What Separates a Good Web Designer From a Bad One (And Why Design Alone Is Never Enough)
- Menves Brand Team
- Jan 1
- 4 min read
Choosing a web designer can feel overwhelming. Portfolios look great, visuals are polished, and everyone promises results. But here’s a truth many businesses learn too late:
A good-looking website does not equal a good website.
A bad web designer focuses only on visuals.
A good web designer understands that design is only one piece of a much bigger system.
Let’s break down what truly separates a good web designer from a bad one and why your website success starts long before design begins.
The Biggest Difference: Thinking vs Decorating
A bad web designer asks:
• “What colors do you like?”
• “Do you want this modern or playful?”
A good web designer asks:
• “Who is this website for?”
• “What action should users take?”
• “What problem are we solving?”
Good designers think in systems, not just layouts.
And most importantly: A good designer knows that design alone won’t save weak foundations.
1. Messaging & Copywriting: The Real Starting Point
Before colors, fonts, or layouts, your website needs clear messaging.
A bad designer:
• Designs first, asks for text later
• Fills layouts with placeholder copy
• Treats words as decoration
A good designer:
• Starts with positioning and value propositions
• Helps define what you do, who you help, and why it matters
• Designs around the message, not the other way around
If your message is unclear, no amount of beautiful design will fix it.
Design amplifies clarity. It can’t replace it.
2. User Journeys: Design With Intention
A bad designer:
• Creates pages in isolation
• Assumes users will “figure it out”
• Overloads pages with too many options
A good designer:
• Maps how users arrive, move, and convert
• Designs each page with a clear goal
• Reduces friction at every step
Every click should feel obvious.Every page should answer: “What do I do next?”
3. Good UX: Make It Easy to Use, Not Impressive
UX (User Experience) is about how a website feels to use.
A bad designer:
• Prioritizes trends over usability
• Hides important information
• Designs for themselves, not the user
A good designer:
• Designs for real people, on real devices
• Respects attention spans
• Makes important things easy to find
Good UX often goes unnoticed—because everything just works.
4. Simple UI: Clarity Beats Creativity
UI (User Interface) is where many designers go wrong.
A bad designer:
• Overdesigns
• Uses too many fonts, colors, and effects
• Confuses creativity with complexity
A good designer:
• Uses restraint
• Builds clean, readable layouts
• Knows when not to design
Simple doesn’t mean boring.Simple means clear, confident, and focused.
5. SEO, AEO & GEO: Visibility Is Part of Design
A website that looks great but can’t be found is a missed opportunity.
A bad designer:
• Ignores search completely
• Designs without structure
• Treats SEO as “someone else’s job”
A good designer understands:
• SEO (Search Engine Optimization): how people find you on Google
• AEO (Answer Engine Optimization): how your content shows up in AI answers
• GEO (Generative Engine Optimization): how LLMs understand and reference your content
This affects:
• Page structure
• Headings
• Content hierarchy
• Clarity of language
Modern web design must be human-friendly and machine-readable.
6. Strategy First, Design Second
The biggest sign of a good web designer?
They don’t rush into design.
They slow down to:
• Ask better questions
• Challenge assumptions
• Align the website with business goals
Because a website isn’t art. It’s a business tool.
Questions Every Business Should Ask a Web Designer
Before hiring a designer, ask these questions:
How do you approach messaging and copywriting before design?
How do you define and design user journeys?
How do you balance creativity with usability and clarity?
How do you design for SEO, AEO, and AI visibility?
How do you measure whether a website is successful after launch?
What happens if my audience or goals change?
Do you design websites to look good or to convert?
The quality of the answers will tell you everything.
A good web designer goes beyond visuals and focuses on strategy, messaging, user journeys, UX, simple UI, and modern visibility (SEO, AEO, GEO). Great websites start with clear copy and intentional structure. Design enhances clarity—it cannot replace it. Businesses should evaluate designers based on thinking, process, and outcomes, not aesthetics alone.
Frequently Asked Quesions
Is a good-looking website enough to get results?
No. Without clear messaging, UX, and structure, even beautiful websites fail to convert.
Should copywriting come before web design?
Yes. Design should support the message, not force it into a layout.
What’s the difference between UX and UI?
UX is how a website works and feels. UI is how it looks. UX comes first.
Why do SEO, AEO, and GEO matter for design?
They affect how content is structured, understood by search engines, and referenced by AI tools.
How can I tell if a web designer is strategic?
They ask deep questions about your business, audience, and goals before opening a design file.