Web Designer vs Web Developer: What’s the Difference?
A web designer is a graphic artist who is responsible for designing the layout, usability, and visual appearance of a website. A web developer is someone who builds and maintains the core structure of a website.
A successful web designer must possess an array of creative, graphic, and technical skills.
A web developer is s tasked with converting the web design into a functional website, using coding languages such as HTML, JavaScript, PHP, and Python.
If you’re considering a career is the web designer or developer, you’ll need a deep understanding of the different roles, as well as the required qualifications and skill sets. You should also consider factors such as the average wage, career growth opportunities, and the different types of web designers and developers.
In this guide, we’ll break down the role of a web designer vs. a web developer, and we’ll also discuss how you might go about choosing between the two paths. Let’s get started!
The Role of a Web Designer
Web designers have a varied set of tasks and responsibilities. However, a designer’s role revolves around creating the layout and visual aspects of a website.
Their goal is often to make sure the site is both visually pleasing and user friendly and encourages visitors to stay around for as long as possible. In addition to the general framework and layout structure, this also means considering and constructing conversion-generating elements, as well as designing web pages in a way that translates well across various devices.
Web designers need to stay updated on the latest web design trend and adhere to certain standards and best practices. They often deal with brand image, color palettes, fonts, and so on.
There are a handful of other key documents and resources that designers are charged with creating, administering, and overseeing. This includes: 
- Web design contract
- Website brief
- Website design questionnaires
- Website proposal
There’s also a fair amount of research and testing involved in a web designer’s job. It’s important to make sure the website is designed in a way that meets users’ expectations and client specifications.
Additionally, a web designer will need to consider how their design affects the coding of the website. Designers create a site structure and makeup. which developers then bring to life by coding the site.
Web designers’ work typically also includes some post launch services. They may provide content creation and updates, maintenance and monitoring services, and ongoing performance checks.
A web developer’s primary job is to build and maintain the core structure of a website. Their role involves a lot of technical work, including using complex coding and advanced programming languages. In a nutshell, they take the ideas and concepts laid out by designers and turn them into real, live, and fully-functioning websites.
To better understand the role of a web developer, it might help to compare it to another field, such as construction. A web developer is to a website what a construction company is to a new house. The developer takes the design plans and blueprints drafted by the architect (web designer) and lays the foundation to ensure that there is a functional, sound structure in place.
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