What is the difference between web design, web development, UI, and UX, and which do we require when we are starting off with website design? In this blog, we explain and deconstruct four of the most commonly used and confusing phrases in today’s website building.
Quick Overview:
- Web Development – is the technical aspect of creating a website. Web Development is the process of coding a website to create the intended design using programming languages like CSS, HTML, JavaScript, Python, Ruby on Rails, and more.
- Web Design – A wide category for everything relating to the visual design and usability of a website. Web design includes both UI and UX design, as well as many other areas.
- User Interface (UI) – A specialization of web design that focuses on the controls that users use to interact with a website or app, such as button displays and gesture controls.
- User Experience (UX) – A specialization of web design that focuses on user behavior and emotions when using a website or app.
What’s the difference between a Web Developer and a Web Designer? UI and UX?
There are two types of a Web Developer, a Back-end Developer and a Front-end Developer. The back-end developer is the server-side developer. He creates the codes and programs which power the website’s server, databases, and any applications that it contains, and use languages like PHP, Ruby, Python, Java or .Net. The front-end developer is the client-side developer, where he is responsible for bringing the web designer’s idea to life. They build frameworks the user can actually interact with, and generally uses computer language such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
A Web Designer knows the functionality, technicality, digital trends, and user expectations, whether working with websites or applications. They concentrate on the design and general feel of the website or applications, customizing the visual components of the website with tools such as Photoshop and Illustrator. They also utilize code to build their designs, such as HTML and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Web designers often specialize in two areas: User Interface (UI) designer and User Experience (UX) designer.
User Interface (UI) is what the user sees when using a digital service. A UI designer contributes to the enhancement of the way people interact with items, or the interface, on a website or application. This is accomplished by converting complicated brand concepts and values into an entertaining and easy-to-navigate website.
User Experience (UX) is like the field of web design from the perspective of the user. A UX designer think about ways to enhance user satisfaction by making the interface more usable. Language and visual input are used by UX designers to transform the brand identity into a smooth webpage. They rely heavily on graphic design concepts such as drawing attention with design scales, evoking the appropriate emotions with colors, and establishing a consistent visual flow across the screen.