Readers Respond: Should Designers Know HTML or is WYSIWYG Enough

Responses: 35

By Jennifer Kyrnin, About.com Guide

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Knowing something about coding makes a designer more versatile and more capable of working with all members of a team that is building a site. Nothing wrong with designers who don't want to deal with code and want to focus completely on the design...but they should do so, and should step away from the construction process. Respect for both the design and the coding tasks should be equal.
—Guest Sam

Knowing HTML will always be important because the web changes. For example, WYSIWYG editors still use i and b tags instead of the semantic markup of em and strong tags for XHTML.
—DezynetekCalgary

I started out in 1995 using HTML to build my sites. In fact, I worked for About.com which was then called The Mining Company. I still handcode and custom draw the graphics for my client's sites. And I am faster than the WYSIWYG programs. I guess if you're brought up with those types of programs then it's good for you. But I will think you will always be looked upon with scorn from those of us who started out doing the "real thing." It doesn't make any difference to the design if you do it the old way or the new. Cutting and pasting can be done by a child. You're not exceptional because you can do that.
—Openvision

For heaven's sake - it's not rocket science! Whenever I pull a nice clean set of code through a WYSIWYG editor, it lards it up to almost double with useless extra code. Initially, this doesn't seem to matter, but pretty soon the page grinds more and more slowly and develops more and more glitches, because of how different browsers read all that superfluous stuff. Even if you only learn HTML to know what's necessary and what's proprietary garbage in the code, it's worth it.
—vshelford

"Those who do not know history are destined to repeat it" (Edmund Burke, 1729-1797). I wouldn't feel comfortable not knowing the origin of most anything I had to work with, so I feel at least a basic knowledge is required if for no other reason you can ask informed questions when that time comes...
—Guest BonesXXX

Ok, I'll admit I come from the coding side, but really, where in this ajaxy jqueried world we web in does a pretty static page live? NOWHERE!!! I agree that design and attractiveness is important, but if all you're page does is sit there and look pretty, most people will move on. If I want to look at art, I'll go to a museum, where the rest of the static pages will be viewable. ;)
—mezmo

I love that web design isn't just design. I can utilize both sides of my brain by coding AND design. I think that's what makes website designers/developers so unique...almost anyone can DESIGN. But there's so much more to a website than design (SEO, Meta tags, SSI, CSS for start), some amount of coding should be learned. It's what can separate a good design from a good website.
—Guest Heather

I just want it to work, not know how it works. Yes, yes, I know this sounds naive but for 99% of the time that should work for me. But it doesn't - I find wysiwyg designers too complex with menus I don't understand, so at the moment I have to slog through with a thick HTML manual at my elbow (an excellent book, btw) and a tool not unlike "depression", trying to decipher the menus with a bit of understanding of code. So I see us needing to know code at least in the meantime. But it is all getting too much - I used to be able to service my own car, decades ago, but now I daren't touch it. So, falling down on the side of knowing code.
—alvason

I am convinced you need to have a reasonable knoeldge of HTML and CSS. [WYSIWYG editors] are great to speed the work up, but they can also generate spurious code. It is at those times that you need to be able to override the CMS and adapt the HTML or CSS. Not all CMS are equal, quite a few have severe limitations about what they can do, so if you want to do something beyond their limitations then you have to add code for them.
—gidffey

Even though WYSIWYG editors may become more prominent, and less hand coding needed, I believe there will always be a place for knowing enough code to 'tweak' your pages to get them to look just like you want them.
—ByronT2

is at least helpful. Sure, if all you do is make static pages, knowing HTML and CSS is a bit superfluous. The reality these days is that clients aren't happy with just static pages anymore. PHP and JavaScript are extremely common these days. If you're going to work with a PHP coder, you should at least have a working knowledge of how HTML and CSS work. I don't care if you primarily use a WYSIWYG. Just a working knowledge of the difference between a class and and id, how to do a tableless layout, how to do a truly fluid design (you should know what that means), and how style sheets interact with the HTML. It makes the coder's job so much easier, and ultimately, saves everybody a bunch of money. Unfortunately, I'm constantly dealing with designers who have no clue because they've never been bothered to open up a text editor and learn this stuff.
—Guest Shane

I don't think you can build an HTML- and CSS-valid (error-free) site using a WYSIWIG editor, they just tend to create sloppy code. And it's important to understand the functionality of code behind the design you are creating. However, I use the split screen feature in DW - so I can write in code and see the changes in real time.
—Guest Jamie

As it happens there are some of us who enjoy code and design(artistic variety equally) and are commonly known as devigners (?sp) Why does it have to be one or the other? Both subjects are enjoyable.
—Guest ismetm

I enjoy doing HTML, jogs the brain, gets the blood flowing. Learned it in 1995, then there came point and click software.
—Guest Moondog76

I'm a designer that learned enough HTML and CSS to navigate my code. I primarily design in Dreamweaver or BBEdit, but I think I'm better equipped to handle problems with design because I have an understanding of code. I would suggest beginners learn how the different languages apply to each other when it comes to web design. I also would suggest that you have at the least a surface knowledge of any code that you may come into contact with as a web designer. With that being said learn your code on an as needed basis, master your design tools to the highest level and you should be fine!!
—heavybrea

Jennifer Kyrnin
Web Design / HTML Guide