Lessons from Nearly 30 Years of Web Development

When you've been building websites for nearly 30 years, you start to see things differently.

Technology changes. Design trends come and go. Platforms rise and disappear. What was considered essential one year can be completely irrelevant a few years later.

I've seen all of that happen.

I've worked through the early days of the web, static HTML websites, tables and dial-up connections, through Flash, Dreamweaver, content management systems, WordPress, mobile-first design, social media, eCommerce and now AI.

A lot has changed.

But one thing I've learned is that the fundamentals of a good website haven't changed nearly as much as the technology has.

The web has gone from a collection of pages to a complete business platform

When I first started building websites, things were considerably simpler.

A website might consist of a handful of HTML pages, some images, a contact page and perhaps a guestbook.

Websites were often built for desktop screens, internet connections were slow and every image had to be carefully considered because nobody wanted to wait several minutes for a page to load.

Today, a website can be an entire business platform.

A typical project might involve:

• WordPress or another content management system
• Responsive design
• Online payments
• eCommerce
• Booking systems
• Customer accounts
• Email marketing
• Analytics and conversion tracking
• Google services
• Third-party APIs
• Security and backups
• SEO
• Accessibility
• GDPR and cookie compliance
• Performance optimisation
• Automated processes

The website itself is often just the visible part of a much larger system.

That's one of the biggest changes I've seen.

Design trends come and go

I've seen some interesting web design trends over the years.

There were the early websites packed with information, animated GIFs and tiny text.

Then came Flash.

For a while, Flash websites were everywhere. Animated intros, moving menus and elaborate effects were considered cutting-edge.

Then came the glossy Web 2.0 look, followed by skeuomorphism, flat design, minimalism and countless other trends.

Some disappeared almost as quickly as they arrived.

And that's one of the lessons I've learned:

Don't confuse a design trend with good design.

A website doesn't need to follow every fashionable trend.

It needs to work.

Good navigation, readable text, clear layouts, strong imagery and obvious calls to action were important 20 years ago.

They're still important today.

The technology might have changed, but people haven't.

They still want to find what they're looking for without having to think too hard.

Mobile changed everything

One of the biggest changes in web development has been the move from desktop-first to mobile-first.

When I started, you could design a website around a single desktop screen.

That obviously doesn't work anymore.

People now access websites from phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, TVs and a growing number of other devices.

A website has to adapt to the person using it.

That affects everything from navigation and typography to images, forms and page layouts.

It also changed how I approach development.

I don't just ask:

"Does this look good?"

I ask:

"Does this work properly?"

Those are two very different questions.

SEO has changed enormously

SEO is another area where I've seen huge changes.

The early days of search engine optimisation were very different.

Keywords were often the main focus. There were directories everywhere, link-building schemes and plenty of attempts to manipulate search engines.

Some of the techniques people used back then would be a very bad idea today.

Search engines have become considerably better at understanding what a page is actually about and whether it provides useful information.

SEO is now about much more than putting keywords on a page.

It involves:

• Technical SEO
• Site structure
• Page speed
• Mobile usability
• Content quality
• Internal linking
• Structured data
• Search intent
• Local SEO
• User experience
• Authority and trust

And now we have AI-powered search adding another layer to the mix.

But despite all the changes, one principle has remained remarkably consistent:

Make your website useful to the person searching.

If your content genuinely answers someone's question or helps them solve a problem, you're already heading in the right direction.

Website performance matters more than ever

In the early days of the internet, waiting for a website was normal.

You could click a link, hear the modem making its collection of strange noises and then wait while the page appeared.

A large image might take what felt like forever to download.

Today, expectations are completely different.

People expect websites to load quickly.

If a page is slow, visitors can simply go somewhere else.

Performance also matters because it affects the overall experience of using a website and can have an impact on search visibility and conversions.

That means speed is no longer just a technical consideration.

It's part of the customer experience.

A beautifully designed website that takes forever to load isn't a good website.

Security has become a major part of web development

Security wasn't something most small business website owners thought much about when I started.

Things are very different now.

A modern website can be targeted by automated bots, brute-force attacks, spam, malware and other threats.

WordPress itself is extremely capable, but it also needs to be properly maintained.

That means keeping software updated, using secure hosting, protecting login areas, managing plugins carefully, taking backups and monitoring the site.

