What “Better” Actually Means
Ask ten developers how to improve a website and you’ll get ten different answers: performance, accessibility, user experience. All valid. The problem is that “better” is subjective. A developer maintaining a legacy codebase will say clean, readable code is the priority—and they’d be right, for their context.
There is no single universal fix, and there shouldn’t be. But if you look at the web as it stands today, there is a recurring issue that stands out above individual technical optimizations.
Step Out of the Template
Too many sites—portfolios, blogs, eCommerce stores—are built from the same patterns, themes, and frameworks. Those tools exist for good reason, but heavy reliance on them produces the same site over and over, with only the content swapped out.
The result is an experience visitors have already had thousands of times. Nothing memorable, nothing exciting, nothing that makes your product or your story stick.
Be Yourself, On Purpose
Your website represents you—your product, company, and livelihood. You are not obligated to follow generic conventions or squeeze your vision into a box someone else designed. Start with a clean slate, build up from there, and don’t shy away from testing unconventional features.
Experimentation goes beyond layout, colors, and fonts. Rework the copy: try a different tone, add humor, use sarcasm where it fits. Match the presentation to who you actually are. Listen to your gut, and don’t let criticism talk you out of a design that fits you.
This is not an excuse to neglect performance, accessibility, or the rest. Those remain essential. But creativity is what differentiates a site that merely works from one that represents something real—and that is the most important feature of all.
Enthusiasm Is Contagious
One last piece of advice: get excited. When you genuinely care about the work, it shows in the content. Your audience can tell, and they’ll respond in kind.
