The Web is Back?

Those of us who’ve been in this industry for some time likely remember the dot-com-crash from a few years back. I suppose everyone remembers it, but those of us who were directly impacted definitely have *stronger* memories (or should I call those nightmares?).

During the glory days, I was first an employee of the largest web development firm in the company, and then a freelancer living high off the fact that everyone seemed willing to pay top dollar for a basic web site. I remember my first job as a freelancer - it was for a software company just outside of Boston. The amount of money they paid me for a simple marketing site would buy that same company a CMS and lots of fancy back-end stuff today. Ahh… the good old days…

But wait - did I mention the web is back? I’m once again freelancing (after two stints at full-time positions) and am finding (especially recently) that web firms are busier than they have been in five years. I’ve been consulting for a few advertising agencies in the Baltimore area, and each has told me they have seen steady growth in their web services over the past few years. In fact, this year has seen huge growth for a few — causing them to need people like me (which is certainly not a bad thing).

So I’m left wondering - is the web (or rather web development) here to stay now? I think so. The types of projects I’m seeing are not the crazy high-budget fancy-graphics sites of the late 90s. Instead, these are well-thought-out, productivity-boosting, customer-satisfying sites that are being integrated into the daily lives of the people using them. And if that’s true, then the future looks a bit brighter than it has in recent years for folks like me.

P.S. This is why I haven’t posted in a while - I have actually been BUSY!!!