The explosion of the internet has spurred new artists, engineers and businesses that did not exist 20 years ago and introduced a variety of resources to build websites. This group of web designers and developers work to keep pace not only with a constantly growing marketplace, but also with rapidly advancing technology.
As websites become more complex, so does the website development and design field. Even though the terms "web design" and "web development" are often used interchangeably, they really refer to two distinctly different roles in the web creation process.
The terms "web design" and "web development" are commonly used in media and advertisements. There is a lot of similarity and integration between the two words; however, they are completely different and have entirely diverse meanings. These two terms are in constant battle to prove their dominance over the other, even when they work closely together.
Web Design
Web design is the front-end and the customer-facing part of a website, meaning the design is the first thing that internet users see upon arrival at any website. A web designer's job is making the best out of people's expectations.They are also concerned with how the website should look like and what the feedback of customers will be when the site is released.
Web design can be described as a process of planning and creating a website. Text, images, digital media and interactive elements are used by web designers to produce the page seen on the web browser. Web designers utilize markup language, most notably HTML for structure and CSS for presentation as well as JavaScript to add interactivity to develop pages that can be read by web browsers.
As a whole, the process of web design can include conceptualization, planning, producing, post-production, research, advertising.
A good web designer must be familiar with the principles of design and how to put them together to create a site that looks good.A web designer must also know and understand the usability of a website and how to test it.
The basic principles of design apply to any type of design including web design. Abiding by these principles will help web designers create and produce more pleasing designs.
- Balance - is the distribution of light and heavy elements on a page. Larger and darker elements appear heavier than smaller, lighter elements. Balance will show you how to lay out your pages properly so that your website will work efficiently.
- Contrast - there is more to contrast than just color. Contrast can be applied to shapes, sizes and even textures.
- Emphasis - designer should determine the hierarchy of a page. Then based on that hierarchy, apply the emphasis to the elements.
- Rhythm - can also be called repetition. Rhythm brings internal stability to one's web designs. Repetition provides patterns for your site, and since patterns are easy for people to comprehend, they will easily understand your website.
- Unity - is the principle of keeping similar elements together and keeping different elements distant from each other.
Web designers also need to be an expert with various graphic design tools, for instance, Adobe Photoshop. Most would also use HTML as a tool to their designs. Site owners would provide the content and space for a site, but it is the web designer's job to provide the layout for the desired content.
Web Development
Web development, on the other hand is the back-end of a website, or in other words "behind the scenes". It involves the programming and interactions on websites. A web developer focuses on how a site works and what internet users do on their site. They can also conduct usability tests only for the functionality they create. Good developers must be familiar with CGI, because they will need to program it. They must also be well aware of scripts like PHP and also HTML. Developers must know how web forms work and how to keep a website successful.
Web development is usually seen as a broad term for the work involved in developing a website. This can include web design, web content development, client-side/server-side scripting, web server and network security configuration, and e-commerce development. However, among web professionals, "web development" usually refers to the main non-design aspects of building web sites: writing markup and coding. Web development can range from developing the simplest static single page of plain text to the most complex web-based internet applications, electronic businesses, or social network services.
Despite being completely different from each other, web designers and developers need to work together in order to produce a great and effective website.