If you plan to launch an online business and create or upgrade your website, web application, or e-commerce site, you will have to deal with web design and development. Many people confuse them, and that’s why they do not understand what specialists they need. What you should know about these two areas and how not to waste money on the wrong expert?
What Is Web Design
Web design is the visual aspect of the site. Designers create templates and select colors that will blend harmoniously. They determine what fonts and graphics the visitor will see on the page. Their objective is to create convenient and aesthetic interfaces, as well as visualize the ideas of the customer.
In the 1980s, Xerox programmers developed the first graphical user interface. Then, Apple adopted it in their newest product, the Macintosh. Now, 75% of users decide whether or not they should trust your company based on their impressions of your website design, according to Stanford researchers. If you don’t want to lose so many potential clients, take care to find qualified specialists.
What Is UI Web Design
UI means user interface and determines how the site will look. It reflects your brand values and style.
Tasks of a UI specialist include:
- Develop interfaces using UX research;
- Choose colors;
- Insert simple and understandable icons;
- Decide how to position the buttons so that the user can easily click on them;
- Create mockups;
- Make texts easy to read.
What Is UX Web Design
UX means user experience and helps create intuitive sites where the visitor goes through the path to complete certain actions, such as a purchase. UX designers figure out how a person interacts with interfaces. They define what steps users go through to sign up, subscribe, or buy. Then they create such a structure of pages for a person to take those steps.
Tasks of a UX web designer include:
- Analysis of user scenarios;
- Studying the behavior of target audience;
- Running surveys among users;
- Development of the site plan;
- Testing prototypes.
Normally, designers combine the competencies of a UX and UI specialist.
5 principles that will help you have good web design
1. Remember about accents
The specialist should focus the attention of visitors on the priority elements of the page, such as buttons or keyphrases that affect sales. If you do not use graphic highlights or, on the contrary, accentuate everything, the user may get confused and leave.
2. Balance
Respect the harmony in filling the page with the content. It should not be empty or overloaded with text, pictures, animations, etc.
Don’t mix too many colors. And don’t limit yourself to just one.
3. Don’t make users think
Make the buyers perform as few actions as possible. If they have questions about what to do, you have a problem. Keep section titles clear, simplify navigation, highlight buttons, and other links. The more you force the user to think, the more likely they are to leave.
4. Respect the hierarchy
The designer has to divide the content into blocks. Large chunks of text and long lists of categories overwhelm a person. They quickly get tired and leave the page.
5. Don’t break tradition
People like to find certain page elements in certain places. Don’t make them search. For example, registration buttons are situated in the top-right corner. If you move them to another location, they may not notice them.
What Is Web Development
Web development means developing a website or web application using designer mockups. It consists of two parts, the customer side and the software side, which controls the processing and storing of information transmitted through the interface.
What Is Front End Web Development
It is the side of the web resource that people view and interact with. The developer brings the designer’s mockups to life, from pictures to interactive products.
At this stage, programmers recreate the appearance of interfaces and check that each element performs its function.
What Is Back End Web Development
It is the side of the site that consists of a server, databases, and others. It stores and arranges data. You are incapable of viewing it. But thanks to this part, you can register, store customer data, receive automatic emails, and much more.
What Is Full Stack Web Development
It consists of front-end and back-end programming. Full Stack programmers are universal specialists who realize both the visible part of a site and write the logic on the server-side.
3 tips for recruitment a competent programmer
View portfolio and cases
Check their recent work with other customers. Visit their websites and test if everything functions correctly. Test the page loading speed. Research the range of services they provide and ask additional questions if you have.
If you search for developers in an outsourcing or outstaffing company, check out their website. Is it convenient? Does it look modern? What features does it have?
Ask for opinion of an expert
To evaluate the technical competencies, you need a person who is an expert in this area. Unskilled programmers can damage your sales and reputation if they can’t fix bugs in the code or keep your customers’ data secure.
You should contact a web design and development company where they know how to correctly assess the competencies of candidates if you do not have an experienced technical employee. They will ask questions that will show the real level of the specialist.
Don’t neglect personal qualities
Technical skills are important, but you also need to understand whether you will be comfortable working with this person, whether they are responsible and able to plan their time. Much will become clear only when you begin to cooperate. Thus, in the first weeks, you should be attentive.
Web development vs web design: how do they differ?
If we compare the development of a web service with the construction of a house, the designer will play the role of an architect. And the programmers will be builders who lay the foundation, put up the walls, and so on. If you build it from zero or want to implement some modifications, you need professionals in both areas.
Offering web design services is always faster than programming. And the clearer you are in your specifications, the more guarantee you will get the project done on schedule.
When you choose a designer, remember that they should be creative. Look at their previous works. Do they look modern? Did they think about the convenience of users? Selecting a developer, validate technical competencies, analytical and problem-solving skills.
Conclusion
Web design and Web programming are two various areas that are connected and aimed to develop a web resource. A web designer is engaged in the implementation of a graphic layout of a web resource, and a programmer transfers this mockup to a real project using the necessary technologies.
You need to clearly understand how these two areas differ to determine which expert is required in your situation. If you desire to develop the design and simple functions on the customer side, it will cost less and take less time than writing code for a payment system or automatic content updates. For large projects, you will have to recruit a whole team, which includes professionals from different areas.
