Does your project need a web designer or a web developer?

If a web design agency is fairly big, there may be several people of different talents who will work on your new web design, including a web designer and web developer. Which, to those who don’t know any better, may think is pretty much the same thing. When in fact, even though they do work side-by-side, they both offer something individually.

However, these two sets of specialists are very different and will provide you with different outcomes depending on what your project is. To give you a clearer vision of who it is you may need to hire for your new website, we’re explaining the differences as well as how they actually work together.

The Difference Between A Web Designer and a Web Developer
When it comes to the overall aesthetic of your website, your web designer is there to ensure that your site looks good. It’s their job to oversee how the whole thing works and that each element of your website does exactly what you want it to do. Their main focus is on the styling of the website and making sure it’s visually pleasing for both you and your customers.

They’ll use their skills to create eye-catching and unique designs so that you’ll stand out and will always come up with new ways to keep your user engaged and directing them towards a conversion. Whether it’s signing up to a mailing list or adding something to their basket, the web designer will try their best to make it easier to happen. They’ll usually delve into your target audience and what makes them tick so that they can tailor the website towards exactly what they are looking for.

Web designers will usually work with graphic design software, such as Photoshop, to create assets for your website. Their job is mostly creative as they are looking from a design point of view, but they must use intuition to ensure your website works functionally.

Then we have a web developer, whose main job is to build the web designers ideas from the ground up. They essentially take the design created alongside any elements that have already been built and fit the pieces together so that it becomes a fully functioning website. There are two main types of web developers, back-end and front-end.

Back-end developers look at the basic, core structure of a website. This work is not particularly ‘seen’ by the end user as their work is often done on web servers and databases, but they are important when creating a website that actually functions correctly. Front-end developers are those who are more connected to the web design as they are responsible for creating exactly what the end user will see and interact with.

Web developers usually work with all kinds of ‘languages’, including HTML, Javascript and JQuery to name only a few. Their aim isn’t to make something essentially look appealing, but to ensure the coding that is used is clean and technically works well. They are often more logical with their thinking so that websites function as best as they can.

How They Can Work Together
Of course, depending on your project you may just need one or the other but having both working on a project can be of benefit to you. If you have the core structure of your website already there, you may just need a web designer. However, if you’re wanting to build something unique, having both a developer and a designer will be required.

Are you unsure of what you need? Give us a call on 0191 244 9976 today or send us a message and we can help you figure out what it is that you would need.