· philosophy · 2 min read
Why Designing a Website Often Feels Harder Than Coding It
Laying out divs might be easy, but figuring out where they should go, how they should look, and why they matter? That’s the real puzzle.
The Illusion of “Just Make It Pretty”
Design seems simple on the surface. After all, how hard can it be to arrange some colors and text on a page? But the minute you open Figma or start sketching ideas, it hits you — there are too many possibilities. You start second-guessing everything. Is this shade of blue trustworthy or cold? Is that font elegant or just hard to read? Usually the design isn’t built from scratch: maybe you took inspiration from someone else’s website. But when you’re the one making the calls, the responsibility can be paralyzing.
Code Has Rules. Design Has Taste.
When you’re coding, there’s usually a right or wrong: a missing semicolon, a failing test, a console error. These help you steer in the right direction. Design doesn’t give you that kind of feedback. It sits quietly and lets you doubt yourself. You might build a beautiful UI but still feel like something’s “off,” and there’s no error message to fix it. You just have to… feel it out. And that’s a different kind of challenge, one that can be pretty uncomfortble.
Design Fatigue Is Real
Staring at your own design for hours can make even the best ideas feel bland. Unlike coding, where you can “finish” a function and move on, design constantly invites tweaks. A little margin here, a different type weight there… and before you know it, you’re stuck in a loop of endless polishing. It’s exhausting, and it can chip away at your confidence if you’re not careful. That’s why taking breaks, seeking feedback, and knowing when to stop are all part of the design process too. Sometimes, done is better than perfect.
It’s a Skill You Grow Into
Good design doesn’t happen in a vacuum. You get better by absorbing ideas from things you like, noticing patterns, and gradually building your own instincts. You’re doing more than just organizing content, you’re shaping how someone feels when they land on your site. That’s a huge part of what makes design harder. It requires insight, patience, and the ability to accept that your first draft probably won’t be great: and that’s okay.
