7 Differences between web design and web development

There is a bit of confusion between these two concepts, they are confused with each other and seem the same, but they are not. There are notable differences between web design and web development. Therefore, in this post I show you 7 differences between web design and web development.

More than 80% of the work requests, I still fall short, when they ask us for "a website" they are thinking about the image of a design, the colors, photographs...

And it is normal, it is not something rare. The external part of a website (the design) is what you see, what makes a person like or dislike the website, stay or leave immediately.

However, a website needs programming or web development. Whether it is for a website to be dynamic, to show its sections, when searching for a search result or to see the entries chronologically. This part is not visible, this is inside, but it is just as important as the design.

I would define it very easily. The design is the exterior, the drawing of the tailored suit and the development is the interior, the fabric, the cut, the stitches, the trims, the hems, the buttons, etc. This makes the suit fulfill its function, from the sketch on paper to a person being comfortable with the suit on. From idea to reality.

Web Development VS Web Design

Next, you can see the 7 differences between web design and web development.

1. El web design creates the aesthetic appearance, the color palette of the website and without development it would be totally static.
   El Web development makes that appearance fulfill the functions for which it was created. For example, if the designed website is an e-commerce, that the articles can be seen, they can be bought and paid.
2. En web design the usability of the site is taken into account, the spaces, that the site "breathe", that reading is comfortable and that the user experience is pleasant.
   El Web development, however, intends serve the user what he is claiming. Whether it is a cover where the latest entries are collected, a search result, or an archive of a category.
3. El Web development takes care of the functionalities required by the purpose for which the website was created. He web design it is also focused on the purpose for which it was created, but it does not have technical functionality, it is aesthetic only.
4. In general, it is not usually the same professionals who design and develop the website, or at least that would be ideal. They are completely complementary but very different professions. To explain it a little more clearly, the designer translates an idea into a design and Developer take the design and transform into a website functional.
5. The design is the first thing a client wants to see when placing an order, how "the guts" are made. It can be something inconsequential, for the most part, you just want it to work and fulfill its purpose.
6. For a user to stay on a website, the design has to catch your eye, be attractive and above all easy to navigate. But site must be fast and work correctly, this will make the visitor stay longer on that website. A beautiful design is useless if it takes a long time to load or is poorly programmed.
7. Web design and development is very important that they are integrated and go hand in hand to achieve a good user experience. Professionals in both fields must work for a single goal, that the visitor to the website wants to visit it again.

Development and web design with WordPress

Regarding web design and development focused on WordPress, the line is even finer. We are going to choose a WordPress theme, whether free or commercial, for its appearance and functionality, without thinking that it is design and that it is development.
It is installed and displayed in the manager how to change the appearance. The theme, although it seems that it is all design, has an important part of development. The plugins are, for the most part, development, but their usability and visual aesthetics are also noticeable. The development will only be seen inside WordPress, because the company that developed it or the developer wanted to take care of this detail.

When doing custom development, there are clear differences. First the design is approved and then, the development, yes or yes, has to accompany the design, it must be integrated and each one cannot go their own way.

In conclusion

I hope that the 7 differences between web design and web development have helped you differentiate between them and understand that they are very different but complementary fields. And, if you need help with the design or development of your website, do not hesitate to contact us.

The developer must understand the design to implement the necessary functionality to make the design "come alive".