Web Development and Web Design – Play Nice On the Playground!

web development and web design

Both web design and web development play an important role in your business. Web development and web design have different functions. Together, they have the power to amplify your brand.

Effective web design and web development incorporate two entirely different skill sets. Therefore, getting them to work together requires a thorough knowledge of both. Functionality and creativity often compete for the same space. Web design and web development perform different but complimentary roles. Learn to use their combination to your advantage.

What’s the Difference?

 Purely Branded summed it up well: “In essence, web design refers to both the aesthetic portion of the website and its usability. Web designers use various design programs such as Adobe Photoshop to create the layout and other visual elements of the website. Web Developers on the other hand, take a website design and actually make a functioning website from it. Web developers use HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP and other programming languages to bring to life the design files.”

Ease of Access vs Enjoyment of Use

Web design and web development work when you create something pleasing to the eye and fun to interact with. Let’s think about some examples. I love when sites allow me to scroll and reveal something new underneath. Maybe I’m simply amused. But in my mind, that immediately adds a bit of class.

However, enjoyment should never come at the expense of readability. The site that takes ten seconds longer to load because it is chock full of flashy animations and visual tricks is not appealing. I like it when something gets right to the point. This becomes especially critical when viewing on any type of mobile device. The development should enhance the design that has already been put into place.

Web Development and Web Design OR Left Brain vs Right Brain

Web design comes from the creative place. Web development comes from the practical, logical place. Some of the best artists I know grew up to be web designers. It seems to scratch that creative itch associated right-brained thinking. I’m not saying web development isn’t creative. Certain things just work.

Sometimes the best creative content results from rigidity. Experience with graphic design helps here. Staying true to conventional practices of development, well-place graphics make the difference. Left brained thinkers understand this better. Using logic and analytical thinking, a developer knows how to present the information in the best way. Combining the two results in a creative new spin on a tried-and-true formula.

For more information about these two types of thinking, see our blog, Marketing Campaigns: What’s Your Learning Style?

Different Classes, Same Principals

Web development and web design also work for each other when you apply basic core principles to each. Common design principles combine typeface, color and format. Basic development principles include precision, sustainability, and function. But the two should blend. Mobile optimization combines the core principles of both web development and web design. In 2016, Inc reported that smart phones account for over half of the trillions of searches on Google.com. A mobile friendly experience requires that your design and development work well together. With so many of us searching from our phones, it’s likely to decrease your website abandonment rate as well.

Learn more about our design process in a previous blog post entitled “Let the Fun Begin!