When building a website, most business owners get confused about web design vs. web development and the difference between web designers vs. web developers. That’s why we’ve written this post for business owners who need help getting their websites off the ground.
Web Design vs. Web Development: Similarities and Differences
Web development, web design, and SEO form the foundation of your digital marketing strategies.
To guide you better, here’s what you need to know about these roles:
Similarities of Web Designing and Development
In practice, there’s no real sense of web designer vs. web developer. Your designers and developers work together to build and deliver an SEO-compliant platform, which you can use to generate leads and increase sales. Ideally, these roles are taken by separate people or teams of experts because of the tremendous workload; however, if you can find one person who can take on both roles, consider yourself lucky because they are not easy to find.
Differences between Web Designing and Development
When discussing web design vs. web development, the scope of their differences is far-reaching, and it is best to discuss them separately. It allows a deeper understanding of each role in the growth of your business.
Website Development
According to Lifewire, a technology-focused publishing platform, a web developer works on the site’s functionality and how customers use it. Those tasks distinguish them from the role of designers because of their programming knowledge.
There are three types of web developers these days, and they are:
- Front-end developers – They handle the website’s client-side and work on the functionalities visitors see and engage with when they open your website. Their main concerns are the responsiveness and performance of the website when it gets opened on different devices such as desktops, mobile phones, and tablets. These website features include menu buttons, forms, pop-ups, font size, font colors, font style, and navigators when changing pages.
- Back-end developers – They work on your website’s activities concerning the server and hosting plans. They back up your website’s data regularly, optimize the speed of web pages, and prevent bugs from affecting the quality of your website. Back-end developers maintain and monitor your website’s functionality that visitors don’t see but are significant in search engine optimization.
- Full-stack developers – These are your all-around web developers. They are highly trained and experienced in delivering front-end and back-end website development practices.
At the beginning of the project, developers and designers brainstorm how they want the website to look. The former will then use design software like WordPress, Bootstrap, or Wix to create a mock-up of the website and use back-end software to store the business’ data and information online.
Website Design
Web designers are responsible for the site’s user interface (UI) and user experience (UX).
User interface (UI) refers to how designers use artistic elements, theories, and principles to provide excellent visuals for the website. They design layouts according to the branding of the business.
On the other hand, user experience (UX) refers to the website’s stability. When you launch this marketing tool to the public, it is essential that the visitors feel the ease in navigating from one page to another. Web designers are responsible for how and where buttons get placed on the website.
Web design and SEO work together to improve conversions. SEO brings qualified leads to the side, and good website design keeps them coming back or staying on long enough to convert into customers.
Primary Principles of Web Design
Contrast
The principle of adding contrast to website design starts with using different colors and matching them to look cohesive. Designers often pick colors from the opposite section of the color wheel to match their primary color. For instance, they can mix and match colors red and blue by using different shades. It makes the website look interactive and exciting to visitors.
Balance
When designers create a website, they must create a sense of balance on each page. They can play around mixing shades of different colors, lines, and shapes by prioritizing the proportions of those elements.
Emphasis
The principle of emphasis on web design means highlighting an area of the website using artistic elements such as popping colors and eye-catching fonts for words and characters. The designer must have a clear set of eyes when implementing this principle. Emphasizing a section of a web page is challenging because it is easy to overdo and underdo it.
Consistency
When designing a website, it is essential to consider consistency in terms of artistic elements such as colors, lines, fonts, and media. It makes the marketing platform look clean, sleek, cohesive, and recognizable.
Unity
This principle refers to how people perceive your website as one. The consistent elements and layouts can help them think that this marketing tool of your business has a sense of organization and would help reflect this on how you provide your services.
Key Takeaway
The answer to the argument of web design vs. web development is that they are equally important in creating a business website. Developers and designers need to work together to ensure that the marketing tool delivers positive results to the company, such as an increase in leads and sales. Your website will not function well and be valuable to your business if one of these roles fails to do its job. When hiring for these roles, look for their portfolio, so you can see their sample work. It is also possible to let them undergo practice exams to test their skills and knowledge.
Contact Us Today for SEO Website Design and Development
If you are still confused about web design vs. web development, don’t worry because, at Advanced Digital Media Services, we assist business owners like you in kickstarting your digital marketing journey.
With the leadership of our team of Cleveland SEO experts, we provide a wide range of online and digital marketing services, from developing and designing business websites to optimizing them for better visibility on the internet. We focus on applying the best search engine optimization (SEO) practices to ensure your budding business grows from our partnership.
What are you waiting for? Call us now, and let’s talk about how we can help you grow your business!
