Difference between Web Designer and Web Developer

Web Designer used alone can be vague and often the one that is used most by people who build websites without any real knowledge of building Websites. The reason it is vague is because anyone can be a Web Designer. With countless applications out there created to help you build a website, even if you do not know a lick about the code behind what makes a website work. You can open up one of these applications and start building a website.

Now anyone who has worked with any of these applications will tell you that you are a slave to the elements that are available in the application. Without any knowledge of the code that controls the website under the cover of the template or design elements everyone sees when they visit a website. You will not be able to change anything on that website unless the application gives you a way to.

This brings me to the answer of question what is the difference between a Web Designer and a Web Developer?

Web Designer can be anyone who with any website creation software and basic understanding working with it. Can build a functional website to deliver a message or sell a product or service. Web Designers only limitation to making the website look and function any way they choose. Is based in there knowledge of the underlying code of any web page. Someone who knows what the terms HTML, CSS, JAVASCRIPT, AJAX, PHP, CGI or any number of acronyms or other names for the code that make a webiste do what it does. They can take this code and make a website come alive and do all the great things a website can do today is called a Web Developer.

The problem with using these tools to create websites varies with each application but one thing they all have in common is they use sloppy code. This is because of the variables in how elements are rendered in the design. There is more than one way to achieve an effect on a web page and why the elements available to you are limited. The elements in a given program have been tested to work in a variety of different designs. To add additional functionality or change the appearance outside the programs settings requires you to look at the code and be able to understand what it is doing in order to change it. A Web Developer will not even waist the time to decipher the unorthodox code that these applications create.

So when you choose a Web Designer make sure that they are a qualified Web Designer and not just someone who uses one of these cheap applications. Claiming to be a Web Designer/Developer when in fact they are no more knowledgeable at developing a website that you are! They generally charge much less for their services because they know in reality you could build your own website if you knew where to look. In the end having someone who only claims to be a Web Design will never be able to offer you anything for your website that the application they are using cannot do.

If you have any other questions about this topic or any other web related question. Feel free to contact me HERE and I will do my best to give you a straight answer based on my knowledge as a true Web Designer/Developer.