A professional website requires a team of people to launch, and there are two crucial skills necessary to create a website: web design and web development. These terms are pretty much interchangeable in modern times as web companies shift how they advertise their services.
Further, it is possible for someone to provide both web design and web development services at the same time. However, these terms actually refer to two fundamentally distinct roles in the creation of a website that calls for two different skill sets.
Are you confused about the difference between web design and web development? Then keep reading because this article will cover web design and development and their parallels and contrasts. Furthermore, we will address the future prospects of web design and development.
What Is Web Design?
The visual elements of a website or app and how their aesthetics affect the usability of the site are both covered by web design. Web designers take into account the latest web design trends, as well as industry standards and guidelines, to produce an appealing and valuable layout.
This framework guides them in creating web pages that are not just visually appealing but also contain aspects that encourage users to stay on the site longer.
Web designers make sure the design elements function properly across various platforms and devices in addition to the overall layout. Their responsibilities may also include producing website design style guides to ensure visual consistency across all web pages and platforms.
Image: Freepik
Web designers are classified into three categories, which are discussed below.
1. User Interface (UI) Designers
User Interface (UI) Designers create visuals and illustrations and use photographic art and typography to improve how a digital product is shown and laid out across a variety of device views.
Input controls, navigational elements, and informational elements make up the interface. Input controls include buttons, drop-down menus, and data fields (progress bars, notifications, message boxes).
2. User Experience (UX) Designers
UX stands for User Experience. How a user feels and how their needs are met after using the programme, automobile, or other device designed. In layman’s terms, “is the user able to utilize the product efficiently, as the creator intended?”
3. Visual Designers
The role of the visual designer is to ensure that the finished product is visually appealing. They are a hybrid of user interface designers and graphic designers. Do not get the terms graphic designer and visual designer mixed together.
What Is Web Development?
While web design concentrates on the visual aspects of a website, web development focuses on making those graphics come to life. The main functionality of a website will be developed using various computer languages, such as HTML, PHP, and Java.
Functionality might be defined as things like what occurs when a user clicks a button or how the primary navigation loads whenever a user scrolls or clicks on it.
A developer may cooperate with a Content Management System (CMS) to make your website live and accessible to users. Among the most common content management systems are:
- WordPress
- Magento
- Joomla
- Drupal
A significant percentage of a web developer’s time is spent on website maintenance, which includes things like updating the CMS, managing security, and providing web assistance for any difficulties that emerge. Additionally, they can help you with choosing the web hosting provider.
If you wish to improve your website, consider web design and development to be two interconnected areas. In most circumstances, it is not designer vs developer. You must be educated about designing the website by yourself and possess a cutting-edge website that serves users well.
Developers can be divided into three categories, which we will discuss in the following paragraphs.
1. Back-End Developer
The basic structure of the website is designed on the back end. These programmers are specialists in programming and the use of complicated software languages such as Java, SQL, and C#. Users do not see their work because it includes coding on web servers and databases rather than the browsers (unlike front-end developers).
In a nutshell, their job is to use numerous programmes to construct logical, working websites. They also devote a significant amount of effort to testing and bug fixes.
2. Front-End Developer
This is also referred to as client-side development. It is more closely related to website design than back-end development since it requires the usage of the best programming languages for web development, such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, to generate user-visible elements such as client lead forms.
To summarize, front-end developers, like back-end developers, have coding expertise, but they construct frameworks that users can interact with.
3. Full-Stack Developer
A full-stack developer works on multiple layers or stacks, including the front and back end. It is practically the whole package when it comes to web creation because they are experts in all areas.
Web Design Vs. Web Development: Similarities
Web design and development are essential for companies that wish to build and keep a strong online presence. These two roles collaborate closely and, in some situations, can be filled by a single individual.
Although at varying levels, programming knowledge is necessary for both web designers and web developers. They must also have good analytical and problem-solving abilities since they will be testing design and function choices to find the most excellent fit.
Last but not least, web designers and developers need to keep up with the latest technologies, trends, and breakthroughs in their industries. When done correctly, design and development produce a unified tech-driven concept that links into and advances a company’s goal, allowing the brand to interact with more people more readily.
Image: iStock
Web Design Vs. Web Development: Differences
The critical distinction between web design and web development is the focus. Web design is focused on creating the look and feel of a website using design tools, whereas web development is focused on bringing that feel and look to life using computer languages.
Here we will discuss the other significant differences between Web design and development.
| Web Design | Web Development |
| A lot of creativity goes into web design. | Web development is more technically inclined. |
| Web design involves the creation of a general layout and feel of the website. | Web development is writing code to change the design into a functioning website. |
| Web design is the visual element of the website. | Web development is the process of creating user-friendly sites based on the demands of clients. |
| It is the process of turning concepts into visually attractive designs. | It is the process of turning ideas into functional websites. |
| Web design explores how the website appears and feels from the outside. | The functionality of a website and its operation are discussed in terms of web development. |
| Web design is creating the concept and style of a website and developing a prototype based on the visual, UX, and UI features. | Before moving on to the next level of website building, web developers determine whether the notion is both technically and financially feasible. |
| The majority of web designers study typography and the aesthetic components of websites. | These people are in charge of turning those designs into actual websites. They build the layout and functionality of a website using web technologies and programming languages. |
| The primary responsibility of Web designers is to oversee the website layout and design of a website, which includes all of its graphical elements. | A developer’s primary responsibility is to monitor and test the operation of a website. |
| A web designer is accountable for striking a balance between the visual components of a website and its usability.
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Web developers are in charge of developing, programming, and modifying websites. |
| A web designer is generally less expensive to hire than a web developer. | A web developer costs more to hire than just a web designer. |
| A web designer’s job is more about the aesthetics and creativity of the website than it is about the technical parts. | Web designers must have strong technical knowledge. This includes being able to understand complex programming languages and frameworks. |
| Different Types of Web Designers
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The types of web developers
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| Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, and Sketch are some examples of web design tools. | There are many languages used for web development, including HTML, PHP, JavaScript, CSS, Python, Ruby, jQuery, etc. |
How Will Web Design And Web Development Evolve In The Future?
The actual job we do evolves as we enhance and perfect the tools we use to complete tasks. Even though the demand for designers and programmers will remain high in ten years, web designers and web developers will almost certainly have radically different jobs in ten years.
Further, their actual day-to-day work will be different because the no-code movement, a phenomenon that allows noncoders to design websites and software graphically, transforms the job environment.
In fact, some designers/developers are already making a living doing both. Anastasia Kas, a successful designer and developer, wrote in her blog, “Being a designer-developer hybrid in 2019,” that “hybrid occupations are on the rise.”
Additionally, without writing a single line of code, designers, marketers, and other experts will be able to create more accessible apps, websites, and other digital products. This will provide developers more time to work on challenging projects.
However, the long-term consequences of this disruption may be considerably more severe. As the technologies we use to develop websites become more efficient, we’re likely to see the creation of new jobs – hybrids that combine what were formerly two separate jobs.
