Web Designer vs. Web Developer: A Comprehensive Guide

A web designer is responsible for creating the design of websites. This includes aspects like layout, logo design & digital branding, colour scheme, typography, etc.

A lot of agencies use templates such as Wix, WordPress, and other website builders and then just add content such as text and photos provided by the client. At Love My Online Marketing, we have both web designers and developers to create custom websites for our clients from scratch.

The ultimate goal for a web designer is to create web pages and a website that are easy to use and visually appealing. Creating an actual website with these qualities requires a combination of creativity, technical skills, and knowledge of the latest trends.

Just like any other profession, there are different types of web designers. Here are a few of the most common:

A web developer is responsible for building and coding the front-end and back-end of a website. They take care of all the technical aspects of a website, such as hosting, domain names, server administration, web technologies, etc.

A web developer also builds applications for businesses and individuals. They work with designers to create an appealing interface that meets the most up-to-date web standards.

Just like web designers, there are also different types of website developers. Here are a few of the most common:

Front-End Developers

A front-end developer focuses on the code that runs on the client-side, or front-end, of a website. They create the user interface and interactivity using coding languages such as HTML, CSS, Content Management Systems (CMS), and JavaScript.

Backend Developers

A back-end developer focuses on the code that runs on the server-side, or back-end, of a website. They use programming languages such as PHP, Ruby on Rails, and Node.js to build websites and applications.

Full-Stack Web Developers

A full-stack developer is a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to web development. They have working knowledge of both the front-end and back-end of a website.

Now that you know more about the different types of web designers and web developers, you should have a better understanding of the differences between the two.

Although you can use a website builder to quickly build a basic website, most website builders are simply not designed to create a professional website. They’re designed for creating a simple website for personal use, not for building a professional website.



Generic Design

A website that is too simple or too bland can be very off-putting, particularly if you’re hoping to generate leads or sales from potential customers. This can be particularly important in the design of landing pages and squeeze pages, which you may want to direct potential customers to after they land on your website.

It's important to remember that your website design should reflect your brand, so it should look like your business.

Content Limitations

Site builders make it incredibly easy to create a website, but unfortunately, this means that you’re bound by the restrictions of the original website builder. You won’t be able to use certain professional website design elements, such as:

• A Call To Action button on your website
• A fully functional contact form that leads to your email address.
• A beautifully designed blog post or news article that links to your website.

Bloated Code

Another unfortunate side effect of using a website builder is the likelihood that your website will be full of technical glitches. You’ll almost certainly find that the website that you’ve built with a website builder uses some pretty obscure techniques to store and retrieve data for your website.

But even if you don’t spot any glitches in your built website, the code that’s generated by most website builders is very messy and inefficient. This is because the website builder code is generated by a computer code generator, which simply has no idea how to write clean, compact, well-documented code.

Poor SEO

Poor search engine optimisation is another limitation. Not only will you struggle to get your website to rank very highly in search engine results pages, but you’ll also have a much harder time optimising your website for better search engine visibility. This is because you won’t have access to the advanced techniques that are used to optimise websites for better search engine visibility.

You’ll also have a much harder time optimising for mobile search visibility because you won’t be able to view the mobile-friendly web design trends that you need to follow.

Bad Functionality

A website that’s full of technical glitches is not going to be very functional. For example, you might find that you can’t easily create new pages on your website or that you can’t easily add new posts to your website. Or perhaps your website won’t allow you to add images to your website.

In short, if you can’t easily use the functionality that your website offers, then there’s a good chance that your website isn’t very good.