Just like architects and builders work on different aspects of the same thing, web designers and web developers also have distinct roles and skill sets.
But if you’re not exactly clear on what those roles and skills are, it’s not just you. Some people will ask for a designer when they really need a developer — and vice versa. And to make it even more confusing, some web designers also do a bit of development, and sometimes developers will do a bit of design.
This makes it tricky to determine what type of support you need for your project — a designer, a developer, or both? So, I wanted to have a go at defining the differences between web designers and developers, and share some example website projects that need one or the other (or both).
Hopefully this will help you feel more confident in going after the type of freelancer or role to get your website idea off the ground!
Web Design vs Web Development Capabilities
So, let’s start by contrasting the different skills and capabilities you’d expect a web designer or web developer to have.
Web design skills often include:
- Visual design skills – Colour theory, typography principles, design layout composition, brand identity, visual consistency
- User experience (UX) design skills – User persona research, information architecture (IA), sitemaps, wireframing, prototyping, user journey understanding and mapping, accessibility standards
- Technical skills – HTML and semantic markup, CSS for styling, basic JavaScript for interactive/dynamic elements, responsive web design, cross-browser compatibility testing, on-page SEO, content management system implementation (e.g. WordPress, Drupal, Shopify), website performance optimisation, basic domain/hosting management
- Using tools and software – Basic graphic design tools (Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.), UI design tools (Figma, Sketch, PenPot, etc.), image or photo editing and optimising
Web development skills typically include:
- Frontend Development – Advanced HTML, advanced CSS and CSS libraries/frameworks, advanced JavaScript and JavaScript libraries, frontend frameworks (React, Vue.js, Angular)
- Backend Development – Server-side programming languages (PHP, Python, Ruby, etc), API development and integration, authentication systems, server configuration and deployment, leveraging cloud services (Google Cloud, AWS, Vultr, etc.)
- Database Management – SQL database, designing and optimising databases, query and performance optimisation, database security
- Infrastructure & Other Skills – Server configuration (Apache, Nginx), domain and hosting management, website updates and deployments, security, Git (version control), backups, scalability planning and design, third party integrations
As you can see, there’s some crossover, but for the most part, designers and developers bring very different capabilities to the table. That said, you may not need both a web designer and web developer on every project.
Projects that Need a Freelance Web Designer Only
The perfect example of a website where you would only need a freelance web designer is a local business website. This website may be small (5-10 pages) and contain information about the services and products provided by the business. Because a designer may know little to no code, this website wouldn’t typically contain any advanced functionality — and any functionality that goes beyond the knowledge of the designer is usually solved with a basic plugin.
The designer’s main skillset likely involves using a design tool like Figma. However, many web designers are also able to translate their designs into a website using modern visual website building tools.
This type of website project could include any of the following:
- Basic forms
- Blog/news listing
- Google Maps integration
- Responsive design
- Simple interactions/animations
- Basic hosting and domain setup
Projects that Mostly Need Development
Are there ever projects that could be handled by a developer alone? While this can happen at times, it’s not an ideal solution.
In cases where more advanced programming is required, it’s a good idea to get a designer’s input, too. Advanced developers can be very good at solving complex programming problems, but fall short in the UI/UX department. This can lead to confusing interfaces, lacklustre designs, or missing features that make it difficult for end users to interact with the website or app.
And that brings us to our third scenario…
Projects that Need a Freelance Web Designer and Developer
There are some projects where the functionality goes beyond what a web designer or web developer on their own could achieve. For these, you’d need to bring in multiple freelancers who can work together — or an agency with access to both designers and developers.
A project like this may include the following features:
- Advanced/custom membership functionality
- Large eCommerce website with custom functionality
- Booking systems with custom functionality
- Database optimisation for high traffic websites
- Custom dashboards and reporting
- Custom API integration
- Video/audio streaming
- Custom caching layers
- Custom cloud server configurations
Projects Where a Generalist Designer/Developer is Best
Although design and development are typically two separate roles, some people are able to wear both hats. You might call them a “Generalist Designer/Developer” because their skills are broad enough to cover both design and development for some projects.
A generalist designer/developer has a good understanding of what is needed on both ends. They will be competent at good UI/UX design, but can also use advanced tools and code to implement some advanced functionality.
In terms of features and functionality, these projects would be found in the middle of the scenarios I have outlined above. A project where you would involve a generalist may include the following features:
- Basic to moderately complex website forms
- Basic to moderately complex eCommerce functionality
- Integration with third party applications (CRM, Google Sheets, email platform, etc.)
- Blog/news listings
- Listings with sorting/filtering capabilities (products, teams, articles, recipes, knowledgebase, etc.)
- Maps and locations integration
- Basic booking calendars
- Dynamic upcoming events calendar
- Basic API integration
- Performance optimisation
- VPS cloud hosting and domain setup
So, What Do I Call Myself?
Good question! I call myself a web designer and would consider myself about 70% web designer, 30% web developer. I create custom, high-fidelity design mockups in tools like Figma, and then develop them in WordPress, using plugins and some custom code to achieve functionality like forms and directories.
This approach works great for most small to medium businesses (like the examples you’ll see in our portfolio). However, I don’t feel comfortable taking on projects that have complex functions and require a lot of custom development — I’ll be the first to tell a client that these tasks are much better suited to a dedicated developer.
Interested in working together but not sure if my custom design & development package has everything you need? No worries — we’ll start with a chat and go from there.
And even if we don’t end up working together, I hope this article gives you a useful headstart on figuring out what kind of help you need for your next website project, whether it’s a designer, a developer, a designer/developer team, or a generalist designer/developer!