Web design has traditionally relied heavily on programming code — until now.
Techcrunch.com reports that code-free web design platforms are becoming increasingly popular with businesses and web designers alike. Platform companies such as Wix and Squarespace offer a “hassle-free” method of web design that requires no knowledge of coding or web design. Some platforms, such as Webydo and Webflow, are geared toward professional web designers that lack the desire or patience to write code.
Webydo, the Tel Aviv-based platform developer, was created in order to aid web designers by eliminating the need for busywork.
“We initially felt enslaved to an old process that depended on developers to manually convert graphic design into handwritten code,” said Shmulik Grizim, the CEO and co-founder of Webydo. “This professional process, which had not changed much since the 90’s, was slow, expensive and cumbersome. Consequently, we hired a group of mathematicians, engineers and developers who developed a revolutionary code generator.”
When building a website, web designers first draw up plans for the website’s layout and interface. Once the design is completed, it is submitted to a web developer who converts it into code. This process tends to be time-consuming and not cost-effective.
The development of “do it yourself” web design platforms, however, eliminate that last last step. The differences between platforms usually involve responsiveness and interface.
“Responsive design is the main issue. Companies that offer code-free web templates, need to choose between two approaches: fluid or adaptive,” said Nir Barlev, the product manager at Webydo.
Grizim is keen to point out, though, that despite his platform and those like it, web development is not going to vanish anytime soon.
“The world is still in great need of developers,” he said. “We’re just taking the repetitive, Sisyphean work out of the equation. We need developers to create new widgets and plugins, and many other creative coding tasks.”