With so many businesses being conducted online nowadays, web designers and web developers are undoubtedly in high demand. Their difference is just like Trump vs Biden; each has different specific skill sets, backgrounds, beliefs, rights reserved and the university they graduated from.
In this article, we are going to drill in deeper on what makes a web designer vs web developer, their roles, differences, daily rituals and routines, and which one you need to hire for your company.
The terms, however, can be slightly bemused, as many website design companies offer both skillsets for your website needs, ensuring all-rounded solutions that can save you both time and value for money.
Web Designer vs Web Developer: In a Nutshell
To put it simply, a web designer is responsible for the aesthetic portion of your website and its’ usability.
A web designer will use a variety of software to craft ideas and create a visual layout, look and feel for the website.
On the other side of the aisle, the job of the web developer is to take the artwork created by the web designer and to code a functioning website.
The common coding languages used by developers are CSS, HTML, PHP, JavaScript, among others. More often than not, their common software used to write codes is Notepad.
Web Designer: Role and Responsibilities
The role of a web designer is to be at the frontline of the client’s website objectives.
He/she will create a web design layout that is aesthetically pleasing and one that offers the user an excellent experience.
The design applications usually include colour palettes, balance, emphasis, consistency, and unity. The responsibility of the web designer is to also create an artwork that catches the attention of the desired target audience.
They make it sells or else.,
The modern-day web designer will also carry other meaningful weights, including SEO, codes styling and website maintenance, this extension of the responsibility also means that web designers have had to sharpen their skill sets in order to remain competitive in their end product.
Having said, in the setting of new skills by the web designer has also meant that there is now an amalgamated in responsibilities that occurs between the designer and the developer initial responsibility. This new breed is famously known as growth designers.
In the same origins, a web developer will also be expected to have SEO and maintenance skill sets but with much more dexterous with CSS styling. Web developers create, plan, and code web pages, many of which use pictures, video clips, sounds and graphics, as well as text.
The commonly used software that usually shared between both designers and developers like Adobe Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Notepad, Powerpoint, Google Suites, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Filezilla or even subscribe to monday.com. These are the common communication tools between each other.
The Difference between UI and UX Web Design
UX stands for “User Experience Design”. It a facade of the website layout design. It masquerades everything that is needed in creating a website. It includes user and design research, interaction design, information architecture, content strategy, CSS coding and usability testing.
UI stands for “User Interface Design”. It is the graphical or visual side of the design process.
Some UX designers will also be happy to carry out UI works. UX designers (individually) however will go as far as wireframes, research and web codings.
UI designers are often rich in taste; typography, graphic design, vector arts, colour theory, photo direction, and motion graphics.
Visual Designers vs Web Designers
Now let’s discover more on the DNA of a “designer” itself. In reality, a web designer is a subset of a visual designer.
Visual designers are problem solvers within the design world. They don’t just bring a brand to life; they also play a role in defining what goes into the brand. Visual designer creates beautiful designs and knows how to explain the rationale behind concepts and their work.
Web designers therefore will translate their work into working functional interaction between the design and humans.
Lets put it even simpler, visual designers exist since the early civilisation of mankind, while web designers exist in the 20th century and excelled in the 21st century — when all businesses decided to communicate via online instead of newspaper!
Therefore, it makes more sense that a web designer salary is much higher these days.
Qualifications to become Web Designer
Many web designers are self-taught nowadays, although a minimum Bachelor’s degree in Web Design is preferred by many web design companies.
This emphasis enough that if he/she holds a strong degree, it means they are serious enough about their career and ready to cut the skin in the game — which also leads to promotions and leadership path in the organisation.
Becoming a web designer requires a high level of design skills and proper ground education is essential to be able to grasp the needs of different industry portfolio.
Web Developer: Roles and Responsibilities
Web developers are often known as programmers, taking the design for a website that has been created by the web designer and building a website that is fully-functioning.
