The Differences between a web designer and a web developer

Are you wondering if you need a web designer or a web developer for your website?  This could depend on your business’s priorities and budget. Small to medium businesses with limited budgets often look for a single professional with a hybrid skillset, while larger companies tend to hire more specialised individuals with in-depth knowledge in their chosen field. 

Before you decide on who you should hire, you should make sure you have a good understanding of the differences between a web designer and a web developer.

What is a web designer?

A web designer is someone who creates a visually appealing and user-friendly website layout that encourages site visitors to engage with you. Their main goal revolves around designing a website’s layout and visual aspects. In addition to the above, they also need to consider constructing site conversion-generating elements (such as CTA buttons, testimonials, social proof etc ) and web pages all while adhering to company branding and identity.

Web Designers focus on the style, layout and overall feel of the website by using software like Photoshop, Corel Draw, etc to make the website more attractive. Web designers can be broken down into three different types:

UX designers help to ensure the website is structured in a way that engages site visitors and delivers a positive user experience, by creating human-centric designs that are based on data-driven decisions. This involves conducting a lot of research and testing on how people use websites to gather and analyse data, this data is then used in their final design choices.

UI designers play an important role in the design of a website. In addition to the experience it provides, it also prioritises website user interactions. More specifically, their role is to enhance the usability of a website and optimise it in a way that helps encourage site visitors to engage with the website.

Visual designers, as the title suggests, these designers work with the layout and visual elements of a website. This work combines certain aspects of both UX and UI design, web design and sometimes graphic design. The duties of a visual designer are based on ensuring that the user interface is both aesthetically pleasing and easy to use,  the user experience is engaging and delivers a positive site experience, as well as designing digital branding and optimising graphics for websites.

Web designers need to stay updated on the latest web design trends and adhere to certain standards and best practices. At the very least a good web designer would need to be skilled in the following:

  • HTML and CSS knowledge
  • Understanding the principles of website design and web accessibility standards
  • Responsive and interaction design
  • Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) 
  • User journey mapping 
  • Wireframing and prototyping 
  • Branding, colour theory, and typography 
  • Design tools and software

Several non-technical skills are important for web designers to have. For example, strong communication skills are necessary for properly communicating with clients to set and manage expectations, as well as having the ability to collaborate with others on a team, such as web developers, is important for ensuring that each project goes as smoothly as possible. 

What is a web developer?

A web developer is someone who builds and maintains the core structure of a website. Their role involves a lot of technical work, including using complex coding and advanced programming languages. They take a design created by a web designer and convert that design into a fully functioning website. This includes coding and configuring the server and databases on the back end, as well as incorporating user-facing features and functionality. They also perform testing, and debugging of code and may handle an array of post-launch services, such as providing ongoing tech support, website maintenance, website management and resolving webserver or hosting issues.

Typically, web developers focus on a handful of programming languages. The languages they use will depend on the type of web development work they do and can be broken down into the following types:

Front-end developers who code the actual website using CSS, HTML, JavaScript, and other languages, as well as Content Management Systems (CMS) such as WordPress. Front-end development, also known as client-side development, largely involves coding and programming the visual elements of a website that site visitors will see and engage with. As such, there is a fair amount of overlap and collaboration between front-end developers and web designers.

Back-end developers code the database and server using advanced programming languages such as PHP, C#, Java, Ruby, and SQL, as well as NodeJS and other server-side frameworks. Back-end development, also known as server-side development, mainly encompasses the aspects of the website happening ‘behind the scenes’, which site visitors don’t see from the front end.

Full-stack web developers can design and build complete web applications and websites. They work on the frontend, backend, database, and debugging of web applications or websites.

At the very least, a web developer needs to be knowledgeable in the following:

  • Coding and programming languages such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP
  • JavaScript frameworks like jQuery
  • Testing and debugging of code
  • Back-end programming and database management
  • Content Management Systems (WordPress, etc.)
  • Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

In addition to the above technical skills, most web developers should have some non-technical skills. This includes having strong problem-solving and analytical thinking skills, which can be useful during the debugging process, and having solid communication and collaboration skills for working with clients and other key parties (such as web designers, content creators, social media managers and SEO developers). 

Both web designers and web developers play a critical role in designing, building and maintaining websites. It is important to understand what your needs are before hiring a web designer or web developer. After all, you want to find the right person with the right skills for your project. 

Generally speaking, a web developer or hybrid developer/designer, with extensive coding knowledge, would be able to provide deeper customisation and functionality to your web project, they should also be able to help with site maintenance/management and tech support if something goes wrong, but if your website’s appearance is of primary importance then a web designer may be the better option for your project. 

However, if you are an enterprise-level business that requires both customised functionality and a highly sophisticated design for your website, you may be better off hiring a team or agency that includes both a web designer and a web developer.