Nowadays, for each web designer or developer is awful not to have a good connection to the Internet; much more I believe that there are few days in their life when they do not read a post or see an inspirational article from various blogs.

Blogs represent an inestimable resource for everyone who needs help and it is almost impossible not to find out the information you need by referring to such sources.

Another huge advantage of blogs is the access of every person to the complete and accurate information that sometimes, in addition to the hard work and strong will, can replace university studies. I know many developers and designers who have finished amazing projects and have many customers, people who don’t have any studies in the field, but their passion and the never ending hours spent in front of the computer made them truly professionals.

From the perspective of a freelance web designer, I can’t say that there are topics in this niche which aren’t covered on these blogs, so you better throw away your courses and start reading blogs.

It does seem like the perfect solution, the boring courses could be easily replaced by blog posts, the process of learning becoming more entertaining. Is it true? I believe that only partially; think of this: there are so many blogs related to web design and development, but who are the authors of the posts? If the posts are so many and of high quality, then only the best designers and developers are writing, but when have they time to write? Plus, if they are really pros, don’t they have many projects to finish?

Due to the great number of blogs and posts contained by each blog, sometimes the quality is neglected in favor of the quantity; the spiders of the search engines “are feeding” with fresh content and, in this way, to be higher on search engines it is a must. Blogging has become a serious job and it implies a great responsibility because there could be people who appreciate the posts as being relevant, with correct information, applying the methods learnt in reality. Perhaps I am too subjective, but in the near future, a blogger will be considered a “half teacher”, his posts being very similar to a lesson. I have the faith, and the majority of the bloggers community does the same, that a stronger responsibility is required when any post is published. The great number of blogs sends a very positive message, the designers and developers are trying to become better and better, but there is the risk of neglecting the value of the posts, as usually quality work needs time and many resources.

This article has as main purpose to analyze the number of blogs and their quality in depth. Please feel free to share your ideas with us; the more opinions, the more reliable will be the conclusions.

First of all, surely there are needed more and more blogs and posts! A smaller number of blogs means that the competition is decreasing and it is the subtle death of quality; every blog grabs specific target readers and, step by step, the quality and maybe the number of the posts are decreasing as well. This is a nightmare and nobody wants it to turn into reality. It is a sad fact finding that, in the last period, many blogs have appeared, which can easily be tagged as amateurish; plus, it is very annoying to search for the needed piece of information, “Google” it , find a proper title but the content of the post to be of a low quality.

Bloggers should pay special attention to certain things, as they are responsible for their post; once again, I want to emphasize that what they are writing could influence other people. In my opinion, I believe that overall, the quality of the posts is high, but there are few posts which are not that interesting or present a certain point of view incorrectly. Another interesting fact is the competition between bloggers and, usually, the more authors exist, the stronger becomes the competition.

A detailed analysis of the positive and negative sides of the increasing number of blogs guarantees us a better understanding of the phenomenon.

The Positive Side

A lot of information at hand, fully covering every needs and requirements

A great number of blogs available increases the chance of finding all the details required for a project. The posts, due to their great number, will cover everything, so it is very hard not to find what you need. I noticed that, in the last period, the inspirational showcases are enjoyed by the readers and this is a step further, you have the necessary resources, but also the sources of inspiration.

Multiple points of view on various problems

Many bloggers means many opinions, some of them looking similar while others being exactly the opposite. This duality is vital and quite beneficial for the existence of the blog, but it has the vantage of developing new ideas and trends. The Nazi regime, as all dictatorships, considered that one person is always right and it was a mistake which costs millions of lives, so don’t apply it when it comes to blogs or other things related to it.

The concept of web design, but generally speaking the one of design, is a subjective matter and to catalogue an opinion as being totally wrong, you being the only one who is right, is a complete error. Freelancing is also a very subjective domain; some tips could work very well for some and be the worst strategy for others.

Multiple perspectives are important and, to put the novices in the posture of taking their own decisions, self judgment is required. The raw information is good, but all becomes static and somehow the brains of the readers aren’t required to make an effort. My personal opinion: “controversy is the fuel of creativity” (let me know if you agree with me or not!)

Assure a better variety of subjects

There are blogs that won’t allow all people to share their own opinions on different subjects. This can have various interpretations: for example, the positive side, in which the competition is stimulated, but nobody knows, maybe some valuable posts aren’t even published. In this context, it seems that a higher number of blogs is advantageous for both readers and writers; for the ones who can ignore some amateurish posts, all this is a positive thing. Many blogs include a wide range of subjects so everything is covered.

More possibilities for bloggers

Honestly, the key of this dilemma is tolerance; we are all human beings so any mistakes can be forgiven. Great bloggers should remember that they weren’t born specialists, that in the beginning everything was very hard to realize and maybe irritating, that they were amateurs at that moment!!! Probably, for someone who is experienced, the post of an amateur is boring, without relevance and not so well written, but this doesn’t mean he shouldn’t post! Anyway, please be tolerant, each of us can make mistakes, don’t forget it!

More extra money for more people

It’s not a shame or even a bad situation, but the great majority of the blogs brings some extra money to the owners, which of course could be shared with the authors. Fewer blogs means that the revenues from advertising are taken by fewer people who can share them or not with the authors (fewer blogs involve less people who can adopt a common strategy, not satisfactory for the authors, but very advantageous for them).The actual situation is very good: there are enough quality blogs, but sure fact, there are some others which aren’t so impressive and these will be selected by a natural selection.

