These days the terms web design and web development are often used interchangeably in the media and Ad world. However, web design and development are indeed not the two sides of the coin! While web design involves what the visitors get to see on the webpage, development typically involves the website’s functionality. Phew! Does that sound confusing? Read further, this article is an effort to explore the difference between the two main disciplines; web design and web development.
Any website, regardless of its category, contains the following distinct aspects.
A specific look and feel – Yes, you got it right! The look and feel portrays the overall façade of the website while involving the basic elements like graphics, navigation, elements, color scheme etc. The graphic designer usually decides on the colors and fonts and also on the layouts of the different pages.
Content– Well, content is the lifeline of any site and can include everything from the products and service descriptions, privacy policy to the most persuasive sales letter, to turn every click into profit. Any written text about information, products and services is a part of the content.
Functionality– This is indeed one of the most important aspects of any website and includes all the interactive features that the site has to offer. The general denominator is that website programmer, employing a number of web service programming languages creates the functionality to make the pages interactive and dynamic. Flash are as the toll to animate graphics, while the programming languages like the PHP, Java and perl are employed to offer a dynamic touch to the pages. Finally, all these are harmoniously integrated into the HTML code to be further used on the webpage.
Usability– The most significant aspect of any website is its usability and is the step to view the website from the viewer’s point of view to ensure the following things:
- Does the look and feel of the site mirror the message of the WebPages?
- Is the navigation easy and leads the browser to the appropriate pages?
- Does the site loads quickly?
- Are all the application in harmony with one another and work properly?
Now here goes the million dollar question, can a single individual do all the things! The answer is a resounding NO! Undeniably therefore it becomes a team work of the web designer and web developer; while the web designer takes care of the aspects like content creation and the look and feel of the site, the web developers on the other hand involves in creating its functionality and testing the site’s usability.
The dedicated web designers and the web development programmers are therefore two different people who must work together on two primary disciplines like, web design and development, to create a successful website.
