Within the past 20 years, both web design and web development have achieved quite a lot. One of the finest examples to look at is Apple’s own website. This is how we can realize how far the world has come in terms of websites.

It takes a dedicated team of professionals to design, develop, test, debug, and launch a polished website. Moreover, there are two things we will talk about here i.e. web designers and web developers. 

While designers and developers often work together, their tasks are not the same i.e. are different. But, they work together. At times there are professionals who work as both web designers and developers. Yet their tasks and skill sets are different in comparison to the mainstream roles.

Between web design and web development, What is the difference

The key difference between web design and web development lies in the focus of these two disciplines. The former focuses on a website’s aesthetics (look and feel) whilst the latter focuses on bringing the aesthetics to life via coding and programming languages.

Defining web design

We first start with defining web design:

Web design focuses on making various graphical elements for online use. If businesses or companies desire infographics, ads, logos, etc. on a website, they will get it done. Yet the core focus of web designers is on the visual look and feel of a website. Here are some of their general tasks:

• Wireframe design prototyping.
• Making home pages, inner pages, and landing pages.
• Collaborating with developers and project managers to create and redesign

When web designers start working on websites, they usually focus on creating a top-notch user experience (UX) for the website’s visitors. Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and other relevant software are the tools they use for making elements of a  website.

User Experience (UX) design is an aspect of web design and development that ensures everything created by designers and developers keeps users in mind. Their professionals are UX designers, who ensure websites work on all devices. Also, the layout is practical and user-friendly. 

Web designers do have a bit of knowledge regarding HTML and CSS coding. Yet their work is mostly about a website’s appearance.

Defining web development

Web developers focus on bringing a website’s aesthetics to life using programming and coding. They will use a variety of programming languages such as PHP, Java, and HTML for develop a website’s core functionalities.

Functionality pertains to when a user clicks a button to see its function, or how the main navigation loads when a user either scrolls or clicks on it.

A developer can work with a content management system to get the website online and make it available to both visitors and users. Here are some common content management systems:

• Drupal.
• Joomla.
• Magento.
• WordPress.

A large part of a web developer’s work often focuses on maintaining websites. Hence tasks like updating a content management system (CMS), managing website security, and providing web support for issues that pop up.

Those who wish to improve their website, need to think of both web design and web development as essential areas working in sync. It is never a scene of rivalry. In short, companies must understand how to design a website and have a modern one working for all users.

What do web design and development agencies do?

Whenever a company hires a dedicated web design agency working on both web design and web development, the good part is that companies are able to receive the benefits of both design and development from experienced professionals.

It is possible in this way. First, the team of people is dedicated to ensuring the website is in line with modern practices and is able to resonate with the brand’s identity. Second, the website can do what the brand wants it to do (sales, navigation, customer service, brand equity). 

Those who desire sustainable animations or interactive graphs for storytelling or revealing worthwhile information can have them published on the website.

Companies that hire a full-service agency will also get Search Engine Optimization (SEO) done for their website. This can help the site be promoted and marketed on StartPage, Google, Bing, and other search engines. It will help attract web traffic from organic searches.

The website should hence look good, provide a good user experience, feel good and work well This is where top-notch design and development teams ensure all of these criteria are fulfilled and the website is hence successful.

Conclusion

Both web design and development teams will be led and managed by a project manager. They will work together with clients in determining their needs and help them make their desired websites. They will also do their best to understand the business, market, competitors, and business environment.

The website will also be tested for proper functioning. Once it is working well, the hosting setup will also be decided and hence the site will be ready for launch. Once it is launched, it will be maintained properly to ensure it does not ever go down.