Difference Between Web Designer and Web Developer

The main difference between web designer and web developer is that the web designer creates the appearance of the website while the web developer does programming to develop the website. Therefore, a web designer should be imaginative, creative, and have excellent communication skills in addition to the technical skills on web designing while a web developer should have a logical mind and be knowledgeable on various programming languages and source code management tools.

World Wide Web consists of millions and millions of websites of various categories such as education, e-commerce, social networking. The demand for web-based carrier paths has also increased. Web designer and web developer are two such paths. These professions appear similar, but there is a difference. A web designer creates the look of the website. In contrast, a web developer builds the website. In some companies, the web developer performs the web designing task on his own. Other companies have web designers and web developers separately. It is important to have a good collaboration and coordination to build a successful application.

Key Areas Covered

1. Who is a Web Designer
     – Definition, Role, Skills
2. Who is a Web Developer
     – Definition, Role, Skills
3. Difference Between Web Designer and Web Developer
     – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

Careers, Web Designer, Web Developer

Who is a Web Designer

A web designer is a person who creates the appearance of the website. He performs styling pages, adding text, images, etc. He uses various software such as Adobe Photoshop, Sketch, Illustrator and InDesign to create an eye-catching website interface.

The web designer should have a variety of skills to carry on the designing process. He should be imaginative, creative and have excellent communication skills. Usually, web designers are from graphic designing and art fields but people from other backgrounds can also become web designers if they are creative and interested in the field.

Who is a Web Developer

Web developers use programming knowledge to build the web application. He starts building the web pages from the ground level until the completion of the whole website. A single developer can build a small to medium scale project but there should be multiple developers to handle a large scale application. Therefore, in software companies, there is a team of developers to complete the project.

A web developer has the knowledge of various programming languages such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, JQuery, Bootstrap, PHP, MySQL and source code management tools such as Git, SVN. He writes clean, efficient and maintainable code to develop the application. New web technologies are emerging daily. Therefore, it is important for a developer to update their skills and knowledge frequently.

Furthermore, it is essential for them to have an analytical mind and excellent communication skills other than technical skills. Usually, web developers can come from a background such as Computer Science, Information Technology or a related field.

Difference Between Web Designer and Web Developer

Definition

A web designer is a person who engages in creating the appearance of the website. A web developer is a programmer who engages in developing applications for the World Wide Web.

Task

The task of a web designer is to create the look of the website. On the other hand, the task of the web developer is to do programming to develop the website.

Industrial Skills

A web designer should have skills such as visual designing, user experience, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), marketing, Photoshop, Sketch, and Illustrator. It is better to have some basic knowledge of HTML and CSS as well. On the other hand, the web developer should have programming skills in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, MySQL, Ruby, Python and various tools such as SVN, GIT etc.

Soft Skills

A web designer should be imaginative, creative and have excellent communication skills. A web designer should have a logical mind and excellent soft skills other than the technical skills.

Conclusion

The main difference between web designer and web developer is that web designer creates the appearance of the website while web developer does programming to develop the website. In brief, both are interesting career paths.

Reference:

1.“Web Developer.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 15 June 2018, Available here.