As long as there have been websites, the idea of web design & development has existed. Because the process of creating websites was formerly more easier, it had a much simpler meaning.

You can clearly see just how much websites have advanced when you differentiate the first website, which launched in 1991, with modern webpages. Today, building and managing a website requires a larger ecosystem of responsibilities and skill sets and is more complicated.

It might be challenging for designers to understand their exact place in this environment.

Web Design

Color scheme, layout, information flow, and all other visual characteristics of the UI/UX (user interface and user experience) are within the purview of web design, which controls every aspect of a website’s visual appeal and usefulness. Some common tools and skills that differentiate the web designer from the web developer are:

  • Adobe Creative Suite (e.g., Photoshop, Illustrator) or other design software
  • Graphic design
  • UI design
  • UX design
  • Logo design
  • Layout/format
  • Placing call-to-action buttons
  • Branding
  • Wireframes, mock-ups, and storyboards
  • Color palettes
  • Typography

Web design is more focused on what the user sees on their screen or mobile device than it is on the technical foundations that enable it all to function. They give a digital experience alive by using colour, graphics, typography, and layout.

However, a lot of web designers are also comfortable with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. This is helpful when attempting to present an idea to the team or improve the UI/UX of an app because it allows you to make live mock-ups of a web app. Templating platforms like WordPress or Joomla!, which let you build websites using templates and widgets without creating a single line of code, are also often used by web designers.

Web Design Elements

For its users, web designers are always coming up with solutions. Users should be able to navigate websites easily and carry out their desired actions. A disgruntled user is less likely to remain on a website, much less return.

Because of this, every aspect of web design works to make the site as user-friendly as possible so that visitors will return time and time again and engage with it.

Layout: A website’s layout refers to how its header, navigation menu, footer, content, and images are arranged. The layout is determined by the goal of the website and how the web designer wishes the user to engage with it. An journalistic website would emphasis text and letter spacing, whereas a photographic website would prioritise large, attractive photographs.

Visual hierarchy: A user ought to be able to quickly find the data they want on a website. Visual hierarchy enters the scene at this point. The process of choosing which aesthetic elements of the website should stand out utilising size, colour, spacing, and other factors is known as visual hierarchy. This article’s headers serve as a simple illustration of visual hierarchy. They rapidly explain the subject of this post to you, the reader.

Navigation: With the use of navigational elements like menus, search bars, and site layout, users may go from point A to point B. Users may quickly and easily access the information they’re seeking for thanks to simple, effective navigation.

Color: Color adds individuality to a website, helps it stand out, and instructs visitors on what to do. The current identification of a business or the content of a website may influence the colour scheme (like how this plant website uses hues of green). An organised colour scheme lends structure to a website.

Graphics: The logos, symbols, and pictures that are present on a website are referred to as graphics. They ought to harmonise with the style, content, and colour scheme.

Speed: A user’s initial impression of a website is based on how quickly it loads. The likelihood is that the user won’t remain if it takes too long.

Accessibility: The accessibility of a website determines who may and cannot use it. Prioritizing accessibility guarantees that a website’s features are equally accessible to and usable by all users.

Web Development

The code that powers a website is governed by web development. It may be divided into front-end and back-end groups. The code that determines how a website will actually show the designs that a designer has mocked up is called the front-end or client-side of an application. An application’s back-end, or server-side, is in charge of controlling the data in the database and sending it to the front-end for display. As you might have anticipated, the role of the front-end developer tends to overlap the most with that of the web designer. Below is a list of some typical abilities and resources that are typically thought to be specific to front-end developers:

  • HTML/CSS/JavaScript
  • CSS preprocessors (i.e., LESS or Sass)
  • Frameworks (i.e., AngularJS, ReactJS, Ember)
  • Web template design
  • Libraries (i.e., jQuery)
  • Git and GitHub
  • On-site search engine optimization (SEO)

Mockups, font choices, and colour schemes are typically given by the designer rather than by front-end web developers. It is the developer’s responsibility to make those mock-ups a reality. However, in order for the developer to select the appropriate technology and achieve the intended look, feel, and experience in the finished product, they must have some knowledge of UI/UX design best practises. 

