Drummers and Developers: Unsung Heroes

Written by: Dave WrightWeb Manager

Construction industry metaphors often come up when discussing design for print and web. A website wireframe is a construction blueprint, for example, and moving content into a website framework is the moving of furniture into the house. The rooms need to be the appropriate sizes and shapes to best house the furniture for both functionality and aesthetics.

In my world, I like to think of a website (or a print piece) as a piece of music. I am a drummer, and there are similarities between my role when I'm developing websites and my role when I'm playing drums. A solid foundation is my top priority, because the first thing a website (and a song) needs is a stable base layer. You could have a really snazzy website, but if the foundation is unstable, then it would be like listening to a band where the drummer speeds up, slows down, drops his sticks, and just generally doesn't have it together. Everyone would be able to see the problems immediately, and they'd want to leave as soon as possible.

Another parallel is my position in the back. The designers are more like the guitarists or singers of a band — way more visible, having more direct contact with clients. Those designers are out front discussing the feel of the site, colors, graphics, and text. They are responsible for making the website "sing." The role of the developer is less noticeable, but arguably more important in my book. Your website can look great but what if the phone number can’t be read on a smartphone? What if you fill out a contact form and nothing happens after a potential client hits “submit”? These scenarios are just like a band with a great guitarist and singer but a terrible drummer: it just doesn't work, no matter how talented the other players are. It's easy to overlook the role of a developer, or the role of a drummer - because in both cases most people only really notice if something goes wrong.

It's something to think about the next you're browsing websites. Does everything work like you expect it to? And when you're listening to music, does the rhythm of the song feel right? More effort goes into accomplishing both of those results than you might think.

If your band needs a drummer, we might not be much help - but if you need a solid foundation for your website, get in touch. We're here to help.