Understand the difference between a web designer and a web developer?
What is the difference between a web designer and a web developer? Most people use “web design” and “web development” interchangeably. However, the truth is that the terms reference two different elements of the website construction process, which requires two different skill sets.
Why must you understand the variation when looking for someone to develop and design your website? First, let’s learn the difference between web designers and web developers.
The difference between web designers and web developers is that design activity is usually linked to graphic design, so a web designer will mostly take care of the visual side of a site. Development or programming, on the contrary, is related to coding. Web development may be classified into back-end (server-side) and front-end (client-side) programming. Moreover, it is quite common for web programmers to direct their experience on front-end or back-end programming.
Most website design and development experts have a mixture of skills, and depending on their experience, the skill set may differ remarkably. For instance, a one-man company or freelancer web designer will be required to hold all trades related to building a website.
A micro-business with one more creative or technical person can do a sounder job, as both will concentrate on their work. In more critical web development companies, the tasks can be distributed between much more specialized people.
Another difference between web designers and web developers is that web designers usually have some JavaScript and HTML skills. Most of them can also manage the customer side of the server-based code, for instance, Java Server Pages in Java applications or page templates. Likewise, they need to know the basics to change graphics or layout if they cannot code the page logic.
While web developers record pages using CSS and HTML, they are not programming languages, so a web designer skilled in HTML and CSS can produce a static website or a site with some interactive front-end elements, such as a drop-down menu.
Without knowing web designing and development properly, you won’t understand the difference between a web designer and a web developer, so let’s take a closer look at each one!
Web Design
Web design is the most popular word used by experts in this business. When someone states they are a “web designer,” they often point to an extensive set of talents, one of which is visual design.
This comparison’s “design” element deals with the site’s customer-facing or “front-end” portion. For example, a web designer is usually concerned with how the customers interact with the website and how it looks (also sometimes regarded as”UX designers” or “experience designers”).
The people who provide excellent web design services understand how to use design teachings to build a site that looks exceptional. They also know about web usability and how to create user-friendly sites. Their ideas are ones that consumers want to navigate around as it is easy and natural to do so. Designers do more than make a site “look pretty.” They genuinely deliver the usability of the interface of the website.
Web Development
Web development comes in two flavorings – back-end development and front-end development. While some skills in these two flavors can overlap, they have very distinct ideas in the web design business.
A front-end developer exercises the visual design of a website and creates it in code. A front-end developer can use HTML to form the site, CSS to command the layout and visual styles, and maybe even a few Javascript.
For small websites, front-end development can only be the only development required for such a project. For further complicated tasks, “back-end” development will begin.
Back-end development trades with advanced interactions and programming on pages. A back-end web developer concentrates on how the customers get things done and how a site works and uses different functionality. It could involve building features like E-commerce shopping carts that combine online payment processors, operating with code that interfaces with a database, and more.
Decent web developers may understand how to program CGI and scripts such as PHP. They will also know how different software packages and APIs (application programming interfaces) combine various software and create solutions that meet specific requirements.
Back-end web developers can also build new functionality from scratch when no software packages or tools can be leveraged to satisfy their clients’ demands.
Many People Blur the Lines
Understanding the difference between a web designer and a web developer is essential. While many web experts specialize in specific areas, some blur the lines between various disciplines. They can be most convenient working with visual designs utilizing programs like Adobe Photoshop, but they can also know about CSS and HTML and can be able to code basic pages.
This cross-knowledge is very useful as it can make you more commercial in the business and an expert at what you do.
For example, a visual designer who knows how pages are created will know how to design these pages. Furthermore, a web developer who knows the basics of design and visual communication can make quick choices as they code up pages and interactions.
Eventually, whether you possess this cross-knowledge or not, when you apply for a position or look for a person to work on your website, you must know what you are looking for, i.e., web development and design. The personnel you hire will lead to the price you will spend to get that job done.
In most cases, front-end development and design for smaller, more legitimate sites will be significantly less (on an hourly basis) than hiring an advanced back-end coder. However, for more significant projects and sites, you will hire teams that include web professionals covering all those disciplines.