A web developer will break up a design into different components, and then go on to use a variety of programming languages like PHP or HTML to develop them into various website pages. Web developers may also choose to use content management systems such as Joomla or WordPress, in order to streamline the client-side development process.
Such content management systems allow the client to update and maintain his own website without the necessity for an understanding of programming.
Static layouts can be converted into dynamic websites using links, button, content sliders, and other active elements. The role of a web developer include the writing of efficient code, creating user interfaces/website layouts in HTML/CSS/PHP, integrating of data from back-end services, troubleshooting and debugging software, and verifying and deploying of systems and programs.
Web developers also keep the website security and ensure that is immune to cyber-attacks or overflooded of crowds.
Qualifications of a Web Developer
Web developers may also be self-taught, but many employers prefer a professional with a Bachelor’s degree. The role of a developer is to have strong logical thinking skills. Kickstarting it during school days is the best time to train this brain muscle. Courses such as computer science, electrical and engineering or modern programming will help strengthen the logical thinking mindset before going into real-world website design works.
In web development reality, there is simply no such thing as lucky or magic, but all purely relies on logic. Coding it systematically requires a thorough understanding of how a computer works.
Difference between Front End Web Developer vs Back End Web Developer
Two popular terms used in web development are the front end and back end.
They are both crucial in web development but they are very different people. In order to improve the functionality of many websites, both front-end and back-end developers need to be one cohesive unit.
Front End Web Developers
The front end of a website is the part that the user interacts with directly and is also known as the client-side of the application. It includes images, text colours and styles, graphs, button, colours, tables, and navigation menus. Two of the main objectives of the front-end developer are the performance and the responsiveness of the website which often includes these front end languages Javascript, HTML and CSS.
Back End Web Developers
A backend developer is mostly in charge of the server-side of many websites. The website developer stores and arranges data, and makes sure that everything on the client-side is working correctly. A back end developer is responsible for the part of the website that the user cannot interact with — usually the security side of things.
There is a wide variety of programming languages used by the back end developer, including PHP, C#, Python, Java, and Node.js. Backend frameworks include Django, Express, Rails, Laravel, and Spring.
Does My Project Require Web Designers or Web Developers?
When it comes to updating an existing website or building a new website, many people are unaware of the type of professional they need to hire. Hiring the wrong person can be costly as well as time-consuming, so it is important to get things right the first time. There are three types of web professional; web designers, back-end developers, and front-end developers.
As we explained above, back-end developers are essentially computer programmers. They focus on the creation of web applications, creating data management tools, content management systems, database and security features. When a website owner has a good back-end developer, he will enjoy security and flexibility, and his site will always be up and running.
A front end website developer on the other hand is better at creating the necessary tools for enhancing user experience. If you already have a design concept that needs to be used on multiple browsers, a front end website developer is what you need. The general user experience of your website should remain seamless, regardless of whether the user is using a tablet, smartphone, or desktop computer.
A web designer may know the basics of CSS or HTML, but they generally don’t have a great deal of experience with computer programming. So, if you need a website built from scratch, you need a web developer and not a web designer. A web designer is a person you need if you are on the lookout for someone to create graphics that will catch the attention of your visitors, or create an aesthetically-pleasing landing page for your updated website.
Team Approach
Thankfully, nowadays, it is not necessary to hire three separate companies for the creation of your new website. Many companies are known as “web application teams” and integrate all three functions that you will need. A successful Malaysia web design company will have at least one of these people; back-end developer, front end web developer, visual designer and web designer.
Final Words
With “team” approaches becoming the norm, there is a most definitely blurry line between the job and tasks of a web designer and a web developer. Although the two tasks remain the same, and very different, you will nowadays find not only teams that have individuals skilled in each different field but also designers who are trained in web development and vice-versa to bring better solutions.
When updating your current website or starting out with a brand new design, it is always better to use one team that can provide you with all the services you need. These will include back-end and front end development, visual design, maintenance, and SEO. If you are interested in maintaining your own website, remember to use a WordPress or other similar Content Management System.