SSL certificates have become standard.

Two-factor authentication is increasingly common.

Security plugins and firewalls are now part of everyday website management.

It's another example of how the job has changed.

You're not simply building a website anymore.

You're responsible for helping keep a digital business asset secure.

Websites have become much more connected

Another huge change is how many different systems can now communicate with each other.

A website might connect to:

• Stripe
• PayPal
• Google Analytics
• Google Search Console
• Google Tag Manager
• Mailchimp
• CRM systems
• Booking platforms
• Accounting software
• Stock management systems
• Social media
• Delivery systems
• Customer databases

I've worked on projects where the website is effectively the central hub connecting several different services.

That can be incredibly powerful.

It can also make things considerably more complicated when something stops working.

When a customer says:

"The website isn't working."

the problem isn't necessarily the website.

It could be an API.

A payment gateway.

A plugin.

A third-party service.

An expired licence.

A change made by another platform.

That's another reason experience matters.

WordPress has changed the industry

I've been working with WordPress for many years and have watched it evolve from what was primarily a blogging platform into one of the world's most widely used website platforms.

Today, WordPress can power:

• Small business websites
• Blogs
• Membership websites
• eCommerce stores
• Booking systems
• Large content websites
• Bespoke applications
• Subscription businesses

And with WooCommerce, a relatively small business can build a sophisticated online shop without having to develop an entire eCommerce platform from scratch.

That doesn't mean WordPress makes web development easy.

Installing WordPress is easy.

Building a website that is fast, secure, well structured, easy to use and actually works for a business is another matter.

Clients haven't changed as much as the technology

This is probably one of my favourite observations after nearly 30 years.

The technology has changed enormously.

Clients haven't.

Whether I'm talking to a business owner now or someone I would have been working with years ago, they generally want the same things.

They want a website that:

• Looks professional
• Represents their business properly
• Brings in customers
• Makes their life easier
• Doesn't cost a fortune to maintain
• Works reliably
• Is easy to update
• Has someone available when something goes wrong

And most importantly, they want someone who can explain everything without drowning them in technical jargon.

That's still a big part of my job.

Sometimes the technical solution is complicated.

The explanation shouldn't be.

The rise of AI

And now we have AI.

It's difficult to talk about the future of web development without mentioning it.

AI can write content.

Generate images.

Write code.

Analyse information.

Help with SEO.

Build layouts.

Answer questions.

It's already changing how websites are created and how people search for information.

But I don't think AI removes the need for experience.

If anything, experience becomes more useful.

AI can produce an answer incredibly quickly.

But you still need to know whether the answer is actually right.

You need to understand the business.

You need to know what customers want.

You need to spot bad code, poor advice or generic content.

And you need to know when not to use AI.

That's something I'm sure will become increasingly important.

What nearly 30 years has taught me

If I had to reduce nearly 30 years of web development into a few lessons, they'd probably be these.

Keep things simple

A website doesn't need to be complicated to be effective.

Don't chase every trend

Technology changes quickly. Good usability doesn't.

Think about the customer first

Your website isn't really for you.

It's for the people you want to attract.

Build for the long term

A website should be able to evolve as the business changes.

Don't ignore the technical side

Security, performance, backups, SEO and maintenance aren't optional extras.

Good communication matters

A technically brilliant website isn't much use if the person who owns it doesn't understand how it works.

Keep learning

This industry never stops changing.

What worked five years ago might not work today.

And what works today might look very different in another five years.

So, what hasn't changed?

Despite nearly 30 years of change, I keep coming back to the same basic principles.

People want websites that are:

Clear.

Useful.

Fast.

Reliable.

Easy to use.

Easy to find.

And ultimately, they want a website that helps their business.

The technology behind that has changed dramatically.

The objective hasn't.

Nearly 30 years later...

When I think back to where the web was when I started compared with where it is now, it's difficult to believe how far things have come.

We've gone from static HTML pages and dial-up connections to websites that can take payments, manage bookings, connect multiple systems, track conversions and use AI to generate and interpret information.

The web is faster, more capable and considerably more complicated.

But underneath all of that, the job is still about solving problems.

Making things easier.

Making things clearer.

Making things work.

That's what I've been doing for nearly 30 years.

And despite everything that's changed, I still enjoy it.

Here's to the next chapter.