* Originally answered by Barry Edwards on Quora, 3-10-20
Content is much more important than design — and this is coming from a life-long professional designer
If you had someone build you an absolutely gorgeous and innovative website, and yet no one ever sees it due to bad SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and/or Google penalties, it’s a complete waste of money for the client.
Even if the site doesn’t suffer from being penalized and receives modest traffic, can it convert those prospects into clients? That requires expert use of content and at least a moderate knowledge of SEO. At the end of the day, if the website doesn’t produce a solid Return On Investment (ROI) within a year (at the most), than it’s a liability.
I never market myself as a website designer, rather a brand designer and lead generator. Design sets me apart from my competition, but I’d rather approach prospective clients with measurable successful results than a design award.
