Web Design and Web Development
Web design encompasses several skills, including web development and user experience. A designer works on the look, layout, and content of a website to create an attractive and functional page. Web developers write the code that runs a website. They also test and debug the code to make sure everything functions properly. Together, designers and developers produce websites that meet client specifications and goals.
A website must be easy to use and navigate to be successful. Otherwise, users will become frustrated and will not stick around or come back to the site. This is why each aspect of web design, from the smallest element to the biggest, should be in service of making the site as useful as possible.
The front-end web developer is responsible for the user interface (UI) of a website, which includes its layout, graphics, and animations. They create a site’s overall visual style using a combination of HyperText Markup Language (HTML) and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). Front-end web developers also add functionality to websites using JavaScript, which is a programming language that allows for dynamic content such as forms and animations.
As the Internet moved away from desktop computers and onto tablets and mobile phones, the focus of web design shifted to accommodate these devices. The most common approach is to use responsive or adaptive design, which uses CSS to adjust a website’s layout and content to fit different viewport sizes. This approach minimizes the need to create separate desktop and mobile versions of a site, saving time and resources.
Web designers are also expected to have a good understanding of accessibility standards and best practices. This includes using semantic markup for navigation, headings, and other elements, as well as providing text alternatives for images, video, and audio. Designers should also be aware of how their designs may impact people with disabilities, especially blindness and low vision. They should make their sites as accessible as possible, for example by using a consistent color palette and adding alt text to images and videos.
The back-end web developer is responsible for the non-user-facing aspects of a website, such as its server-side scripting, database, and programming language. They are often required to use a Content Management System (CMS) like WordPress or Drupal, which provide a framework for creating and managing website content. In addition, back-end web developers often write in a programming language such as PHP or Java. Both of these languages are popular because they offer broad support and extensive documentation.
A good web design is not complete without proper implementation of search engine optimization (SEO). This involves optimizing a website for Google’s algorithm so that it ranks high in relevant search results. SEO can be a complicated process, but it is an essential part of any modern web design project. A poorly optimized website will not rank well in searches and will not be found by potential customers. This can be costly to a business. Fortunately, there are many web design services that can help businesses optimize their sites for SEO.