[No Designer Needed?] Handy Web Design Tools for Small and Medium Businesses [Mostly Free, Too]
From ACIDHOUSE, INC., this is Tetsuya Ashida.
Outsourcing takes time and money, though. Is there an easy way to update or revise it?
This article introduces approaches that should help people in that situation.
Use WordPress to Revise Text and Page Layouts
To change text or page layouts on your site, use a CMS.
For those unfamiliar with the term CMS, here is an explanation.
It is often used to build and manage websites and portal sites.
Creating and operating web pages used to require knowledge of HTML files and the directory structures in which they were stored. Content management systems are designed so that, without technical knowledge, people can publish information online as long as they can prepare content such as text and images. They also reduce effort by allowing easy changes to the overall design through template selection, for example.
In plain language, it is a system for creating pages in a browser as if you were making a document in Word.
The leading CMS is WordPress.
Although it is the most popular CMS, its license is free, and WordPress is currently used in 25% of websites worldwide (this site also uses WordPress).
So I assumed hardly anyone was without a CMS these days, but a client's landing page I worked with in 2018 did not use one.
Without a CMS, you use a method called FTP (Google it if you want details), which has these disadvantages:
- Doing it yourself requires a certain amount of specialized knowledge and skill.
- Using an external partner costs some time and money for each request.
Those are the drawbacks.
If your company has no CMS, introduce one as soon as possible.
WordPress can either be installed on a web server or used to create a blog through wordpress.com, which is slightly confusing. Here, I mean installing it on a web server.
Use Canva for Cover Images, Banners, and More
Canva seems good for creating simple images online, such as cover images and banners, by modifying design templates. 
Here is Canva's official introductory video.
It is in English, but you should get a general idea of the features and how it operates.
Canva also has smartphone and tablet apps available.
Don't Miss Adobe's “Canva Killer,” From the Long-Established Industry Standard
Speaking of image editing, don't overlook Adobe CREATIVE CLOUD EXPRESS, an app from the long-established industry standard.
It is packed with Adobe's characteristic ease of use, so check it out if you are interested.
Use Pixlr for Cropping, Resizing, Exporting Files, Retouching, and More
It is a tool for cropping images, changing image dimensions, changing image file formats, and retouching. In essence, it's grooming your images before they appear in public.
More specifically, the tasks look like this.
- Cropping images: remove parts that are unnecessary when showing the image.
- Image size: change dimensions and file size to an amount of data that displays smoothly on the web.
- Image file format: change to the best format for displaying on the web, especially when reusing print materials.
- Retouching: remove noise, brighten the image, or change its colors and tones.
I will omit detailed operating instructions this time.
Pixlr lets you do these quickly in your browser.
If you do these tasks fairly frequently, in large numbers, or on a major scale, Adobe Photoshop CC is a much better choice.
Long-established paid software is far superior in usability and the experience of using it.
Use remove.bg to Remove Backgrounds from People
For example, when creating banners or thumbnail images, you may want to remove the background from a person.
The tool that does this in just five seconds is remove.bg.
Simply load a file on the remove.bg website and click the background.
Previously, you had to painstakingly select the background manually using Photoshop, which was expensive and required advanced skills. Now a few clicks solve it for free. It really is a wonderful time.
See the Video for an Explanation of PixlrEditor and remove.bg Too
Work Efficiency and Business Growth Are Different
I have introduced several tools, and for small tasks, you can now do web design quickly and for free.
However, these are general-purpose tools, and this applies to design work itself regardless of the tools...
Whether the completed design effectively appeals to customers, gets them to act, or is tuned for business growth and marketing is a separate question.
At present, very few staff members or external partners do their work with that perspective.
Work is, after all, just work.
Handle it yourself with business growth and marketing in mind, or entrust it to an external partner who understands those well.