Website designing in the initial days was a much simpler process. When we compare the world’s first website, published in 1991, to modern websites, we see how much websites have evolved.
Today, you need a lot of resources & a proper setup to create a website & keep it running. Designing & developing a website takes a combined team effort of designers & developers. In this article, we’ll further uncover their roles in website creation.
So, what is website design and development? Let’s find out.
What is Website Design and Development?
Website design & development is an umbrella term that describes the process of website creation. Let’s understand both these concepts a bit more.
Website Design
The design of websites displayed on the internet is known as website design. Rather than software development, it typically refers to the user experience parts of website creation.
Web design comprises a website’s visual aesthetics & usability. It also consists of color scheme, layout, information flow, and anything else associated with the visual elements of user interface & experience.
Typically, web designers use the following skills & tools:
- Adobe Creative Suite-(Photoshop, Illustration, etc.)
- Graphic Design
- UI Design
- UX Design
- Logo Design
- Layout
- Branding
- Wireframes & Mock-ups
- Typography
- Color Palettes
- CTA Button Placements
Web designing is more concerned with what the user sees on their computer screen or mobile device than with the methods that make it all function. They bring a digital experience to life using color, imagery, typography & layout. Great designs usually result in higher conversions.
Now that you’ve understood what website designing is, let’s understand what website development is. It’ll help you distinguish between these two concepts.
Website Development
Web development is the process of creating a website for the Internet. Web development includes everything from creating a single static page of plain text to creating large web apps, electronic companies & social network services.
Typically, web developers use the following skills & tools:
- HTML/CSS/JavaScript
- CSS preprocessors
- Frameworks
- Git & GitHub
- On-site search engine optimization (SEO)
- Web template design
- Libraries
Website development consists of 2 sides; front-end & back-end.
The Front-end of a website is where users interact with the website. Everything you see on the Internet, from fonts & colors to dropdown menus & sliders, is a combination of HTML, CSS & JavaScript that is controlled by your computer’s browser.
Back-end development involves working on server-side software, which is concerned with everything that cannot be seen on a website. Back-end developers ensure that the website functions properly by concentrating on databases, back-end logic, application programming interfaces (APIs), architecture, and servers.
Now that you’ve understood the difference between website design and development,
Website Designers vs. Website Developers
Let’s quickly understand the major differences between website designers & website developers.
| Web Designer | Web Developer |
| Focus on appearance & usability | Focuses on technical aspects like programming & coding |
| Creative in nature | Technical in nature |
| Transform ideas into visually appealing designs | Transform ideas into fully functional websites |
| Tools include adobe photoshop, illustrator, sketch, etc. | Languages such as PHP, HTML, JavaScript, CSS, Python, etc., are used. |
These are the differences between web designers & web developers. However, their end goal is to create a visually appealing & fully functional website.
Ending Thoughts
Both web designers & web developers play an important role in creating a website. The more collaborative the effort, the better a website turns out to be.
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