My business has a bloated site with animations, Google fonts, graphic design, etc., etc. Why? Because normie customers expect it and if I don't have it they'll go to a competitor that had a more "designed" website.

If most websites looked as if they were built in the year 2000 we wouldn't lose much functionality and we'd spend much less resources on this stuff...

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Because normies customers expect it and I don't have it they'll go to a competitor that had a more "designed" website.

This is exactly where I decided to just not have a website for my business (electrical contractor in a tourist town). I'm already busy enough as is, and it's just one more aspect that helps filter out knuckleheads that usually end up being more trouble than the money is worth.

I had intended on creating a basic website that had all of the pertinent information. Then as I started getting into it, everyone had their "design/visual recommendations" and that "a polished website was a testament to the quality of my work." It kinda dawned on me one day that I'd rather have something basic and functional so that I can focus on what's important, the actual work. Well, that's not how the world works anymore, so I said screw it. Now I just tell people I don't have time for it, and if they take issue with it, find someone else.