Blogging has become the joy of the entire community

Having large communities of bloggers who share their ideas about design and development is a huge step further; it allows all potential lovers of these fields to express what they want and this is fabulous. In this way, the Internet evolves to a democratic structure; the opinions and trends are based on the agreement of the majority.

Now Let’s See The Negative Side

The information can sometimes be not very relevant or even correct

A small number of blogs doesn’t mean that the information from here is totally clear and correct. The design and development are very complex concepts and these are related to other fields, that are also very complicated and, because of that, a blog, to be a very reliable and complete resource, should have posts that cover all of these aspects. There are certain blogs that can’t have very well presented and explained all these, so I really believe that, in an online world with fewer blogs, surely there would be some aspects which aren’t very clear and worst, even not presented.

A higher number of blogs isn’t equivalent to a higher quality and quantity of information

On the other hand, we are living this situation: a great number of blogs doesn’t assure the perfect or the most accurate information, but we have the possibilities to select the websites we like or the ones which have good resources. It is an influence from the laws of economy which said that a great offer is beneficial for the public, all the providers should come with amazing products to attract the customers, which in our case are the readers. People with a lot of free time surely enjoy the abundance of the blogs because they have at hand many resources (some very interesting and some less), but who can afford to have so much free time?

A small but interesting extension: personally, every day I am amazed at the relevance of the search engines and the ingenuity of the guys behind these powerful tools, but sometimes these could go wrong. Probably, the best remedy of this situation is social media; a blog which is spreading with the help of social media is 100% a very good one. In this case, people who have no time to waste, could use the services of the social networks; usually to occupy a better position on these networks means that it was the action of a lot of people which are interested in proposing interesting websites or blogs. In a more pragmatic and not professionally expression, social media is word of mouth in an online medium, so pay attention to it. In a nutshell, use social media to find the best blogs, posts or resources; these are submitted, voted or proposed by the people who have the same interests as you; it is much recommended to reward this service, when you find something interesting or high quality don’t forget to share it with your friends.

In spite of these aspects, some people could find that there are three positive aspects in a world with fewer blogs.

• 1. Fewer blogs means more competitive bloggers

  To be quite honest, even if I am a blogger and I might not be advantaged, it is obvious that a small number of blogs will increase the competition amongst the bloggers and the principal effect is the improvement of the quality of the posts. The most important blogs usually are paying the authors of the posts and sometimes, maybe in the days when the projects are missing, writing a quality post is a good source of extra income. The financial aspect is another important factor that should be taken into consideration when we talk about bloggers and the competition between them; a small number of blogs (but the same audience!!!) means that the total revenues are divided between fewer blogs and that could lead to a better system of payment for the authors, another point which contributes to the quality of the posts.

• 2. Paradoxically, easier to find the proper information

  On the other hand, a small number of blogs isn’t equivalent to less information; the blogs which are still “on air” can became mini-Wikipedias, fully equipped with good resources. In this case, a simple search on some blogs could reveal accurate and relevant resources for everyone.

• 3. The certitude of high quality posts

  I emphasized above the accountability of the bloggers about their posts, which can’t present mistakes or wrong advice, because there could be people who really consider these posts as being correct and written to be followed by the less experienced in this niche. A strong competition will reduce dramatically any mistake in every post; both the blogs and the bloggers should be more competitive to resist in a very difficult medium.

Which is the best solution? Should we be very skeptic about the possibilities of a new blog or should we warmly regard any new apparition? I believe it is almost no good answer, any opinion should be very carefully taken into consideration and added to the final balance.

My personal opinion is based on a strong tolerance and on an active dialogue. I strongly recommend for everyone who is really prepared to bring to the market a new blog, to be really prepared for it, or else don’t do it! This is reason behind my opinion: if somebody is a master of design or any other domain, it is very good for the entire community for that person to share his/her opinions, all the amateurs learn from a pro and this is the perfect situation. Every beginning is quite difficult so I believe it is not a serious problem for a new blog to have few posts which aren’t high quality, but it shouldn’t be a routine, it should be an exception. With the passing of time, reducing any mistake in all the posts is a sign of professionalism but it implies a lot of tolerance. A strong interaction between the authors and the readers has as a result a constantly improvement of the posts; even if the Internet has made the entire world very small, we are very different and it is quite normal to have very diverse opinions. I don’t know if a common opinion is a good thing, but it’s not a bad result to have multiple voices over a specific problem, the sublime effort is to listen carefully to all the people and their thoughts and only after a period of thinking to embrace an idea. We shouldn’t ignore any new appearance, much more, it is for the sake of the web to encourage any new ideas, but we shouldn’t tolerate the amateurish websites, these ones are introduced to the Internet only to make some extra money from farm links or from Google system of publicity.

A good idea for a designer, developer or any freelancer who want to starts a new blog is to gain before its launching great experience as a blogger; I could bet with anyone that this is the best solution. Being an active blogger is a good way to stay connected with a lot of other great bloggers and owners of cool blogs. The more experience you cumulate, the easier it becomes for you to bring much traffic to your blog; following this idea surely is a solution to have many good blogs with very interesting ideas. This is my opinion and it can be wrong, feel free to share your ideas with me because I am very interested in what you believe!

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