What is the difference between a Website Designer vs Website Developer?
This used to be an easy question to answer:
Website designers create to look and feel of your website.
Website developers create the programming and run your website.
The lines get a little blurred these days.
Website Design VS Website Developer
Website Designers can do it all (mostly)
I am a website designer. I used to hire out all special programming needed to make a website function as desired. These days there are programs that allow website designers to create the code that they need to make the website look the way they want.
In the “old days” website designers just used programs like Photoshop or InDesign to create to look of the website. Then they turned the mockup over to a developer that wrote the PHP or HTML code that made the website look and function as desired.
With the advancement of build-it-yourself tools, website designers do not need to know code to get the look they want for a website. In fact, here at Premium Websites, we prefer to create websites with no custom code. This is for the benefit of our clients. If they want to update or maintain their own website, they do not need to understand or know code to do that. If they want to start working with another designer, they do not need to find one that knows code.
Website designers are usually more creative and can envision the finished website that the client has described. They are more right-brained and can usually communicate visually better.
When are Website Developers needed?
Website developers are often called programmers. They are needed when the website needs to have special functionality that has not already been created. Many website functions can be added by non-programmers if they are plugins or apps that can be added to a website. When the function is specific to a business it will need to be created just for that business. This is where website developers are needed.
Can both Website Designers and Website Developers do the same job?
Often website designers can complete your website project. The only time they cannot is when a special program needs to be written for the website. Oftentimes, when that happens, the website designer will find a website developer to complete that specific part of the project. The client may never know that a developer was used.
However, website developers struggle with design aspects. They are usually very left-brained. Some even liken them to engenieers. They have a hard time communicating and do not have the visual design experience to get the website to look complete. They can use the same tools that designers use, but usually lack the color and design principles to create a website that stands out from the crowd.
Do I need both a Website Designer and a Website Developer?
If you hire Dotty at Premium Websites the answer is no. Dotty can write custom HTML and CSS. These are the programming languages used for most websites. She is well versed in all the programs needed to create your highly functional and beautiful website.
As a bonus, she is also an accomplished photographer and can edit your photos so they look better or offer her outdoor photos for use on your website.
If there is a need for programming that she does not know, she has programmers that she has worked with in the past that she can refer you to. Usually Dotty can handle all aspects of a website for small business owners.
Dotty is also an award-winning website designer. One of her awards is the Excellence award given by UpCity.
