ux design

small design web icon

Web Designer Vs. Web Developer: Definition, Roles & Responsibilities And Education

Author: Rock David

There is a huge deal of difference between a web designer and a web developer. From the names themselves, we can get to know the distinguishing features of these two designations. A designer is responsible for designing the layout of the webpages, whereas a web developer is supposed to bring functionality to the design with the help of HTM, PHP, Python & Javascript. 

Web Designers

It won’t be wrong to say, “A web designer is a planner”. A web designer plans element placement, visual hierarchy and the sections of a webpage. Besides that, he is the one who coordinates with web developers and explains to them —how the design is supposed to work. 

Responsibilities 

  1. A web designer requires to frame a design strategy in the first place. That strategy includes — 
  • How many sections should be there? 
  • Which color and font style will suit the design? 
  • What kind of content will suit my design? 
  • How many graphics are needed? 
  1. Next up, he sends his strategy to the project manager for approval. 
  2. After approval, he is supposed to complete the task within the given timeframe (deadline)

Types 

Web designers can be categorized into three types – UX designers, UI Designers, and Visual Designers. Usually, a website development company looks out for all these designers. 

  1. UX Designers 

Such designers merely focus on the User experience. They check whether the design is human-centric (engaging, attractive per users’ point-of-view). They are responsible for making calculative and data-driven decisions. 

  1. UI Designers

They can be considered the conversion experts. They add usability to the web design and carry out various optimizations. Their end goal is to create a web design that instantly converts traffic into potential customers. 

  1. Visual Designers

They work in coordination with the UX and UI designers. Their principal responsibility is to create a sexy layout including catchy visual elements. They work with the designing softwares like Adobe Photoshop, Corel Draw, Adobe Illustrator, Canva, and Invision. They may also use CMS like WordPress or any website building platform like Wix or elementor. 

Skills Required

Every job profile requires the candidate to have a certain skill set. Here are some of the skills which every web development company looks for in a web designer: 

  • Basic knowledge of HTML & CSS
  • Basic understanding of web design principles & web accessibility standards
  • Ability to create responsive & interactive design 
  • Know-how of user journey mapping
  • Good understanding of wireframing & prototyping 
  • Great knowledge of branding & color theory 
  • Various designing tools & softwares 

Web Developers

A web developer is accountable for building & maintaining the core structure of a website. This role is suitable for candidates who are adept enough to handle the technicalities of the website. Web developers must have advanced-level skills in doing complex coding. They can be considered executors. To know the role of a web developer, we can consider an example: “The web designer is an architect who creates an architectural design for the house, but a web developer is an engineer who brings the design into reality.” 

Responsibilities: 

  1. They are responsible for creating & testing the websites for any errors. 
  2. They must collaborate with the graphics & the other designers. 
  3. A web developer is always available to troubleshoot the problems springing up on the website. 
  4. They maintain the website’s functionality. Also, they bring timely updates to the websites. 

Types

Just like web designers are divided into different categories, web developers are divided into several types —Front-end, Back-end & Full-stack. 

  1. Front-End Web Developers

They are the people who do the coding for the website’s visuals. They require a good knowledge of HTML, CSS, Javascript etc. A good website development company usually requires the front-end web developer to have good knowledge about the content management system. 

  1. Back-End Web Developers

They code for bringing the functionality to the website or doing server-side development. For that, they usually use languages like – Java, Ruby, SQL, PHP, C# & NodeJS. 

  1. Full-Stack Developers

They are all-rounders and thus prove an asset to awebsite development company. They can code for both front-end and backend. They are much more than that as they can do the following as well: 

  • Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)
  • Query Database Management 

Skills Required 

The web development professional needs to be adept in all these. If they have all of the following, they are eligible to get paid higher salaries: 

Major coding & programming languages –HTML, CSS, Javascript & PHP

  • Testing 
  • Debugging 
  • Javascript Frameworks 
  • Content Management System 
  • Search Engine Optimization 

Should I Become A Web Developer & Web Designer? 

This is the most asked question. People are confused about their careers. They are finding it difficult whether they would do good in web designing or web development. 

Advice – Follow Your Interest 

If you love to deal with visual elements, apply for the web designer position in a website development company. If you love to code and see things reacting to your instruction, you will do wonders being a web developer. 

Final Comments!

Web development companies are constantly looking to hire designers and developers in their companies. They are ready to pay even the highest salaries in such a scenario. So if money-making is your primary goal, it would be best to step into this field. 

Author Bio: Rock David is a professional content writer employed in Kinex Media, Canada’s highly renowned web designing & digital marketing agency. Being an experienced and highly reputed content writer, copywriter and SEO writer, he is committed to produce the best stuff curated after carrying out a strong research.

