What is Website Design? Web Design vs. Development

“Website Design”… “Website Development”… To-may-to, To-mah-to, right?

Well, we hate to break it to you, but web design and web development are actually quite different! 

While they do differ, it’s important to have both on a quality website. Without an eye-catching design, all of the development won’t really be worth it! And without quality development, the most stunning of website intentions won’t matter. 

Web design and web development depend on each other, and together, form amazing websites! Let’s take a look at the differences between these as well as why we need both for an amazing finished website!

Web Design Explained

Ahh, where the ideas are formed! The term “website design” covers the visual aspect of a website as well as it’s functionality. 

From colors, fonts, layout, and user experience considerations, web design encompasses the process of formulating a design, often, from scratch. Creativity is huge when it comes to design principles, think balance, contrast, unity, emphasis. A designer will be looking at the content you provide and determine the best way to display it. Will they use text boxes, image sliders, hover features, etc?

Target audience, goals, and inspiration will all come together in a design for your new website. The design will include direction for functionality and features within the website, however, this will not be executed until the design is finalized and developed. 

If all else fails, you can think of the website design as the front face of the website!

Read More: Where to Design a DIY Website Logo?

Website Development Explained

While the design portion of a website is mainly aesthetic in nature, the development portion is complex in a different way. This is where coding comes into play. From HTML and CSS to Java and plugins, the development process of building a website is all behind the scenes. 

Based on the design, the coding that will go into making the website will be custom to the needs of the design. Development is considered the execution of the design being brought to the table. A website developer will be responsible for taking the looks and functionality of the design and making it a real, operational website.

The design is concerned with the look and function of the website while the development is concerned with actually bringing the design to life! 

Web Design and Web Development Join Forces

With most website design and development teams, you will take part in the process of creating your new website. 

Our Process: A Crash Course

Our process begins with chatting about your goals and expectations. We want to get a sense of what you’re needing and looking for. Once established, we discuss design specifics like colors, inspiration, and specific needs for you! We also collect all content that will be needed for the design. From images to copy, it’s important to think about what you need to include to get your message across. Once we gather all of this, we begin designing!

Upon approval of your design, we start the development process. We work on internal edits and fine-tune the design before presenting it to you. With additional tweaks and edits from you, we make your new site live!!

If you’re interested in the details of our design and development process, please feel free to reach out! We’d love to chat about your project!