Web Design/Web Development: Who Does What?

Web design and web development are often used interchangeably. However, they are not the same thing, there are clear distinct differences between the two.
Here you will find how these two models work and the roles they play in the building of websites and apps.
Web Design
Design is more of a visual aspect and comprises putting together thoughts or concepts, and artistically placing them in a specific order for a specific action. And this largely depends on what the purpose of the project is for.
Web design is like design in that it presents the content on electronic web pages. Thus, people can access these pages via the Internet using a web browser such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, etc.
The different parts of web design include the layout, color, graphics, fonts, and content. These parts determine how a website looks and how users interact with it.
Web designers typically use design software (e.g., Adobe Photoshop), and/or have certain skill sets such as graphic design, logo design, typography, etc.
Web Development
Web development has two segments. The front-end and the back-end. The front-end/client-side of an application is the code responsible for shaping how the website will display a working sample of a designer’s web design.
The back-end/server-side of an app is responsible for handling information within the database and serving that data to the front-end to be displayed. In other words, a back-end developer is a programmer.
A web developer that deals with the back-end concentrates on the functionality of a website as well as how practical it is for visitors to navigate. For example, creating a website that allows customers to make purchases directly from a web page.
Front-end web developers have the following skills and use certain tools such as CSS, Frameworks, HTML, JavaScript, and libraries (i.e., jQuery) to build web pages.
Front-end web developers take the web designer’s mock up or sample and bring them to life. Even so, grasping what the designer is looking for involves some knowledge of best practices in both user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) design. As a result, the web developer can decide on which technology is suitable to convey the desired appearance of the end product.

The UI/UX Joke
Many companies are seeking individuals who are skilled in both user interface and user experience design. This is not a bad thing. Why? Because it makes you more marketable and opens a world of opportunities. It also makes communication between designers and developers smoother. They call individuals that have this ability, unicorns.
There’s a myth that such people really do exist. They are know as a unicorn.
The “unicorn” can take your design from the theoretical phase of visual samples or mock-ups, as a front-end developer without anyone else’s input. The benefit is that designers who can grasp skills from both sides of the design spectrum is invaluable.
Still, whether myth or not, being in web design or web development requires an expert skill set. As such, it is in the best interest of a business if those roles are clearly spelled out.

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