When working with small businesses and their websites, it's all about triage and managing design. Good design takes a lot of time. Choosing color palettes, finding the best images, and getting that exact layout we want takes time and money that we often don't have.
My approach has been to work with clients to help them achieve the best they can. Every client has a website where they can put in the effort, with no payment required to me, to improve the design. It's a choice they make. I am available to help teach them how to make good decisions and get into good work habits of design. Some clients set up a regular meeting schedule for this purpose if they wish.
The design of my websites isn't perfect either. It's a practice to make them better every day without spending more time than I have. When I first started Mattifesto I would spend hours in Photoshop crafting images, but after a while I realized it didn't work out how I had hoped. The result of spending 5 hours in Photoshop is that you know exactly what you could do with 5 more hours in Photoshop.
So, the key to web design is the smart and purposeful allocation of resources. That is Mattifesto design and I help clients learn to use it. People can make the right choices and look pretty good at the same time. There's always more to do, and that's okay.