Web Developer or Web Designer: Things to Know Before You Hire

Web developers are often confused with web designers and the major difference is that both careers are similar. They somewhat complement each other when creating sites but differences do exist. If you are wondering whether you should hire a designer or developer separately, you need to study the differences between them and decide. While the developers work on making a site functional, the designers need to add features to the site to improve it aesthetically.

Understand the role of a web developer

While the basic difference between a web developer and a designer is known to all, people are also familiar that these professionals work hand in hand. You need to understand the primary role of the developer at first. Here is what you need to know.

• The primary task of a web developer is to build functional websites to provide users with an unforgettable experience. They consider the design and turn it into reality. So, they are into the technical aspects of the site and loaded with knowledge of programming languages. Naturally, they need to have a good grasp of the programming languages like Java, Ruby, and PHP and understand the functioning of the internet thoroughly.
• Based on your requirements and preferences, you can choose front-end developers who are highlyskilled in creating a smooth user experience and user interface and need to work with web designers along the way.
• The back-end developers ensure that the website runs efficiently through server maintenance. So, hiring them ensures that data runs efficiently from the front-end to the back-end throughout the site.

Know the responsibilities

The primary responsibilities of a web developer are:

• Writing  effective codes and creating sites using CSS, HTML, and JavaScript
• Work with the project manager and the web designer closely
• Maintain documentation of software

Knowledge of the developer

The web developer should know of:

• HTML/CSS
• Debugging and testing front-end and back-end
• Responsive design at the front-end
• Code versioning and JavaScript both front-end and back-end
• SEO both front-end and back-end

Despite the difference in skills between front-end and back-end developers, both should know the basics and communicate with each other to let the site excel. Every web developer needs to be familiar with libraries and frameworks to ease the front-end and back-end solutions with real ease. The development environment should help them handle everyday tasks and streamline the coding process. Finally, they need to maintain the website and ensure that it runs efficiently.

Role of a web designer

A web designer is the one cooking up the visual flow, typography, and color scheme. They are the ones to lend the ultimate look to your website pages using applications like Photoshop and Illustrator. They may also integrate animations or videos to give life to the design. While working on improving the user experience, the designers need to have basic knowledge of programming and coding languages like Java, CSS, and HTML.

Responsibility of a web designer

The responsibility of a web designer is:

• Preparing concepts of creative ideas
• Testing and designing the website
• Creating features and functionalities for the site

Skills of the web designer

The web designer needs to know the following:

• Communication and marketing design
• Interactive design and user experience
• Preparation of page layouts
• Typography and motion graphics

The web designer needs to communicate with the development team to decide the look and feel of the website and make the UX smooth. The individual needs to create graphics and use tools to make changes to the site in real-time.

Are you in a fix on whether to hire a web designer or developer? Explore the requirements of your website and decide whether to hire both. For instance, building a custom website from scratch requires both the designer and developer to play substantial roles. While the designer creates the graphic elements and layouts, the codes the developer inserts bring the designing features to life.