AI has made it easier than ever to create a website. With the right tools, you can now generate layouts, write content, produce images and even build complete pages in a fraction of the time it once took.
So, if AI can build a website, do you still need a web designer?
For some very simple projects, perhaps not. But for most businesses, creating the pages is only one part of the job.
A successful business website needs to work properly, look professional, be easy to use, perform well on mobile devices, be secure, attract the right visitors and, importantly, turn those visitors into enquiries or customers.
That is where an experienced web designer still adds considerable value.
AI can build pages – but it doesn’t know your business
AI is very good at producing something quickly. What it cannot automatically understand is what makes your business different from your competitors, what your customers are looking for, or what information they need before they are ready to contact you.
A website should have a clear purpose.
That might be generating enquiries, promoting particular services, attracting visitors through Google, providing information to existing customers or supporting a wider marketing campaign.
At Andrew Burdett Design, we start with the business rather than the technology. The design, structure and content of a website are developed around what the organisation actually needs the site to achieve.
Experience matters when something doesn’t work
Building a website is often the straightforward part. Problems tend to arise afterwards.
A website may look perfectly good but have issues with:
- mobile usability
- page speed
- forms and email delivery
- domains and DNS
- website hosting
- SSL certificates
- security
- backups
- analytics
- search engine visibility
- plugin conflicts
- caching
- browser compatibility
- third-party services
These are areas where experience matters.
Andrew Burdett Design has been creating and supporting websites since 1999. That means clients are not simply getting somebody who can assemble a set of pages. They are getting many years of practical experience dealing with websites, hosting, domains, email, WordPress and the numerous services that sit behind a modern website.
Good design is more than making something look attractive
AI can generate attractive layouts, but good website design is also about communication.
Visitors need to understand very quickly who you are, what you offer and what they should do next.
Navigation needs to make sense. Important information needs to be easy to find. Calls to action need to appear in the right places. Forms need to be straightforward to complete and the site needs to work just as well on a phone as it does on a large desktop screen.
These decisions are based on design judgement and an understanding of how people actually use websites.
Andrew Burdett Design combines graphic design and web development, allowing the visual identity, typography, imagery and website structure to work together rather than treating the website simply as a technical exercise.
Your website also needs to fit your existing business
A business website rarely exists in isolation.
It may need to work with:
- your existing domain name
- company email
- Google Analytics
- Google Search Console
- social media
- mailing systems
- booking services
- payment systems
- databases
- external platforms
- existing branding and printed material
An AI website builder may create the site, but somebody still needs to make sure all these pieces work together correctly.
For established businesses in particular, replacing or redesigning a website also needs to be handled carefully so that existing search rankings, domain settings, email and important URLs are not unnecessarily disrupted.
WordPress gives businesses control
Andrew Burdett Design predominantly builds websites using WordPress and Elementor.
One of the major advantages is that clients are not locked into a proprietary website-building platform. WordPress is widely supported and gives businesses considerable flexibility over how their website develops in the future.
Clients can also be given the ability to make straightforward content changes themselves, while still having professional support available when more substantial work is required.
For many businesses, this provides a useful balance between independence and ongoing support.
AI is a useful tool – and we use it too
The choice does not have to be between AI and a web designer.
AI is increasingly useful during website projects. It can help with research, content development, troubleshooting and development work, and used properly it can make parts of the process faster and more efficient.
The important distinction is that AI is a tool.
It still needs someone to decide what should be built, assess whether the result is appropriate, test it properly and take responsibility for the finished website.
That is very different from simply asking AI to create a site and publishing whatever it produces.
What happens after the website goes live?
This is one of the biggest differences between creating a website and running one.
Websites need maintaining. WordPress, plugins and other software require updates. Backups need to be available. Security needs monitoring. Hosting and domain renewals need managing and occasional problems inevitably need investigating.
Andrew Burdett Design provides ongoing website hosting, maintenance and support, so clients have somebody familiar with their website to contact when they need help.
For many small businesses, that continuity is far more valuable than having to work out who is responsible every time something goes wrong.
So, do you still need a web designer?
If you simply want to experiment with creating a basic website, AI tools make that easier than ever.
If the website represents your business, generates enquiries and needs to remain reliable for years to come, professional input can still make a significant difference.
The role of the web designer is changing, but it is not disappearing. Increasingly, the value lies not in manually creating every element of a website, but in knowing what to build, how to build it properly and how to make all the different parts work together.
Andrew Burdett Design has been designing, developing, hosting and supporting websites for businesses and organisations since 1999.
If you are considering a new website, redesigning an existing one, or have started building something using AI and need professional help taking it further, please get in touch.