5 Steps to Write a UX Design Proposal

Author: Jessica Fender

Given how digital technology became commonplace in our society, users’ expectations from the platforms they use also evolved. According to published data, 94% of people won’t trust a website or app with outdated design, with 75% basing the business’ credibility on design alone. Statistics suggest that 52% of users won’t use a website because of poor aesthetics, with 90% who stopped using apps due to their poor performance.

Your website, app, or online platform may be due for a visual and User Experience (UX) design overhaul. This is where writing a proper UX design proposal comes into play, as it can help you outline your design in great detail. Let’s tackle UX design proposal writing in detail to enable you to build a better platform for your users in 2021.

Reasons to Write a UX Design Proposal

So, what are UX design proposals all about? They are documents that help businesses outline their UX redesign plans for an app, website, or online product. Typically, companies don’t write UX design proposals if everything in said product is working well and their user bases and revenue continue to grow. However, businesses also want to outperform their competitors and position their brands properly on the open market.

According to reports, 80% of users are willing to pay extra for better UX, with 70% of business leaders seeing UX as a competitive differentiator. It’s not enough for a mobile app or a website to simply “work” – it has to be aesthetically pleasing, engaging, affordable, and functionally up-to-date. This is where UX design proposals come to the forefront. Writing such a document before tackling a major UX design overhaul of your product can lead to several benefits, including:

  • Full understanding of your product’s current pros and cons
  • Assurance that the new UX design won’t be worse than the current iteration
  • Making sure that the new UX design has long-term viability
  • Ability to outline the development timeline and budgetary needs properly
  • Freedom to pilot the new UX design with test groups and spruce up defects

Writing a Great UX Design Proposal

  1. Outline the Pressing Issues in Current Design

The first item on your agenda should be to audit the current state of your product. What exactly leads to your writing of a new UX design proposal? Is your website or app underperforming, experiencing technical difficulties, or is lagging on UX design trends?

UX redesign is a major project, one which will take your team months to implement properly. This is why your team will want a clear outline of exactly are the issues with the current build of your product. If your writing skills are lacking, you can order product review writing from a trustworthy service to help in the product review and auditing stages. Use your strengths as a software developer and UX designer to describe what caused you to write a UX design proposal before moving further.

  1. Define the Outcomes of Implementing New UX Design

What would the hypothetical results of implementing a new UX design look like? As we’ve mentioned, rolling back a non-functional UX design to a previous build will take up unnecessary resources. For your UX design proposal to hold under scrutiny, you will need to outline the very objective benefits of its implementation. Depending on the extent and specific areas you want to address with your UX redesign, some outcomes can include:

  • Improved product stability and visual appeal
  • Better user engagement and market acquisition
  • Optimized future updating and development processes
  • Elimination of outdated code and visuals from the UI
  1. Describe the Development Timeline and Budget Needs

Once you’ve outlined the cause of writing a UX design proposal and the benefits of implementing it, you should proceed to describe the development timeline. How long will it take you to test the new UX design and implement it on a live build? Subsequently, what do you need in terms of manpower and resources to develop your UX design?

It’s best to be as objective and critical as possible when writing this section of the proposal since your team will want concrete referential information. Be realistic about how much time and resources you need, and your proposal is more likely to be approved for full production.

  1. Back your Claims with Social Proof and Statistics

You can help your cause by including references and statistical research based on UX design. For example, studies show that 88% of people are unlikely to return to a website after poor UX.

Your colleagues and decision-makers within your company need to be aware of current UX design trends to make an informed decision on UX redesign. You can go a step further and collect user feedback on your app or website and include it in the UX design proposal. Social proof coming from your user base is essential, as it will indicate what works and doesn’t work for your audience.

  1. Create a FAQ Section to Cap Off the UX Design Proposal

Depending on how tech-savvy the decision-makers in your company are, you may want to write an FAQ section into the design proposal. This can serve as a great referential segment for people who are not designers or programmers but still have a say in approving your document. Some questions you should aim to answer include:

  • How do we define a “successful” UX design?
  • Why do we need a UX redesign at this stage?
  • What will we do in case the new UX design doesn’t catch on?
  • What will happen if we go over budget or breach the development deadline?
  • How will we test the new UX design before going live with it?

Answer each of these questions with a short 2-3 sentence paragraph to show foresight and critical thinking. Answering “taboo” questions in a FAQ section will increase the likelihood of your UX design proposal being approved.

Making Good Use of your UX Design Proposal (Conclusion)

Once your UX design proposal is greenlit, you should stick to it as much as possible. Don’t deviate from your plans to justify the trust put into your hands. If any changes need to be made to the UX design proposal, you should ask for additional approval before course-correcting. Going into a redesign with a concrete plan is an amazing way to showcase that you are not only a designer but a decision-maker.

Author’s bio. Jessica Fender is a copywriter and blogger with a background in marketing and sales. She enjoys sharing her experience with like-minded professionals who aim to provide customers with high-quality services.