Times have changed. I know it’s a cliché, but they have. It’s no secret that any potential client of ours no longer needs our help to get their voice on the web. If they are motivated, they can get a Twitter account, set up a Facebook page for their business, or use Google or software that comes free with their Mac to create a basic website. All of this without paying a cent to a designer.

And in fact, we ourselves would recommend at least signing up for a Twitter account. It’s a great way to keep in touch with your customers, a small segment of the marketplace who is genuinely interested in what you have to say. I follow a ton of local businesses, from grocery stores to restaurants to other design studios, and I feel much more connected to them. I also know when they’re going to be closed for the day, when they’re having specials, or when they just have inspiration to share with the rest of the world.

There is still a place, however, for the humble web designer. If you are a restaurant, for example, you might enjoy the “ambient intimacy” of Twitter, or like passing along photos of your customers on Flickr, but what if you want to convey just a bit of the atmosphere of your business, or keep an updated copy of your menu for folks to read, or share your thoughts with a bit more depth, uninterrupted by blinking ads on the sides of the page?

Why, that’s where Needmore comes in.

For years we’ve built every website with some sort of content management system, to allow all of our customers to easily update their websites. But that is no longer enough for many of our projects. The future of web design is becoming more and more social, which means that your website will need to be “social” as well. It will need to play well with Twitter, and Flickr, and lots of other such websites.

And that’s where we’ll be. That’s where a lot of great designers will be, embracing all those technologies as they come along!