What’s The Difference Between Web Design And Web Development?
Note: This content was first posted on ScottOstrander.com.
You might think that web design and web development are the same. But the truth is they aren’t. These terms are often used in place of one another. And knowing the difference between them matters if you own a website. It’s also good to know if you’re in the market for a website.
There are similarities between web design and web development. Yet it’s important to know the differences between them. Web development is a broad field that includes web design. But web design itself is about the visual aesthetic and user interaction. Both contribute to the creation of websites, web apps, and mobile apps.
This post provides a brief overview of web design and web development. You’ll learn about unique qualities, tasks, and tools associated with each field. And I hope you’ll walk away from it with a better understanding of each one.
Before you continue, what do you think are the differences between web development and web design?
Web Design
Web design is the planning and creation of content distributed on the world wide web. It includes what you see and interact with in your Internet browser. And web designers are responsible for making this happen.
It’s important because it communicates valuable and relevant content with site visitors. After all, one purpose of the Internet is to share information. And web design helps to fulfill this purpose by following a set of design principles.
Principles of design help to produce aesthetically pleasing websites. Web designers also use them to ensure a high quality user experience. Some examples of design principles include contrast, balance, consistency, and unity.
When a web designer begins a project, they consider how the website will look and function. Both of these elements affect the site visitors experience. Factors such as page design, site navigation, and accessibility are all considered.
Web designers use software to design for the web. Some common applications are Adobe Creative Cloud, WordPress, Sketch, and GIMP. And in recent years, popular web based apps like Squarespace and Wix fulfill a niche in web design. Skills like graphic design, logo design, UI and UX design also contribute to web design.
Web Development
Web development is a broad term for the overall development of websites and web apps. And web design is a subcategory of web development. But web development is most associated with the non-design aspects of making websites. Primary skills in the field of web development are coding and markup. These skills use languages such as Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS).
Like web design, web development’s importance is about the sharing of information. It’s the foundation for sharing content across the world since 1989. And web development is significant because of the massive size and use of the Internet.
Within web development there are 3 areas of specialization. Front-end developers focus on the visual attributes of a website. Back-end developers focus on it’s functionality. And people with skills in both areas are full-stack developers. Each one uses programming languages to build websites, web apps, and mobile apps.
Web developers use Internet browsers and specialized software to build for the web. Well known browsers are Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Apple Safari, and Mozilla Firefox. And each has developer tools that extend functionality. For coding, many developers use text editors such as Sublime Text, Brackets, and Atom. And some use an IDE (integrated development environment) for additional features.
Summary
Within web development, web design is part of its front-end developer specialization. As a result, some web designers may also consider themselves front-end developers. Each worker in web development will self-identify based on unique skill sets they use.
Both web design and web development are necessary for the creation of websites. And web designers and developers contribute equally to them. But each field has different purposes to fulfill the existence of the world wide web.
In my work, I’m known as a web designer. But I also have skills specific to web development. In some cases I use the same tool to do work for both fields. And I regularly expand my knowledge and skills to do better work.
What do you think about web design and web development? Is there anything that you learned or want to explore further?
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