Before AI: How Templates Put the First Dent in Web Design’s Coffin

We’re quick to point fingers at AI for web design’s struggles, but what if we’re blaming the wrong tech? The real shift, arguably the “killer,” was already here, quietly operating as templates.

Not the innocent starter kits of old. I mean the overwhelming, cookie-cutter, SEO-optimized, funnel-focused design uniformity that’s made the open web a depressing display of “Buy Now” buttons on beige.

Ever wonder why the web feels so dead, a monotonous scrolling blur of “hero image, tagline, three icons, CTA”? It’s not AI’s fault; we’ve simply sacrificed creativity at the altar of templates.

Sameness-as-a-Service: Web Design’s Silent Assassin

Remember when designing websites felt like building unique digital homes? We’d add custom touches, unexpected layouts, bold color choices, even quirky sound effects if we were feeling adventurous. Every site had its own personality, its own soul.

The present reality? Websites are little more than thinly veiled Shopify templates, desperately trying to evoke a brand experience. Even our sacred portfolio sites—once vibrant canvases—have become sterile echoes of each other: soft backgrounds, clean fonts, and the ubiquitous coffee mug, strategically placed to sprinkle a dash of artificial warmth.

The Real Culprit: How Templates Rewrote Web Design

The convenience offered by platforms like ThemeForest, Squarespace, Webflow, and WordPress has come at a cost: an ecosystem where differentiation is not only optional but unwelcome. The reason is simple: originality inherently breaks the template’s structure.

Because breaking the template is seen as a risk—a threat to conversion rates, SEO rankings, or even the dubious “expert” opinion of the client’s cousin Chad, who dabbles in UX.

Templates: Flattening Design and Our Expectations

Let’s face it: clients aren’t requesting design these days. They’re asking for “a site like this”—you know, the clean one with animations, smooth scrolling, and that elusive “modern” feel. In 2025, that’s just code for “give me what’s popular so I don’t have to make decisions.”

Templates did more than just streamline web development; they fundamentally reshaped our very concept of a website.

Why hire a designer when no-code templates, Lottie files, and brand colors can “finish” a site? The problem isn’t that it’s bad; it’s that it’s completely forgettable.

And the bitter truth? We’re entirely responsible for this outcome.

AI’s Not the Killer: We Just Gave It Directions

While ChatGPT, Claude, and Midjourney are taking the heat for originality’s demise, remember: AI didn’t spontaneously integrate into our creative process. It was trained on our own output. So, what exactly was that input?

What did we feed it? A glut of identical, templated, SEO-driven websites. How can we demand innovation from AI when our own portfolios are filled with repetitive grid layouts and gradient buttons straight out of 2017 Stripe?

AI isn’t the death of design; it’s simply holding a mirror to a web we ourselves standardized, scrubbed clean, and flogged for $29 a pop.

We gave AI the internet’s equivalent of an Ikea catalog and expected it to produce works of Bauhaus-level design.

From Websites to Web Apps: A New Digital Landscape

Let’s acknowledge an uncomfortable reality: the “website” as a unique, handcrafted, and exploratory digital space is slowly disappearing.

What’s emerging instead are web apps focused on utility, where creativity is measured by function. The traditional homepage has been supplanted by the dashboard, and the About page is often just a simple Notion document. As for those innovative layouts from a decade ago? They’re now likely failing modern performance metrics like Core Web Vitals.

The web we cherished was a boundless canvas; the one we have now is merely a collection of modular blocks, optimized for user retention, ad revenue, and seamless e-commerce. Perhaps this was always its destiny.

Design is no longer about unique experiences. It’s about optimizing for bounce rates, conversion, and A/B testing trivial button dimensions. We’re not designers anymore; we’re template wranglers, chasing green spreadsheets by nudging variables.

Beyond Design: The Evolution Towards Product Management

The roles of designer and product manager have merged. Instead of designing a homepage, we’re focused on funnel optimization. Typography choices are secondary to “brand consistency.” Art has been replaced by the subtle manipulation of business objectives.

Ultimately, most websites today aren’t truly designed; they’re just put together.

It’s just a collection of UX components, all pre-approved from a Figma design system so massive it might have its own gravity. We’re no longer paid to innovate; we’re paid to guarantee predictability. Web design has become corporate risk mitigation masquerading as creativity.

From Helper to Hurdle: The Unintended Consequence of Templates

Templates weren’t evil. They were meant to speed us up and democratize design. But they became the internet’s fast food—cheap, convenient, and empty. And, like fast food, they’re addictive.

When the “Big Mac” of landing pages is so readily available, who wants to cook from scratch? Why push for originality when a template comes “proven to convert”?

We ended up building a world where mediocrity is the standard. Consequently, we’ve trained new designers to view this low bar as their ultimate goal, not as a foundation to build upon.

A Glimmer of Hope: Not Found on ThemeForest

For web design to truly survive, it needs a rebellion—a deliberate rejection of pure efficiency in favor of genuine expression. It means refusing to conform to “what works” and instead diving deep into “what surprises.” Frankly, that’s a tough sell when you’re battling tight deadlines and clients armed with too many SaaS landing page critiques.

The web’s true artists—the rule-breakers, the brave, those who still hand-code CSS and animate for sheer delight—exist. Yet, they’re off the main stage, absent from Product Hunt’s top 10. Find them instead in the shadows: CodePens, personal blogs, and the hidden realms of the indie web.

For design to survive, you must starve the template machine. Create weird, ugly, confusing, and profoundly human things.

Because the web was never intended to be a uniform conveyor belt. It was meant to be a playground, a punk zine, a laboratory. A bit chaotic. A bit broken. But unmistakably alive.

The Verdict: Our Choice, Not AI’s Doing

It’s time to stop pointing fingers at artificial intelligence for killing creativity. AI didn’t template the web; we chose to. We opted for efficiency over uniqueness, metrics over personality, and ease over artistry.

While AI may indeed finish the job, let’s not forget we started it.

If web design’s death is inevitable, then let’s ensure it dies with eccentricity.