Web Development vs. Web Design

Web development and web design are exciting and potentially lucrative careers. But despite the similarity in names, these two professions are surprisingly different from each other.

If you're considering a career in web development or web design, here's what you need to know about these two fields and the hybrid roles that are changing the hiring landscape.

Web Designers vs. Web Developers: What's the Difference?

This site exists thanks to web designers and developers. Just like any other site you've visited.

Some people work in both capacities. Others work in one role but draw on skill sets from the other to a lesser extent. And some people are exclusively designers or developers.

It's impossible to create a web page or application without both skill sets:

Web designers develop the concept and layout of the page.
Web developers implement the page and make it function.

What Do Web Designers Do?

Web designers create the user experience (UX) for web pages and applications. They think through how a site will look and function from the front end, considering both functionality and aesthetics.

Website Design Skills

Web designers must understand how people use web pages and applications, and which layouts work best to make a site user-friendly.

There are two types of web designers:

UX designers focus on the user experience (UX) of a site. They primarily pay attention to how to structure and place the site's content so that visitors can easily interact with interfaces, navigate pages, and find information.
UI designers design the user interface (UI)—the elements the user interacts with. They decide where to place search bars, dropdown menus, clickable buttons, and other components. They use typography, images, and graphics to guide the user.

You may also hear the term "visual designer." Visual design is considered part of UI, but someone who calls themselves a visual designer focuses more on graphic design than functionality.

Visual designers use elements like color palettes, shapes, and fonts to convey an aesthetic or personality. Brands rely heavily on this skill to build their identity.

Tools of the Trade

Web designers work out their ideas using mockups and templates. One of the most common tools is the wireframe—a black-and-white template that emphasizes functionality, user interface, and navigation paths through the site.

As the idea takes shape, design programs like Adobe Photoshop and XD come into play. The designer creates full-color mockups that the developer uses to build the functional site.

Do Web Designers Need to Code?

The web design process typically does not require coding, but some designers learn to code, especially HTML and CSS, to make themselves more marketable. Designers with coding skills can earn more and may land a hybrid designer/developer role.

What Do Web Developers Do?

Web developers build websites using programming languages and software development techniques. Also known as "web programmers," developers are responsible for implementing websites that work. In larger companies, they often work with design frameworks and bring them to life with code.

Web Development Skills

Web developers need to know coding languages, programming paradigms, and software development methods. Computers only understand code, so developers rely on programming languages to "translate" their instructions.

In the web development world, there are many programming languages, each using its own set of conventions. The most popular options include:

CSS
HTML
JavaScript (with modern frameworks like React)
Java
PHP
Python
Ruby on Rails
SQL

Web developers master different programming languages depending on what products they are building and at what stage of development. For example:

HTML structures the images and text on web pages.
JavaScript creates web page functionality and uses application programming interfaces (APIs) that allow applications to communicate with each other.
PHP builds web pages that interact with databases.

Most developers also learn to use tools like GitHub, which stores and keeps versions of code, making it easier to build, maintain, and distribute programs.

Types of Web Development Careers

There are two sides to web development:

The front end is everything the user sees and interacts with.
The back end includes data storage and methods for storing, retrieving, and sending information to and from the front end.

Think of the front end and back end like a pair of librarians working together. One asks what you need. The other goes to get it from the stacks and then returns it to the first librarian, who hands it to you. These two skill sets create three types of web developers:

Front-end developers work on the user-facing functionality of a site. They program what the site visitor can see, hear, and click. They are also called client-side developers (the client is the user, not the person who hired the developer).
Back-end developers handle server-side functionality, writing code that stores data and processes user requests.
Full-stack developers work on both client-side and server-side, often coding entire web applications and sites.
Full-stack developers earn more than front-end or back-end web developers because they have a broader knowledge base.

Is Web Development a Dying Profession?

Some believe that visual site builders and content management systems spell the death of web development. These new tools allow designers to create prototypes and even final versions without a programmer's help.

However, even though new tools are opening the market to non-coding designers, web development is here to stay. New tools may take over some lower-level tasks, but developers still have many complex challenges to solve. Meanwhile, more designers can get into development and potentially increase their income.

Skills related to web design and development will change as technology evolves. How these two roles blend together will also change over time. But there has never been a better time to start working on or upgrading your existing skills.