The Difference Between Web Development and Web Design

Web designers design how the website looks and feels. They model the layout of the website, making sure it’s logical, user-friendly and pleasant to use. They consider all the different visual elements: what colour schemes and fonts will be used? What buttons, drop-down menus and scrollbars should be included, and where? What interactive touch points does the user interact with to get from point A to B? Web design also considers the information architecture of the website, establishing what content will be included and where it should be placed.

Imagine a web designer and web developer working together to build a car: the developer would take care of all the functional components, like the engine, the wheels and the gears, while the designer would be responsible for both the visual aspects — how the car looks, the layout of the dashboard, the design of the seats — and for the user experience provided by the car, so whether or not it’s a smooth drive.

Web Development

Web development is the process of building websites and applications for the internet, or for a private network known as an intranet. Web development is not concerned with the design of a website; rather, it’s all about the coding and programming that powers the website’s functionality.

From the most simple, static web pages to social media platforms and apps, from ecommerce websites to content management systems (CMS); all the tools we use via the internet on a daily basis have been built by web developers.

Web development can be broken down into three layers: client-side coding (frontend), server-side coding (backend) and database technology.

Web Design

A web designer works on the appearance, layout, and, in some cases, content of a website. Appearance, for instance, relates to the colors, font, and image used. Layout refers to how information is structured and categorized. A good web design is easy to use, aesthetically pleasing, and suits the user group and brand of the website. Many web pages are designed with a focus on simplicity, so that no extraneous information and functionality that might distract or confuse users appears. As the keystone of a web designer’s output is a site that wins and fosters the trust of the target audience, removing as many potential points of user frustration as possible is a critical consideration.