What is the Difference between Web Design and Web Development?
What is the Difference between Web Design and Web Development?
When approaching a company to create a website, you may well hear two terms that are used interchangeably – web design and web development.
Although both processes are typically used in the creation of a visually attractive and high performance website, they have very different functions and features and require markedly different skill sets.
In a nutshell, website design is the creative process that determines the appearance of the web page that is visible to the user – the graphics, pictures, text, layout and conceptual design of the site, including corporate branding.
Web development or web dev, on the other hand, is all the behind the scenes coding and programming that drives the performance of the site and allows the website and its buttons, tools and features to ‘work’.
About Web Design
Web designers construct the structure or framework of all visible components of a web page or site. In practice web design uses many of the same elements as print design. Designers need to define a layout, handle fonts and colours, source and edit images and put it all together in a format that brings your businesses message across.
Through a website, you, the business owner, only have a couple of seconds in which to make a positive impact with the viewer or potential customer. It is therefore critical the web design be clean, visually appealing, informative and easy to navigate. 
About Web Development
If web design is the overall look and feel of the site, web development is the process that ensures the website functions properly.
Many websites provide secure e-commerce capabilities, enabling you to browse and buy a product or service via the site. This virtual buying capability together with user friendly on-site tools, forums, blogs and anything else you can imagine a visitor interacting with on a website are the kind of things that fall into the domain of a web developer.
As the design of the web page is critical in attracting the user in the first place, a fully functional and optimised web site, with a quick download time, is essential if you intend captivating your audience with an online experience that is a cut above that of your competitors!
Choose a Company That Offers Web Design and Web Development
To unleash the full potential of your business website as a dynamic online marketing tool it is recommended that you choose a company that offers dedicated expertise in both areas of website construction.
In tandem a web designer and web developer will be able to collaborate to create an appealing, consistent, high performance website that is guaranteed to increase your online footprint and associated leads and sales.
