What makes a successful website?
To understand if AI will replace website development, we must look at what makes a successful website.
When websites first began, the leading goal for any business was to have a website, but as websites gained popularity, the one thing that correlated with performance was design. This left small businesses behind, as the only affordable option was clunky bargain bin solutions.
When DIY website builders, such as Squarespace, came along, this was revolutionary as they presented an opportunity for any person to design and beautiful website without code. However, the tools that once helped small businesses are now causing one website to look like another.
If we look at other marketing mediums, they have shifted towards customer experience. Website design is no different.
Every user has an aim or goal in mind when they land on a website. This can be anything from researching information to purchasing a product or service.
The importance of a website is how quickly a user can find the information they are looking for. It’s that simple. Designing a website for the user is designing it so they can quickly reach their goals.
Customer Experience Website Design & Development
Website Design as a concept in itself is determined by limitations of what you can and cannot do. Humans like to believe they are creative, but even humans can only create within the bounds of nature and human experience. Take, for example, colour palettes, whether used in fashion, home interiors or web-based components they all have some origin in nature and the human experience. Using colours that do match cause discomfort or displeasure. Design must always lie within the bounds of experience.
With website design and development, the boundaries are even more limited. They are limited to the technology available, Government laws and regulations, and user experience. You need to use elements that people already know how to use, placed in the position where they know to find them.
Website designers can not do what they please, they base their decisions on industry standards and data!
To design a customer-focused website, you need to take fragmented data across different channels and turn this into journeys for each user group.
The only way to know what will work is to predict and test. Companies spend a significant amount of revenue on taking this data, splitting it into pages and driving traffic to each to see which converts better.
Enterprises are often writing content for each individual audience member e.g. Universities, B2B and B2C - How time-consuming and generic. These audiences are nothing more than segmented groups; they are not personal to each individual user, like physical world interactions.
This is labour-intensive and limited by humans; our brains can only compute so much data at any given time. A machine on the other hand, is a different story.
Can AI Replace Website Design & Development
The answer is yes; AI can replace website design and development because it can predict a better user experience and update itself in real-time for each individual user. A performant website is rooted in data; it needs to be taught what it can and cannot do.
