Ben Hunt - Web Design is Dead - 2015

The professional web design sector is being torn apart. Where there used to be solid
ground, a huge rift is splitting open, so web designers need to move quickly in order to
survive.
What’s causing the split is actually our own online publishing technology, which recently
evolved to the point that it is making the traditional web designer role redundant.
Since I started designing websites professionally in 1994, “web design” has steadily
evolved from a technically challenging, time-consuming, and very costly service into a
mature off-the-shelf commodity that anyone can purchase for pennies. The changes have
been gradual, but at some point recently they reached a tipping point.
The result is that many familiar methods and roles are going to fall into the abyss. Those of us who have earned a living
crafting websites will either evolve fast or we will perish as the market disappears beneath our feet.
The good news is that there will still be plenty of good work for web designers — but it
will look quite different to the projects we’re used to. Web designers must dramatically
change the way we approach our work.