Andrea Gandino

There’s a common misconception about what we do, and that is that anyone can make a website.

This is true, to a certain extent, in the sense that it’s a matter of cause and effect: technology is spreading all over, more and more people get to use the computer in a more conscious way, word processors are easy to use and they offer the option to save a file with an .html extension. That’s it. This small list leads to the fact that anyone can publish something on the Web. Then they say, ‘Hey, I know a little Photoshop too!’, and there you go with the general opinion that doing websites is a fairly easy task, that doesn’t require a deep knowledge.

Now, publishing stuff is easy as pie, but doing websites, and making them well, is a whole different story.

Anyway, this belief to me is the key to understand why, in my opinion, our work is underestimated.

For example, I don’t think I’ll ever find someone who, say, believes that doing the work that architects do is an easy task. That’s because doing stuff in the architecture field requires a proper education, knowledge of materials, physics, aesthetics, and so on. So they get the respect they deserve, as they have notions that you don’t and that are essential to their work.

This goes for Web-related professions too, like usability experts, or information architects and so on. And it’s for the very same reason. They have what we don’t: a proper, formal education on those particular fields.

With us people who make websites, things are different. First of all it’s because there aren’t real certifications about our work, nor proper college classes that teach what we do. I think that the vast majority of us self-teaches stuff, by reading books and articles on the Web.

Then, it’s because, just like Zeldman said at some conference, there are a dozen different terms we use to identify our work. That’s not gonna work.

Two little considerations:

1. I don’t think that certifications are needed, for us. The main aspect of the Web is its ability to allow people to communicate, interact, share informations. Being social, that is. So to me it’s not about degrees, or titles. It’s about getting a good reputation. It’s about people knowing you do some work, and you do it well. There couldn’t be a better certification than that, and there couldn’t be a better reward for your working efforts.
2. Concerning classes. Colleges and universities should have them, and they should teach them right. Formal education should give students a direction towards concepts like Web standards, and so on. But the thing about our work, is the fact that we constantly have to sort of update our knowledge. Day by day. Reading books and stuff. So self-teaching is still the best way to get to know things.

OK, so what? I think I can close this one quoting a comment I’ve made on the subject, over at Meagan Fisher’s blog.

This [whole situation, the fact that our profession hasn’t much respect from people] is why, and I back this up with my personal experience, sometimes clients simply refuse to pay the right amount of money required for the job.

It’s not that we’re greedy or something; we’re asking that amount of money because you’re not only buying a site, you’re buying my knowledge as well, the hours I’ve spent reading books and talking with colleagues about the stuff we do.

A website, to me, is still perceived as something optional, something we can live without even if we’re running some sort of business. So while one would pay more to, say, get a better car, that doesn’t necessarily imply that the same guy would do it as well for a piece of furniture or a watch. They’re not so important, compared to a thing that could affect your safety while driving. Perhaps, this is the case for websites too.