Getting online is easy. Getting it right takes more.

You’ve probably heard it. “Web design is dead. AI can build your website now.” It sounds convenient. Maybe even exciting.

But if you’ve ever tried to build your own site, spent hours tweaking a template, digging through settings, or wondering why it doesn’t feel right, you’ll know the reality is more complicated.

Your website is often the first impression someone gets of your business. It needs to be clear, trustworthy, easy to use, and true to who you are. It needs to serve both your audience and your goals.

This isn’t a new conversation. When Dreamweaver launched in December 1997, people claimed designers were no longer needed because anyone could now build a site without code. Then, MySpace took off in the early 2000s, and suddenly everyone could decorate their own homepage. Glitter GIFs, custom cursors, and background music on autoplay became the norm.

There were Blogger (1999) and Weebly (2006) too. Blogger made it easy for anyone to publish content and get their thoughts out into the world. Weebly offered drag-and-drop layouts. Then WordPress arrived in 2003 and grew into a powerful platform. With Page Builder plugins and, much more recently, with the Gutenberg editor, people could launch entire websites without touching code.

In the 2010s, Squarespace became a favourite for small businesses wanting something quick and decent-looking. Wix gave users more control, but often at the cost of cohesion. Many of these DIY sites looked fine on the surface, but underneath were fragile with inconsistent styling, oversized images, clunky mobile layouts, and broken elements on different screen sizes.

They helped people get online faster. But they also introduced new problems.

Premade templates are built to suit everyone, which means they’re tailored to no one. And when you offer hundreds of fonts, layout options, and widgets, people often use them all. Pages become cluttered. Nothing feels intentional. A lot of what good design involves isn’t adding more. It’s knowing what to take away.

A well-designed site doesn’t overwhelm. It guides. It removes noise, so what matters is immediately obvious. It helps people find what they’re looking for and take action, without confusion or friction.

When smartphones became ubiquitous, people argued websites were on their way out then too. The future, they said, was apps and social media. That didn’t hold up either.

Most people don’t want to download an app for a one-off task. And we all know now how building your brand solely on social media is risky. Platforms change. Algorithms shift. Features vanish. The audience you worked hard to grow can disappear overnight, or suddenly cost more to reach. A website gives you a space you own. One you control.

It’s also long past time to think of web design as “making something look nice.” Web design isn’t about being pretty. It’s about getting results. It’s how your site behaves. How it reads. How it moves people to action. It’s fast loading times, mobile design that’s easy to use, clear structure, intuitive flow, and content that speaks directly to the person on the other side of the screen.

Those old template-built sites often became difficult to manage. Images were too large. Mobile views broke. The code was bloated and messy. Settings were hard to find. Even small updates took too much time. And keeping design consistent across the site was a never-ending battle.

That’s why strategy matters more than ever. Not just visuals. Not just copy. But the thinking behind how everything fits together. Web design hasn’t died. It’s grown up. It’s no longer about individual pages. It’s about the whole experience.

People want to feel like they’re interacting with a real person. They want to hear your voice. See your actual photos. Get help from someone who understands what they’re looking for. They’re drawn to clarity, warmth, and empathy. There’s an increased latent level of stress and overwhelm in the world today.

Yes, there’s a really solid place for AI tools in web design. (I am so thankful for generative fill in Photoshop when I need to remove something from a photo—so much easier than painstakingly cloning over it!) But what matters most is who’s guiding the process. A good website still needs a conductor: someone who understands your business, your audience, and how to bring all the moving parts together with intention. The tools are getting better, but the thinking behind them still matters more.

I recently saw someone comment that the future of AI will depend on getting the prompts right—and that crafting the right inputs will become 90% of the work. Strategy, empathy, and creative direction can’t be fully automated. They come from someone who sees the big picture and makes sure the technology serves it.

When your reputation, revenue, and relationships are on the line, a quick site made by a tool isn’t the same as a thoughtful one made for your business.

Thinking about refreshing your website? We’d love to help. Let’s talk.