Difference between web designing and development

I remember in my early stages of learning web development, that I found myself confused multiple times about the differences between design and development. What are the roles of a web designer? What is involved in working with web design? Are web design and web development the same? Are they interchangeable terms with the same meaning?

The simple answer would be no. The role of each is completely different from the other. But let’s have a look into the different roles and methods, of both a web designer and a web developer.

Web design

Think about web designers as those who transform an idea, or a story, into a visually appealing design, and use their layout to build the user experience throughout the whole website. They design the website’s look and feel. As an architect would create a plan of your house prior to start building it, similarly a web designer would model the layout of your website before a web developer can start developing it.

Web designers have a difficult role which is often underrated. In their designs they need to integrate the best user experience possible, and create a welcoming environment for the user. They have to change an idea from writing, into a usable design and interface that catches the user’s attention. A website cannot be described as great if a proper design strategy wasn’t applied into the early stages of the project. Nowadays, web designers are rated at the same level of web developers, as without a great user experience and design, the development cannot be truly appreciated by the user.

Web designers have built a whole library of strategic techniques for themselves. You don’t just create a perfect website immediately after reading or thinking about the specifications or the features required. You start with a scope — the focus point and the purpose that the website will offer. You would first roughly envision the designs in your head, and start with a sketch or draft of the design. From sketching, web designers move to wireframes, mock-ups, and to the final design. Professional web designers build the whole website in design components, with a pixel perfect layout of all the web pages, icons, typography and other intricate features.