Web Design vs. Web Development: Key Differences & Which One You Need?

Today, a website is an essential part of a business to grow in the digital landscape. As a startup owner or business professional, if you are thinking of building a robust website. Or if you are a technician or learner and want to know how a website is built. This guide is just for you.

Most people interchangeably use web design and web development. They think they are the same. However, the fact is that web design and web development are part of the overall development of a website, but they are not the same. If you’re curious, stay on this post as we will tell you about the differences between web design and web development. This guide is also going to be helpful for those who wish to build their careers in any of these fields. Let’s get started!

What is Web Design?

Web design refers to the visual aspects of a website. It involves all the visual aspects that you can interact with, including layout, colour scheme, typography, and user interface. Web design allows you to work on creating a visually appealing and user-friendly experience for visitors.

A well-designed website attracts more traffic and gives a fruitful user experience. Startups and businesses seek the help of the best web design company to get professional support from web designers.

Key Elements of a Web Design

Web designing involves not just one but many major elements. As a website designer, you need to make sure to design your website as per the brand tone and preferences of your target audience. Your design should be eye-catching and attract more and more people. To do this, you need to understand the key elements. Here, we share the key elements of web design:

Layout and Structure

Layout involves the visual arrangement of elements on a web page. When you open a website, you interact with its texts, images, buttons, and other elements. These are nothing but part of the layout. In Canada, web developers focus on ensuring all website elements are well-designed. This helps their visitors to consume the content efficiently and use the navigation smoothly. 

Structure, on the other hand, refers to the organisation of a website. It involves how you put the content and how you manage your pages. The hierarchical arrangement determines how information is categorized and linked together. If the structure of your website is good, your users can quickly interact with it.

Color Scheme and Typography

A website’s colour scheme decides the overall aesthetic and user experience. You already know how colours used on a website encourage users to spend more time. They evoke emotions, capture user attention and give a premium finish to a website. That is why it is important to choose the colour precisely when designing your website.

In colour schemes, you need to keep these two points in mind:

• You need to have basic knowledge of colour psychology and color harmony. 
• Consider brand identity before using a colour scheme for your website.

Typography is related to fonts. It is like the voice of your website that will speak to your users. You need to choose the style, size and colour of the font very carefully. Each type of font is suitable for a specific tone. For example, a bold sans-serif font might convey confidence and modernity, while a delicate serif font might suggest elegance and tradition.

Visual Content

Visual content is those elements that communicate messages and enhance the aesthetics of your website. It includes images, videos, icons, illustrations, and animations. These elements improve overall website usability and appeal significantly. A website has visual content like product demos, customer testimonials, and explainer videos. Furthermore, pop-ups, icons, animations, and sliders are part of visual content. 

What is Web Development?

Web development is the process of creating and maintaining a website. A web developer is responsible for writing the code that makes a website functional. Web development transforms your designs into a functional website through programming languages, frameworks, and server-side technologies. The best web development company in Canada helps you develop custom web solutions as they have strong expertise and knowledge. Without it, your website is just like a beautiful car but has no engine.

Key Parts of Web Development 

Web development ensures the functionality, responsiveness, and security of a website. This makes your site accessible to different devices. Web development services in Canada are an essential part of the overall development of a website. Here are the key parts of web development you should know:

Front-End Development

This is the front part of the website that you interact with. This includes everything from layout, buttons, navigation menus to fonts and colours. A web development service from experts develops the front end of a website.

Back-End Development

Back-end development is development behind the scenes. This means the background part of a website that you cannot see. But it plays an important role in the overall functionality of a website. This includes database and server configuration.

Full-Stack Development

Full-stack development involves building both the front-end and back-end parts. With the help of a web developer, you can develop both sides of the website, from developing navigation to storing data in the database. Full-stack development is a complete solution for building a fully functional website.

Website Maintenance

Website maintenance is essential for a website to run smoothly. It ensures that your website is up-to-date and in line with the latest demands. This includes fixing bugs, optimizing performance, and making updates to ensure the site remains secure.

Web Design or Web Development: Which One Do You Need?

To create a completely functional website, you need both web design and web development. On one hand, web design will help you design the layout of your website, add colours and typography, and maintain the overall user experience. On the other hand, web development will add features and functionality to your website. And make your website live and run smoothly on different devices. Therefore, you need both of these to establish an online presence. 

Web design requires learning code languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. However, there are many practices like WordPress development, Shopify development and others. That will help you design your website without the need to code. On the other hand, web development involves coding backend technologies like PHP, Python, or databases.

Web development is considered more complex than web design. This includes working with components such as domain name, hosting, responsive design, SEO optimization, and security features. So if you want to create a proper website, it involves both web design and web development. Associating with a web development company will help you create a fully fledged website for your brand.

Looking for Expert Designers and Developers to Bring Your Vision to Life?

Digital Folks is a leading web designing and development company in the USA and Canada. We have a dedicated and equally passionate team of designers and developers who have already accomplished countless projects of website design and development. Our services help to build custom websites, e-commerce stores, blogs, and much more. We serve individuals, startups and small and large businesses. Our support empowers industries, including online stores, healthcare, finance, education, real estate, and more to create, design and develop robust web solutions for their unique concerns. Contact us now!