I ask the Graphic Designer to create mockups of attractive sites that are easy to use and meet requirements. The Graphic Designer will only create the images, no code. Then a good developer will build the website to match.

When I say “good” Developer I don’t necessarily mean someone who is good at coding anything, they can be just good at what I need for that job. If they are really good at xhtml/css and that’s all I need, then they’re hired .

When the GUI tools were available, graphic designers were able to make better looking web sites than the ones made by programmers. I’ve never liked graphic design and always preferred banging out source code.

Today, I look for templates that I can modify. You can hire a designer to build your site from scratch, but you have some web design skills, you can get a template and edit it yourself. A good template can be found for around $40-60 USD. I would rather have someone design a DreamWeaver template, and I would add the PHP functionality myself.

I guess that makes sense. I certainly know that there are a lot of cheapskates out there. It sucks though.. because it makes clients like me look bad. I have no problem paying 25 or 50% or even 100% in many cases, up front. And while I’m specific in what I want – as long as it’s done well and to my specifications, I usually have little to no changes needed. I also provide professional, and specificly detailed descriptions of what I’d like and want, providing tons of samples….

Bah. All those bad clients out there driving good designers away…

I can tell you a lot of horror stories. Most of my experiences left me unpaid. I left being an artistic director to go freelance and have regretted it.

I can list a line of “Clients” as you have done designers. Ones that say “I want something original” that you work your guts out for months doing many redesigns, for them just to go elsewhere and get an “Original” boilerplate design from a boilerplate company. Others that promise good or bad payment (I have agreed to work for under $100 for projects), just to be absolutely shocked when I refuse to hand over any part of the website after they tell me they will not pay anything for it, but still want it. There are others, but I will avoid really ranting.

So in many parts of the world, there are plenty of great designers, but few good clients. I gave up instead of learning what CSS was (it was yet another crazy new standard to sink large chunks of my time into for no return) so my standards knowledge is firmly back in the “Frames Era”. There would need to be some real incentives now to learn most of the bones of a site again from scratch. I also do not have the qualifications. I earned my way up to “Head Animator” and “Artistic Director” positions through hard work and the best possible folio. In the web game it is more based on the qualifications you have. So unless the world spins on its axis sometime soon, I will be happy doing menial work and spending time with my family, instead of dreaming that someone with money and integrity is going to appear.

Nevertheless chiming to give credit where it’s due:

“He’s a web developer and spends his time marketing and being an entreprenuer. His designers and coders aren’t taking risks, he is. ”

Absolutely Andy! Webmasters, I do not care if they’re clickbank marketeers – are the best of the bunch. I love designers, I treat any and all I’ve worked with well. But they work hard, not smart. They work for money, and not vice versa.