different seasons of our business with different backgrounds, different histories, different levels of experience, and types of education.
If those people are anything like me, I've taken a long time to get where I am; I started in 2015! Yes, like you, I've been tempted along the way to add this or that to my plate because of FOMO, but ultimately I’ve made my own choices for my own reasons and that’s the hill I’ll die on in this discussion. 😂
The takeaway: Make your choices for your own reasons.
No one’s saying you can’t change your mind later!
I hope this has been helpful for you to hear a no-bullshit discussion on this topic!
Like I said, it starts as a personal preference and this decision is up to you, but make your choice wisely. Ultimately, you can do whatever you want and no one's going to tell you “stop that; you're being stupid.” 🫠😂
It's your business. This is your reminder that you can run it however you want. There is an argument for designing your business to bring you the most amount of JOY so you will love what you do and how you do it, enough to keep going when it gets hard.
There's no one to say you can't add on or change your mind later!
If you enjoyed this conversation, leave a comment below and let me know where your “a-ha moment” was, or if you agree with me. (I don't want to know if you disagree with me. 😂 J/K (Mostly.)