On the back-end of an application, back-end developers are in charge of managing the business logic and data. They create the APIs and routes that let data move between an application’s front and back ends. The following is a list of programming languages and tools specific to back-end developers:

  • Server-side programming languages (e.g., PHP, Python, Java, C#)
  • Server-side web development frameworks (e.g., Ruby on Rails, Symfony, .NET)
  • Database management systems (e.g., MySQL, MongoDB, PostgreSQL)
  • RESTful APIs
  • Authentication and security (e.g., OAuth, PassportJS)
  • Servers (e.g., Linux, Apache, Express)
  • Web developers who possess a working knowledge across the frontend and backend of a technology stack are called full-stack developers.

Web designers vs. web developers

Let’s examine the main distinctions between web designers and web developers now that we’ve demonstrated that web design and web development are two different fields.

Majority of web-designers do not code

The overall appearance and effect of a website are the responsibility of web designers. They may make pictures using a visual editor like Photoshop or layouts and high-fidelity mockups using an app prototype and animation tool like InVision Studio. However, none of these primary duties call for programming.

Web designers may use their visual skills to develop your website without knowing how to code thanks to the rise of content management systems (CMS) like WordPress and no-code website builders like Wix. This goes beyond their conventional job as visual designers.

Web developers don’t produce assets

The coders with the coding expertise required to increase a website’s functionality are known as web developers. Using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, they convert the wireframes and mockups of the designer into code. The pictures used as the background for buttons, colour palettes, and typefaces are examples of visual assets that web developers often don’t have to produce themselves. To include them into the page, they only need to employ code.

In general, web developers cost more than web designers.

Employing a web developer is typically more expensive than hiring a web designer. Supply and demand are probably the main causes of this mismatch; there are more designers than developers, and coding as a whole is a highly in-demand ability. The disparity between rates narrows as coding becomes more commonplace across the skill pool. Whether you hire developers or designers, you are paying for experience when it comes to competence.

What does a web development and design company do?

You get the best of both worlds when you work with an agency that specialises in both web design and development.

To start with, you have a team of individuals working to ensure that your website reflects your corporate identity and appears contemporary. Second, you may be confident that your website will accomplish your goals.

You want a video on your homepage, right? On that, designers and developers can collaborate. Do you want to make narrative interactive graphs? The same is true for designers and developers.

In order for more people to find you when they use Google, Bing, or another search engine, your team will probably includes SEO (search engine optimization) in your web design package if you select a full-service firm. Since organic search is thought to account for more than half of all website traffic, SEO is crucial.

Your website must be attractive, offer a positive user experience, and be search engine optimised in order to be successful. All of these requirements will be ensured by a competent design and development team.

In order to create the website you’ve always wanted, your web design team—which is often lead by a project manager—will consult with you to determine your goals and preferences. They’ll take the time to learn about your industry and its rivals, so you can be sure that your website accurately represents your agency.

Why not employ both a designer and a coder if you’re debating which to choose? Alternately, you might employ a group of accomplished web design and development experts to do the task.

The unicorn is a web developer as well as a web designer.

Thanks to the expansion of instructional materials available online, what was once an industry joke—the designer/developer hybrid who could do it now a realistic endpoint for both web designers and front-end developers.

Developers and designers that are adept at both ends of the skill range are in great demand in the business. The “unicorn” can complete front-end development on their own, taking your project from the creative stage of graphic mock-ups and storyboards.

Not that you’d want them to, but the ability to communicate each other’s languages is what gives developers and designers genuine worth. This ensures that you come up with the best answer possible in addition to improving team communication and streamlining productivity.

For modest projects when it’s possible for one or two individuals to manage both the back and front ends of an application, feel free to depend on the “unicorn” as a general guideline. Even if you are able to find a few “unicorns” for larger projects, more definite responsibilities are still needed.

Why is responsive web design necessary?

You don’t need to maintain separate websites for PCs and phones thanks to responsive web design, which saves a huge amount of time and money.

When all of your website’s streams point to a single URL rather than a variety of URLs, responsive web design helps to increase SEO (search ranking) for your website. Due to the merging of data from mobile and desktop visitors, your Google Analytics reports will show a more accurate picture of how your site is being used. This also applies to social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and others that use metrics (like share).

When a website has to be updated but doesn’t involve the server-side, responsive design makes it simple to do so. All you have to do is modify the HTML and CSS to adapt the interface or layout to fit different devices.

Conclusion

In conclusion, in the tech-driven world, the utilisation of website creation and design will increase. We hope this post was helpful to you and that it has given you additional knowledge about website design and blogging. 

If you are searching for a reliable partner who knows how to leverage offshoring to grow your company, this article will help you a lot in understanding the concept of web design and development. We will provide you with this great website development and design knowledge.