When you are looking for a person to do a complete makeover of your website, you might find it puzzling when you discover it.
There is someone called a web designer and someone called a web developer? And you thought that it is just about one person? Although there is a possibility that somewhere there is a person that combines both – these are a bit different career paths.
Of course, they share some skills and similarities, but in the end, these are two different sides of the same coin.
Which one can help you get a brand new website that will attract traffic and leads as well? Well, you need divine intervention from both of them.
One is about creativity, and the other is about structure. One is about aesthetics, and the other is about architecture. Yet, both are equally important for your online presence. But which is which? How to find a perfect match and create a fantastic website?
So web design or web development? Let’s dive into their most significant differences but some similarities as well. Why are both important for making your online presence much better and effective?
Your website has many elements that you need to take care of and finding both talented web designers and web developers is crucial.
Web design basics – why is web design important?
Web designers represent a unique mix. The web designer’s job covers everything that comes to the usability and visuals of the website.
It means that web designers should find the color palette which will work the best for your website.
Find a proper layout that will work best for your services and ensure that all the information flow is distributed evenly. The web designer needs to cover all crucial aspects of both user experience and user interface.
Which skills are important for web designers?
So which skills are preferred when you are looking for your fabulous new web designer?
Knowledge of Adobe creative suite or similar design software is very welcome. The web designer needs to be savvy with both graphic design and logo design. It needs to know how to represent your brand in the right light – from typography to colors and functionality.
The web designer’s job is also to place compelling CTA’s throughout your website to ensure that your customers can reach you or get your contact information much easier.
After a creative briefing with a client, web designers need to create various mock-ups, wireframes, and storyboards.
Web design is the first impression of your website; it is what your customer sees and interacts with. It is converting your brand to the digital version, giving it life, and making it work.
Although web design has less to do with the mysterious ways websites work – many web designers are well-known with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
It helps create compelling mock-ups and shows the customers a basic version that will be a baseline for further improvements. It is also frequent for web designers to work with content management platforms such as WordPress and Joomla.
Working with these can help web designers create beautiful website layouts without writing code.
Also, there are useful online tools like this graphic maker that will help you easily create ad banners and other various graphics.
So to wrap up: web design is what you see in the end – your website has many elements you need to take care of, and finding both talented web designers and web developers is crucial.
What is web development?
Web development represents all the lines of code that make your website work in the end. Web development has two main branches – front end and back end. And both are pretty much self-explanatory – the front end ties up with the web designer part of the work and how the website will display all web design solutions we saw on mock-ups.
Front-end developers share some skills with web designers – CSS, HTML, and JavaScript and work with CMS platforms such as WordPress.
Yet, the main difference is that web developers don’t choose the design elements such as typography or layout. Instead, they are just here to make everything work.
The backend part is about the server part and managing data and databases. It is what is happening behind the scenes. Back-end developers often have very advanced knowledge of programming languages.
Web developers are about the structure and architecture of your website. They are here to give life to creative ideas and make them functional.
Web Designer vs. Web Developer – breaking down all the differences
We hope we have cleared the fog surrounding your mind about their differences. So let’s wrap up and bring everything together once more:
• Web developers are about appearance, web designers are about architecture, and sometimes share skills but use them differently.
• Web developer skills are highly technical. Web development requires an understanding of programming, various frameworks, and databases. Web design is less technical and is more about creativity.
• Not all web developers and web designers are the same. The three main types of web developers are front-end, back-end, and full-stack. Web designers’ main types are user interface, user experience, and visual design.
• Web designers create solutions that match both customers’ wishes and brand voice, but it is up to web developers to determine if their answers are financially and technically possible.
The overall verdict is that both of these callings are challenging and require a lot of work and education.
Sharing similar skills blurs the lines between these two, so people often find it confusing to make a difference.
Although some people can do the entire process themselves – web design companies usually keep these two separate. But we hope we can help you determine the difference. So now that you know everything, which steps should you take?
In conclusion
In Digital Strategy One, we are proud to have talented and highly skillful employees on board. We love both the creative and the technical side of our work, and we know that both are equally important.
We build websites that leave an enduring impression, and our web developers and designers have worked together from day one. As a result, we can make your website both aesthetically appealing and functional.