Web Design Articles
articles indexEcommerce Web Design Survey
15 August 07
Actinic's annual survey of web designers in the UK has revealed some interesting facts about ecommerce site design.
The survey asked 75 web design companies a number of questions about the ecommerce web sites they built for clients. Among the findings were:
- 90% of clients are now small and medium-sized businesses
- The average number of sites design companies build each year has risen by more than 30%
- The average price charged for a site has fallen to around £3,300
- The most frequently requested feature to integrate into a site was a payment gateway
- Other integrations often requested include accounting and blogging software, and affiliate schemes
- Only half of web designers now name Dreamweaver as their main web design tool
- Other design tools such as Photoshop and Flash have also lost popularity
- More web designers are using hand-coding and a wider range of tools including open source programs
- PHP use is on the increase but interest in ASP/.Net has fallen
- 60% of ecommerce site designers build custom solutions rather than using packaged solutions
The survey shows that more small businesses are recognising the need for a web site, and that designers are now able to take advantage of a wider variety of tools to build sites at a cheaper price.
More designers are also hand-coding rather than just using software to create web sites, which leads to a better understanding of how a site works, and more originality in the design and construction of a site. It also makes it easier to make changes and improvements in the future and to integrate new technologies.
