Web Development and Web Design – Know the Difference

The terms web development and web design are used interchangeably. They are sometimes even used synonymously. But the big fact is that these two job roles are way different from each other. If you are a person who is planning on studying or taking up a career in either of these fields, it is a must for you to know what makes them different. The first step towards that is to understand these terms individually.

What is web Development?

It is a broad term and involves developing websites for a large or small network. This can mean the internet (World Wide Web) or the intranet (private networks for individuals). Development can range from developing the simplest static single pages from managing and developing plain text to the most complex web-based internet applications.

The comprehensive list of tasks that fall under this category includes web engineering, web content development, client liaison, client-side/server-side scripting, web server and network security configuration, and e-commerce development. It refers mainly to the non-aesthetic aspects of the web such as writing codes and working with mark-ups.

Understanding the Design Methodology

It refers to the tasks involved in creating a web page. Those involve planning, creation and updation of websites. Apart from this, it also includes website layout, website structure, information architecture and management of user interface. Simply put, it refers to the process of designing web pages which are HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) driven to be displayed over the World Wide Web.

Although web design has a fairly recent history, it can be linked to other areas such as graphic designing. Apart from the aesthetic point of view, it can also be viewed from a technological standpoint. It has become a vital part of our daily lives. Can you imagine the internet without animations, graphics, animations, colors, different typographic styles and music? Absolutely not, right? So now we know that all this is thanks to web designing.

Points of Difference between Web Design and Development

• Designis more of a designing job whereas  development means a lot of codes and programming
• Colors and aesthetics play a larger role in designwhereas programming languages play a major role in web development
• Designis divided into domains such as 2D design, 3D design and animation and web development domains include client and server side coding, content development and configuration of the web server
• The windows software used in web designing are Photo Shop, Inkscape, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, etc. whereas BlueFish, Screem, Aptana, Komodo, etc. are used in web development

Linux software used in web design are Xpaint, Scribus and ImageMagic, Netbeans, Eclipse and Oxigen are used in web development

• Mac software such as Blender and DAZ Studio are used in web designand Delta Walker, Espresso, Navicat and CSS Edit are used in web development
• Designers design icons whereas developers add the respective codes to make the icon work
• Designing deals with front-end work such as designing web pages, fonts, placing the right colors, animations and graphics whereas development involves back-end work such as codes and programs
• Web designing is visible to users whereas development work is visible only to the programmers
• Web designers are usually right-brained (artistic and creative) whereas web developers are left-brained (logical and calculative)

Having looked at the points of distinction, let’s look at the reasons behind why these two terms are often confused:

• Many web designers have a certain amount of knowledge about web development and vice versa
• There are some software programs which possess the features of both web design and web development
• These two terms sound the same and are used commonly by people
• Above all, it is the ignorance of individuals

Hope the above points provided proper insights into the difference between web design and web development. Now, let’s look at the traits of these professionals.

Web designer

• Technically sound
• Logical thinkers
• Optimistic
• Persistent
• Artistic
• Sound interpersonal skills
• Skilled in communicating effectively
• Pro-active workers

Web developer

• Scholarly know-it-all
• Extensive reader
• Hardcore computer geek
• Analytical
• Patient
• Receptive

In short, the roles of both web designers and web developers are vital to the smooth functioning of the front-end and back-end operations of the web. After all, both of them work towards making the internet functional, beautiful and inspiring.
Pic courtesy: www.pixabay.com