As a web design professional who takes pride in his/her work, hearing this can be cringe inducing.

And yes, I hear it quite a bit.

If we hand-code a custom site, and attach it to a CMS (like WordPress), is that time well spent? Wouldn’t we be better off just using some off-the-shelf template?

The simple answer: No.

Why? Because content should precede design.

Out of the box templates are not designed with content in mind. Therefore, it’s impossible to let the content dictate the direction of the usability and design of a website project.

It’s a simple fact. The notion of “Content First” is impossible to achieve through the use of out of the box templates.

Hand Crafted vs Out of the Box. Which is better and why?

“All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward.”
- Ellen Glasgow

Netflix is in the process of doing it. Facebook did it. Coke learned from it. I’m talking change here. Big change, made by big companies. And boy, people really seem to dislike it.

Slow and steady wins the race

CEO of Netflix Reed Hastings recently admitted his arrogance on changes made to Netflix’s ill-received price structure. His next big announcement? An even bigger change to the company. You know the rest of the story.

Netflix has a big, loyal customer base and nothing will change that. What can be changed, however, is the perception these loyal customers have once brands are changed or shifted. Here’s proof. The separation of their identity is neglecting their customer’s needs.

Change one thing, and we all leave

As mentioned earlier, another monolithic company is rolling out big changes. Ask Facebook How to isolate millions of users and they’ll have a pretty good answer. Leave them with no options. Facebook has “hand picked” stories from your friends that they feel are the most important. Their biggest mistake? There is no customization.

Besides taking control away from your users, what is another great way to outrage an entire community? Make changes. Period. We as human beings loathe change. We like to be comfortable. I think Facebook should be glad they have a community that is so in love with their site’s ease-of-use, that even subtle changes can cause such a commotion.

However, their is a fine line and Facebook needs to take serious note of their user’s feedback.

The moral of the story

Changes need to be rooted in common sense, community feedback and serving the user’s best interest. Confusing people or making people’s lives harder is never good, no matter how noble the designer’s intention. Let’s make change useful instead of useless.

Welcome to Happy Genius. This is our blog and we will be filling it with informative articles for web professionals, clients and hobbyists.

Why are we here?

Happy Genius was started to bring beautiful, usable websites to small/medium sized businesses. Our goal is to offer agency caliber work for companies that don’t have the budget of a big company or corporation. We love what we do and are confident it will show in all of our projects.

The web ain’t in Kansas anymore

We are in a new era in web design (cue dramatic music). No longer do you sit down, open Photoshop and start designing a website after a 10 minute meeting with the client.

We live in an era where content and client-relations should be treated with as much care and precision as the overall design.

People are browsing the web using mobile devices, tablets and even HDTV’s. This must be taken into consideration when laying out a website. The web is not static, it is fluid. Someone’s browsing experience should not be hindered because a website is not adaptable. Because of this, we offer fully responsive designs, that scale to meet any device your visitor may be using.

Online marketing and search engine optimization have taken a rather saturated turn. More than ever, you need a dedicated Search Engine Marketing expert (or team) to help your website get found. Creating a well-designed website is a great start, but if nobody can find it…what’s really the point?

We believe in working with clients who care about their business. We believe in delivering websites that exceed our expectations, your expectations, and above all your users expectations. We believe it takes happiness to truly create something ingenious.