For many people I am guessing that the first comment you will have when reading the title of this article is “aren’t they the same thing?”
No, they are not. It’s like cats and dogs (and, trust me, designers and developers have a similar reputation for fighting with each other like cats and dogs).
To get you thinking, let’s start with some definitions of what each really is, where they originate from and their strengths.
What is a Web Designer?
A web designer is a person that is primarily focussed on the following;-
- The visual look of your website
- The user interface
- The user experience
They are commonly trained in design and have a natural flair for creating things that look good.
Historically web designers graduated from print design, logo design and branding into web based work, although these days their professional education obviously included design for online media such as websites, social media, apps, advertising etc etc…
Strengths of a Web Designer
A good web designer will work with you to create an excellent visual design for your website.
They will take feedback from you, your clients, competitors and your industry and combine this with their talent, skills and experience with user focussed design and user experience to deliver graphics for you to review, change and signoff.
With the increasing availability of website development and management platforms that allow for ‘non-technical’ creation of websites many designers will be able to realise their design for you without ever having to contact a web developer.
Based on the above then, why would you ever need to talk to a web developer?
What is a Web Developer?
A web developer is a person who is primarily focussed on the following;-
- The efficient and correct development and deployment of your website using the right technology for your specific business requirements
- Developing the right site structure for your website versus your business and product specifics and your customer activities
- The performance and reliability of your website once taken live
- The measurement and improvement of the performance of your website
- And often, the research for and deployment of onsite Search Engine Optimisation (or SEO as it is commonly known) on your website
They are commonly trained in software and software development methodologies and are analytic in mindset rather than creative (although software development can be said to require creative solutions to problems).
Strengths of a Web Developer
A web developer will commonly spend more time analysing your specific business requirements.
They will translate those requirements into an efficient and reliable solution then deploy measurement tools to help your business analyse the performance of the website and improve it.
As mentioned above, many web developers are also well versed in researching and implementing the correct site structure and initial onsite optimisation for your website.
Unless you are living under a rock or haven’t heard of Google and ranking your site higher to get more traffic (and thus leads and sales) you will understand the importance of the above.
So, Should I Contract a Web Designer or a Web Developer to Deliver my New Website?
Ideally you would use both and they would work as a team to cover all bases.
In reality, for many small businesses, their budget does not allow for such an extravagance.
In the real world there are designers who have some development skills and there are developers that have some design skills.
This sort of crossover of skills is essential for small agencies.
As with any project you are about to commence where you have to contract an external expert to deliver the finished product I would advise you check out the following about them;-
- Look at their recent past work. Have they worked for clients that are in a similar industry segment to your business? What were the results?
- Look at their Google reviews. Do their customers like them? Are they easy to work with? Are they on time? Do they stick to the budget? Do they over-deliver?
- Do you like them? Can you and your team work with them collaboratively?
- Do they add value to your business and will a relationship with them help to educate you moving forward about what is important to drive new business online?
- Do their specific skills suit your specific business requirements? If I am selling jewellery I might opt for a designer. If I have an engineering business with complex products, configurations and solutions I need to present to site visitors then I would go for a developer.
Based on the above you will know which is the best decision for you and your business.