Websites don’t build themselves. In fact, it takes a hidden army of designers and developers to create a website. While you can use so-called ‘template builders’, having your website custom design will allow for much better user experience.
Plus, the site will be personalise to your business and your customers. But when it comes to creating a new website, knowing whether to consult a website designer or developer can be confusing. Here is everything you need to know on what the difference is between a web designer and a web developer to tell you more.
Web Designer
First impressions count for a lot when it comes to the design of your website. The role of a web designer is to come up with the best visual solution for your website in terms of layout, colours, and typography.
This is what’s known as the user interface (UI). A web designer or perhaps an UI designer will ensure the UI ties in with the company’s brand and the purpose of the website. As an example, a healthcare website would have graphical elements that represented trust and safety. A web designer would most likely use green/blue colours as these colours are often associated with healthcare.
Web designer thought about user journey
Web designers think a lot about the user’s journey through the site and will look to arrange the information logically. In essence, great web design is about viewing the right content at the right time.
This contributes to what is known as user experience (UX), which considers how easy it is for your website visitors to access everything they need from your website. As well as the layout on each individual page, a web designer will also arrange toolbars and other search functions logically so that the user can easily navigate the website.
Web Developer
Once your website design is complete, this is generally when the web developer would work on bringing the design to life. A web developer creates the functional side of building a website, to ensure all the elements work correctly.
They will use the likes of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and other programming tools to both build and style a website. A web developer will look to create all the design elements in code so that it fits the web designer’s plans.
Web developers are also responsible for making sure their code is written cleanly. In addition, web developers have to create contingency plans in case the website goes down. Web developers also need to be familiar with how to keep a website safe and secure, especially if users will be entering personal information into the site.
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To sum up, a website designer focuses on the creative elements of a website such as the colours and layout. A web developer will then take a functional approach to make the design a reality. Many marketing or design agencies will hire both a web designer and web developer to cover both requirements for their clients.