Well, it is the truth that interchangeably many people use these two terms “web design and web development” but actually they are not the same they do have different meanings. So you need to know the difference between these two terms before looking for a new job in the web industry or if you are looking to hire a web professional to build a website for your company, you require to know the basic difference between these two terms and the skill sets they come with.
There is a fundamental difference between a web designer and a web developer. Although both have equal responsibilities to help and build a website they work in absolutely different areas. A developer, using complex coding languages builds the website’s core structure while designers are visually creative people and they specially focus on the user.
Developers are the personnel who use their programming skills along with coding knowledge to give breathing life to the creative vision of the designers. Simply, we can say that developers are construction workers and web designers are architects but both have a very significant role in website building, but they own entirely different skill sets.
Now, let’s get some in-depth knowledge about the types of web designers and web developers so that you can have full information while choosing the right option
1. Web Designer:
A web designer is primarily a graphic artist whose responsibility is to design the layout, appearance, usability, and, in some cases, content of a website. They make your website looks attractive so that it can bring out the attention of the visitors. They must possess creative, graphic, and technical skills. They use a handful of tools, software, and programs to perform their tasks such as Photoshop for customizing the visual elements of the website because they especially focus on the style and overall feel of the page. They also use coding languages such as HTML and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) for creating their designs.
Types of Web Designers are:
User Experience (UX) designer:
As a UX web designer, you are responsible for users’ overall satisfaction with a website. The primary requirement of the UX web designer is to keep your visitors engaged and deliver a positive experience. UX designers are called problem solvers.
They, not only design apps and websites, they spend ample time to know the target audience, identify problems that need to be solved, and come up with solutions to those problems. As they know how to craft a website, as per the interest of your target audience they carry out in-depth research regarding the user’s demographics and requirements of the website. It also needs lots of prototype testing and site restructuring.
When people enjoy visiting your website, then only they will revisit or recommend it. So, you are required to be well prepared and it can help grow your online community.
User Interface (UI) designer:
UI designers also play a significant role in the design of a website. Their role is to increase the usability of the website and optimize it to encourage conversion. A UI web designer focuses on the user’s visual experience. UI design addresses its own set of tasks and therefore calls upon an entirely different skill set. He is a professional who assists in enhancing the way users interact with elements, or the interface, on your website he also performed by translating complex brand ideas and values into a website that is fun and convenient to navigate
How does it differ from UX? There is a very fine line that defines UX and UL. UX includes research into building a solid foundation for a positive user experience, while UI focuses on the aesthetics (the display and feel) of the real website.
Visual designer:
Visual designers work with the layout and visual elements of a website their focus should be more on what a user views on the screen and less on what happens behind the scenes. In this sense, it’s a hybrid of user interface (UI) design and graphic design or considered as a combination of both UX and UI.
A visual designer draws the concepts, artwork, and layouts for digital projects based on creative briefs and client meetings. They not only enhance the user experience using coding skills and creativity but also resolve design issues. They conceptualize a specific brand’s unique style concept. The visual designer role is often industry or project-specific; therefore job descriptions frequently call for knowledge of a particular business sector. Layout and typography are a solid foundation in design.
Moreover, Visual Designers are considered the master of all web design trades, and their specific roles vary hugely depending on what you want.
Some of the Designing Principles:
Balance –
Web designers are required to create a balanced layout because, in web design, we have both the heavy (or large and dark colors) as well as light (or small and lighter colors) components. Moreover, using the accurate proportion of both is quite crucial to achieve a balanced website design.
Contrast –
As per the color theory, the contrasting colors are placed opposite to one another on the color wheel. Web design also offers some specific areas where contrast can be applicable. Web Designers examine looking at textures, contrasting sizes, and shapes for defining and drawing attention to the particular segments of the website.
Emphasis –
This principle was founded in the course of an intentional “highlighting” of specific essential elements of the website layout. It’s necessary to note that if you highlight everything on the page, then you might end up highlighting nothing. So, it’s time to take a glimpse at that Information Architecture for further direction.
Consistency –
It is known as repetition, and consistency is an important principle of web design. Clean and compatible navigation provides an excellent user experience for your website visitors.
Unity –
Unity is a relationship between several parts of the website layout and the composition as a whole. And it is based on the Gestalt theory, integration deals with how the human brain is capable of visually organizing the data by grouping elements into several categories.
2.Web Developer:
A web developer builds and maintains the core structure of a website. Their role includes a lot of technical work like using complex coding and advanced programming languages. More particularly, the duties of a web developer involve constructing the website itself which includes coding and configuring the server and databases on the back end, as well as incorporating user-facing features and functionality. They also carry out testing and debugging and may also handle an array of post-launch services, like providing ongoing support and maintenance and fixing server or hosting issues.
The basic role of the web developer is to build a web designer’s concept. Web developers are completely similar to those who create/build, whereas web designers are more like visionaries. A web developer is typically specialized in designing websites, and apps, while a web designer focuses more on what the user loves doing.
The web developer’s responsibility is to build a website framework using various software’s such as JQuery and JavaScript that focus on composing a smooth-running site for web designers. It is the main relationship between a web developer and a web designer.
Types of Web Developers
Front-end developer:
It is also known as client-side development. Front-end development is more connected with web design than back-end development. It involves coding and programming the visual elements of a website that users will see. It includes the usage of CSS, HTML, JavaScript, and other languages as well as Content Management Systems (CMS) such as WordPress. They are used to create things that a user can view, like client lead forms. The Front-end developers have coding skills, so they can build frameworks that are suitable for user interaction.
Back-end developer:
Back-end development, also known as server-side development, Back-end developer is responsible for designing the core structure of the website. These developers are experts in programming and using sophisticated software languages such as SQL, Java, PHP, C#, and other server-side frameworks. The users do not aware of their work as it includes coding on databases and web servers, and not on the browser (unlike front-end developers).
Full-Stack Web Developers:
A full-stack developer works across several stacks or layer that includes both the front as well as back-end. They have a depth understanding of how these parts work and function together Such developers are considered a complete package in the web development process as they are skilled professionals in all areas.
In Web development, they either use HTML or another dynamic approach that incorporates programming languages like PHP for developing various website pages. And Highly advanced web developers might choose CMS or Content Management System such as WordPress or Joomla for streamlining the development of websites and providing access to clients to maintain and update their websites.
Moreover, web developers can change a specific static layout and convert it into a dynamic website via images, content sliders, and other communicating elements.
Some features of Web Development:
Content is the King:
The primary reason is the quality of Web Content that people used to browse and search for any information. Quality content plays a significant role in sectors of entertainment, education, Business, and more.
Easy and User-friendly Navigation Patterns:
Easy and user-friendly Navigation patterns provide a convenient option for users to find information. Therefore, essential links must be findable with easy-to-understand labels.
Appropriate use of Search Engine Optimization or SEO:
It is the best way to bring visitors to your website. It also helps to enhance the company’s ranking in SERPs.
Sophisticated Web Design:
Sensible and straightforward web design plays an essential role in increasing the online presence of a website. Google is a perfect example of such a site as it implemented the least modifications with a more significant impact on users.
Web Design or Web Development it is entirely up to you what you choose according to your requirement, if you are looking for a new job in the web industry or if you are looking to hire a web professional to build a website for your company. A web developer can be a web designer as much as a designer can choose to be a developer both need to have appropriate knowledge and a functional aptitude for the other field. A successful developer understands how to use color schemes and typography in creating wireframes and layouts, and generates the templates through which they build the elements using codes. A successful designer understands basic HTML, CSS, and Javascript techniques so that they can understand the technical limitations of their creative layouts and user experience specifications.
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