People know what a website is. However, they need to understand the differences between web design and web development from a technical viewpoint. The same goes for digital marketers and their content team members because they must let everyone know what lies beneath the surface.
Both web design and web development have evolved. They have become quite better and have improved with time. Hotmail was once slow, chunky, and blocky. Now known as live.com, it is user-friendly and has become streamlined. It also loads quickly. Gmail has surged ahead and now ProtonMail is becoming even better.
Where do today’s websites stand now?
Both web design and web development have come quite far in comparison to websites and the disciplines in the past. They have evolved and websites have become more streamlined, quick-loading, fun to interact with, and pleasant as well.
Industry experts and professionals explain that both web designers and web developers have differing roles but somehow work together. Their objective is to get a website live online without any barriers.
Learning about both web design and web development from a theoretical perspective
Before we delve any further, let us understand the difference between web design and web development.
The definition of web design and the work of web designers
The core focus of web design is on making numerous graphical elements for use in websites. Web designers can make ads, user interfaces (UI), logos, infographics, and other needed media. Yet their main objective is creating a worthwhile visual look and feel for websites. Here are some of their tasks:
- Making prototypes for wireframe designs.
- Creating home pages, internal pages, and landing pages.
- They often work in collaboration with web developers and project managers to make and redesign websites.
Web designers often work on websites with a focus on making a worthwhile user experience (UX) for website visitors utilizing a top-class user interface (UI). Tools like Adobe Illustrator, Figma, and Adobe Photoshop are among many used for creating a website’s visual elements.
User Interface (UI) design is a sub-field of mainstream web design. Some companies use this name for web design teams. The main objective is to ensure that everything a company makes always keeps users in mind. UI designers make sure websites are workable and responsive on various devices with a layout that is user-friendly and practical.
Understanding web development 101
Web developers work on the coding and technical aspects of websites. They make the visual elements go hand in hand with the website’s technical elements. For this purpose, they use different kinds of programming languages, especially Java, HTML, PHP, and others for developing a website’s core and other functions.
When it comes to making a website useful, it might refer to things like the result of a website visitor’s action when they click on a particular link to go to a particular page along with the way the main navigation loads when users scroll through it or scroll throughout the site.
Web developers can use content management systems (CMS) to get any website live on the internet and for making technical amendments too. Some of the common ones are as under:
- Drupal.
- Joomla.
- Magento.
- WordPress.
Apart from website development, web developers also work on maintaining the website. Hence, conducting tasks like CMS updates and upgrades, managing security, and provision of web support for any issues that can arise.
Web design and web development work together. They may be two distinct areas but they work in sync. There is no rivalry between these two because both these divisions and fields work together to deliver seamless and smooth websites that look and work great across multiple platforms.
What role do digital agencies play in providing web design and development services to clients?
When firms hire either web design, web development, or full-service digital marketing agencies, the advantage they receive is the best of both worlds. They work with teams of dedicated professionals ensuring the website not only has the best modern looks but also works well and is a representative of the brand’s true identity.
Websites should be worth the investment. If not, then the investment put into it is hence an investment that has melted and wilted away. Animations and Interactive infographics are similar and different at the same time. They can be added to websites with ease if they are required.
Companies that work with full-service digital agencies get the best of multiple worlds. They get to work with web design and development teams for custom websites, and will also get the website optimized online on numerous search engines with the right keywords.
Whether they want the site to be optimized for Bing, Google, StartPage, or Yahoo, the digital marketing teams at the full-service digital agencies will do proper keyword research and optimize the websites for the same too. They will further help clients decide if they want to go for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) or Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising for promoting their website.
For companies to earn success through their websites, there are some things to consider: The website should look good, should be worth its money through a top-notch user experience, it should also load in the fastest time possible and should be optimized for search engines.
Professionals from a Digital marketing company in Dubai stress on web design and development teams to produce websites that not only have a great design but also that are developed properly. Those sites must meet all the required criteria to ensure the websites are on the right track.
Over to you
Both web design and development teams work under project managers and divisional heads to ensure things are on the right track. They will balance the expectations of the clients with realistic measures, will determine what they desire, and try their best with the design and development teams to produce a final product that will delight everyone.
Project managers can take time to understand a client and its competitors. This indicates that businesses will be confident in websites developed in line with their requirements and specifications.