What's the difference between a web designer and web developer?

When organising a website, it can be confusing trying to figure out who is the perfect agency to work with.

Do you go for a one-on-one approach or a larger agency? What about the budget? And the inclusions and exclusions? Well, to make one decision easier, we are going through the difference between a website designer and a website developer.

Website designer

A web designer, just like the name, is design-focused. Their aim is to make your site look beautiful.

Graphic designers often provide web design services, where they will design your site in a program like Adobe XD or Figma and then send it to a developer to build it out.

Web designers can also focus on building out websites on template built platforms or tweaking templates to be more aesthetic. They don’t generally do any coding, and if they do add code, it’s just basic coding to make the site more visual.

From there, website design can then be split into different niches. That is, user interface design and user experience design.

User Interface (UI) designer

A UI web designer’s focus is to improve how a user will interact with different elements on the site. The interface of the site is built and created around the brand’s ideas and translated in a way that the user will benefit from it.

User Experience (UX) designer

A UX web designer’s focus is to keep the viewer on your site for as long as possible - using the aesthetics/visuals of the site. Their focus is on building a website that the target audience will want to stay on. Often a fair bit of research is undertaken to determine what the audience is engaged in and their needs.

So what’s the difference between UX and UI design?

Well the main focus of UX is researching and building a site that creates a positive user experience. UX designers will research how people interact with content and the steps they take from there.

Whereas UI designers focus is on the aesthetics of a website.

You could almost liken it to designing a coffee shop. A UX designer would be the interior designer, planning the flow from the minute the customer walks in until when they leave, and the UI designer would be the interior decorator figuring out how different visual elements affect the client’s experience.

What is a website developer?

A web developer’s focus is to build and design the website’s framework. However, website developers can be separated into a few different areas too.

Back-end developer

A back-end developer’s main focus is on the website’s core structure. This is setting up web servers and databases, which the user can’t actually see. They create websites using various programs and spend time fixing bugs that may arise in the background. Imagine all of the backend development work that would go into building a platform like Facebook? On a visual front, it’s not much to look at, but from the back-end, there’s a lot to think about.

Front-end developer

A front-end developer is usually who you deal with as a client for a full website build-out. They are more connected to the client as it usually involves updating the site on the front-end - and is focused on what a client can see. Front-end developers use HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to build a site that’s unique to what the client requires.

Full-stack developer

A full-stack developer works across all layers, that is, the front and back end of the site. They are the full package when it comes to web development and are experts in both areas.

Full-stack developers are great for brands wanting a site built from the ground up, and who may require specific server connections or hosting in line with what they’re wanting to achieve.

Is a web designer or developer right for you?

It really comes down to your needs and budget.

If you’re after something custom and unique to your brand, then it’s worth investing in a web developer - as they will usually design and develop a site suitable to you. Otherwise, if you’re after something simple and aesthetic, that is often suitable for a lower budget then a web designer could be perfect for you.

Again, it is always worth checking with the individual agency or person that you’re considering working with to see what elements they can help you with, and which areas they specialise in.

At Joelle Studio we offer website design and front-end development. Chat to our team about how we can help you move forward with your project today.