What Is the Difference between Web Designer and Web Developer

by | Aug 6, 2015 | Blog

Many people do not understand the difference between Web Designing and Web Development. It is easy to get confused and assume that the two are one and the same. No, they are not. They are actually two completely different sciences that usually require two different professionals to get the most out of your Website in both perspectives.

But the truth, however, is that most Web Designers don’t know a thing about Base64 encoding, MIME types, SOAP requests, regular expressions, or SQL injection. On the other hand, there aren’t a lot of Web Developers that can create visually stunning websites or graphical presentation.

Perhaps the most effective way to differentiate between the two positions is to establish a clear line that separates the roles and responsibilities of each position in the context of a Web-based project. This will, of course, vary from project to project and from person to person, but we can define a reasonable boundary which the average Web Designer and Web Developer will be comfortable with.

Who exactly is a Web Designer?
A web designer uses graphic design software like Adobe Photoshop, and Illustrator to create a look for the web. This design is then married with coding to bring it to life online. The designer may not always be the person writing the code and in some cases can work independently of the team who will take a website design live.
Much of a designer’s job is creative and uses both intuition and imagination, often characteristics of people who are considered right-brained. Designers collect work portfolios to showcase their projects for potential employers.
The best designers have a strong grasp on a variety of concepts including color and typography, special relationships, audience and user experience.

Who exactly is a Web Developer?
Web Developers are usually more technical in nature. They tend to have excellent problem-solving skills and are generally good at math. On a daily basis, a developer will write code in five or more different languages including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, ASP, ColdFusion, Ruby, Python, Perl, etc., and some flavor of SQL. Web Developers can usually be found wielding some kind of text editor or IDE, an FTP client, three or more web browsers, and development plug-ins such as Firebug. They frequent sites similar to the PHP manual, the Mozilla JavaScript reference, and the jQuery Documentation. A developer also knows what an API is and how to develop with it.

The best developers are often detail-oriented and are keen on specifics. Usually, they are completely different in their job. It is really common for Web Designers and Web Developers to be expected to take on tasks that are outside of their personal skill sets. But there is a very little number of people available in this stream that cans expertise in both which is far really common to find. Because designing a website along with its complete coding really hard to do for a single person.
Actually, the whole work process depends on both. A designer creates design and developer codes them to bring alive. So At the end of the day, both web designers and web developers are working toward a singular goal – to create a website or app that entices and attracts users. To do this, both the design and development must be sound. A site needs to look good and function properly. The colors and imagery need to reflect the brand and the interface needs to encourage visitors to take the desired action.