Why Nigerian Web Design Businesses Fail
Yesterday, one of my friends approached me and was like: ‘Bros, how far? Na you dey chop money o, with this your CreativityKills thing.’ and it really got me thinking.
To be frank, Nigerian web design businesses tend to be largely unprofitable, well, at least for start ups.
Yes, I know that there are many Nigerian web design companies, like, well, CreativityKills, that have fought through the mist of doubts and become thriving businesses, but, on a scale of 1 to 10, Nigerian web design businesses do not do as well as their counterparts in, say, United Kingdom.
Lack of Creativity
Believe this or not, but one of the main reasons why Nigerian web design businesses fail to get off the ground is due to the lack of creativity on the part of the web developers and designers.
I have had the opportunity to go around some websites built by Nigerian web design companies, and what strikes me the most is the lack of creativity. Most Nigerian web design companies (or freelance designers) rely on sites like themeforest to get themes for websites.
While this in itself isn’t bad, but to assert oneself as a web designer, you should be ready to get dirty with UI problems and headaches.
In addition, most Nigerian based web designers seem to not even keep up with latest design trends like responsive design.
Client Financing & Economy
Web design agencies in western countries, like UK, can easily charge clients up to £5,000 for web projects, thats like NGN1.3 million in local currency.
In Nigeria, any web developer who has this kind of payout on a project has probably meet a huge client like say MTN or Glo or someone big.
Si Digital puts 5k as their minimum budget threshold
Its not unheard of for web designers and developers to charge hourly in some countries, but if you try telling your clients in Nigeria that you will be charging them hourly in Nigeria, well, you can kiss that project goodbye. No, for real, try it.
Subpar ‘web designers’ make it hard to charge
I know some people might criticise what I say, but I have seen some people call themselves web designers just because they can register a domain, install WordPress, and install a theme for WordPress.
While, this is pretty much the sum of the workflow of some WordPress designers, there’s still a lot more in-between logic.
Granted, everyone has their methods, I still think, if you cannot grab Notepad and code a less than basic page using HTML, some sort of Javascript and maintain a nice visual appeal, then you are NOT a web designer; quote me.
Generally, when people who can only install WordPress, start calling themselves web designers, then they don’t see the work it actually takes to build a real website from scratch and they start charging clients NGN30,000 for a website. The client doesn’t know better and assumes this is the general price for a website.
My Conclusion
There are many more reasons why Nigerian web design business suck, but generally these are the most potent challenges. We at CreativityKills have devised a method, and that is explaining to the clients.
Letting them see the difference can sway them towards the light and away from the dark path of hiring a sub par “web designer”.
Hopefully, they see that websites are more than something to be rushed and more like something to invest time and money into. Websites are a part of your brand and the first few seconds can tell a potential client whether to be a customer with you or not.
We hope these challenges improve in the future so more youths can get into website design in Nigeria.
