Here's a look at the differences so you can determine

which one is best for you.

Millions of people use websites every day. For a business, a website is important to help find you when searching for a product or service. It also establishes your credibility and allows the users a chance to get to know you better. Many times, your website is your first impression on a potential new customer. Done right, it should intrigue them, build trust and leave the customer with a good experience. 
 

Working Together

I know the title of this blog makes it sound like a designer and developer are about to step into the ring but let me assure you - they work together quite nicely. Web designers and Web developers can work together to create websites that are very beneficial to both the business and the customer. Although their skills can somewhat overlap, their jobs can differ as they have different specialties. Web designers focus on the visual aspect and content, while the developer is focused on how to make it all happen and come together. Both aim for the outcome to be a great user experience. 

Web Designers 

Web designers focus on the user experience. A few of the designer's concerns are the site's usability, how it's laid out and whether it's visually appealing or not. They take into consideration how the website is going to be impactful for the business - using branding, typography and color theory. They often use design tools and software for wireframing and prototyping. A web designer must understand user journey mapping, in other words - how the site is going to be user-friendly. Their job is also to make sure the site has a responsive and interactive design, while giving necessary information to the user. 

Web Developers

Web developers have the responsibility of taking the ideas and concepts laid out by a web designer and coding them into a fully functioning website. Developers use a variety of different software tools and write in coding languages like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Ruby and Python. These languages are important in creating "front-end and back-end development" - those are developer terms for a user interface that is not only fully functioning and responsive, but also the architecture that supports it. Let me translate further: everything you can't see on a website that allows a database and an application to communicate. There is a third type of web developer as well: full-stack developers who can code both the front and back ends. Web developers have some serious technical knowledge.

Which one is best for you? 

Only you can answer that. Web designers and developers may initially sound very similar, but they actually have very different skill sets. Designers and developers will often work alongside each other or in collaboration to make a project come to life.

There will be cases in which a company requires a website to operate in such a way that is outside the possibilities provided by a user-friendly building platform. This is where a developer can make it happen. Using their knowledge of coding, they can instruct the computer to do what they want it its own language.

Today, there are so many user-friendly building platforms whose features are boundless and more than enough for a majority of businesses - if you know how to use them and take advantage of all they have to offer.

That is where a web designer such as myself comes in! Less expensive than hiring a web developer, a web designer that knows what they're doing can utilize a building & hosting platform to design AND create a website that hits all the marks! Along with their other skills in brand development, marketing and content.