You may have heard somebody refer to themselves as either a web developer or a web designer (or even both). What is the difference? What does a developer do that a designer doesn’t, and vice versa?
Designer
We’re going to start here, since the design process comes before developing.
Web designers work in programs such as Adobe Photoshop to create the look of the website.
They figure out how things should be laid out, and they create an image of what the final product should look like. Now-a-days, designers usually have to design a mobile version of a website as well as the desktop version. Over 50% of web browsing in done on a mobile device.
This is a much more creative process than developing, and people with this job usually have a good eye for detail and like to create.
Front End Developer
The developer brings the design to life with “code”.
Developers have to make the design fully responsive. Responsiveness is how well the website adapts to different screen sizes (ex. monitor screen vs iPhone screen).
On top of that, developers have the responsiblity of setting fonts and positioning things on the site. They have to link all the pages together to ensure that when you click a link, it goes to the correct place.
This is a more technical process than designing. The developer focuses less on making the website look pretty, and more on fuctionality. They use various web languages to piece together a fully functioning website. HTML, CSS, and Javascript are usually used to bring a design to life.
Conclusion
It takes both a developer and a designer (or someone who can do both) to create a good looking and fully responsive website. Both roles are just as important to each other, as you can’t have one without the other.
