These days any small business owner and his or her mother can have a Web site. That’s really nothing new. There have long been cheap or even free alternatives in do-it-yourself Web design and e-commerce. What’s different now is that most anyone can afford good Web design. The same design firms that might have laughed at you and your budget just a year or two ago might be welcoming you with open arms today.

What’s changed? If you’re thinking the economy, you’d be wrong.

Sure, you can’t totally factor out the economy, but what’s really happened is a shift in technology that allows Web designers to offer unprecedented design elements and features at a fraction of what they used to be able to do. Companies like WordPress, SquareSpace, and Shopify have allowed Web designers to do in one hour what used to take 10.

In short, these platforms make design easier and faster. Think of them as the ready-made pie crusts of the Web. Most design companies can still (and should be able to) make you a pie from scratch, but it’s often unaffordable to most.

I spoke with Ariel Bernard, president of Spiegel Design Group in L.A., who was tired of telling people their pies were too expensive.

“We had to turn down potential clients every day.” he said.

It wasn’t that Spiegel couldn’t do the work; the clients just couldn’t afford it.

“They would want a full-blown Web site with e-commerce," Bernard continued, "and that was $10,000 just to get started. Now, with Shopify, we can move straight into design because we don’t have to worry about all that stuff on the back end.”

Spiegel’s clients are happy because they can have professional-looking Web sites with fully integrated e-commerce, and they don’t have to deal with the hassles that come with alternatives like Amazon, eBay, and Yahoo stores. What’s more, when those small businesses start turning into medium-size businesses and need to expand their presence and capabilities online, the relationship is already established.

Chances are, if you know any Web designers/developers, they’re really busy -- even in this economy. Now it's possible and profitable to take in smaller-business clients and offer them highly functional and exceptional Web design. Despite the changing sizes of clients and the shifts in technology, you’ll still find high demand for more copy and bigger logos.