Web Designers Vs. Web Developers - Do You Know the Difference?

A lot of work can be involved in designing an interactive website. Nowadays the number of people involved in developing the web can range from just 1 to an entire team of 10-15  people. There are multiple professionals involved in successfully launching a website like web designers, web developers, content writers, SEO analysts etc. Among all these, people often get confused between web designers and developers. Although they seem similar to people from non-technical background yet, web designers and web developers have a large number of differences in both skill set and job roles. So how exactly is web design different from web development? Let us first understand what these roles are and then we will dive into further details:

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Who is a Web Designer?

A web designer creates the user experience of the website or application. A web designer needs to have good knowledge about color schemes, user psychology, design patterns etc. A web designers toolkit includes Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Canva etc. The job of a web designer involves creating the interface of the website. This interface can just be a picture depicting the layout or a full fledged code using HTML, CSS, and Javascript. The work of web designers can vary on a large scale. In the case of web designers, their profile matters more than their qualifications. Recruiters often ask for their work on sites like Behance or Dribble.

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Who is a Web Developer?

A web developer is a person who works on the technical side of a web app/website. There are two types of web developers, front-end, and back-end. Front-end developers focus more on the UI/UX of the application. Their role is similar to that of a web designer. The difference between a web designer and web developer lies mainly on the backend part. A backend web developer creates functionality in the web app. He specializes in coding and knows languages and frameworks like Django in Python, Codeigniter in PHP etc. A web developer needs to have good analytical and logical skills to write good code and bring out more usability into the app.

The Similarities between Web Designer and Web Developer:

Web designer and developers both require some level of coding knowledge. The work of a developer requires heavy coding but a designer needs to have a basic knowledge of code to understand the basics of web design. Another similarity between the two is that both of them focus on web development as a whole. The designer needs to create a design that is handy and supports all the backend functionality. On the other hand, the developer needs to write code so that it is streamlined with the front-end UI. There exists a high level of interdependency between the two.

Web Designer vs. Web Developer - The Key Differences:

• A web designer focuses on the look and feel of the website while a developer focuses on the functionality and inner workings.
• Web designers need to be expert in design languages like HTML, CSS, and Javascript while web developer needs to be proficient in coding languages like PHP, Java, Python, Ruby on Rails etc.
• A web designer creates his professional portfolio on sites like Behance and Dribble while web developer creates his presence on sites like Github and StackOverflow.
• Web designers are skilled in design and UI while web developers are skilled in creating solutions using logics and algorithms.
• Web developers earn usually more than web designers. According to Payscale average salary of a web developer is $58,144 while that of a designer is $48,658 annually.
• To become a web developer you need to go through a lot of studies related to computer science. While to become a web designer you need to be creative. The languages and tools required for web design can be learned easily without much support.

A Note on Full Stack Developers:

So now that we have seen the difference between web designers and web developers only one question remains - what if someone knows both. Such programmers are called full stack developers. They are the developers who have knowledge of both frontend and backend development. They are skilled enough to create an entire application or website on their own. The market demand for such developers is very high as they can easily understand the perspectives of both the sides. With a massive competition, the demand for full stack developers is on a constant rise as they are able to coordinate well between different sides of development.

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