Maybe you’ve been dreaming about it for years, or maybe you were lucky enough to be suddenly struck with a brilliant idea for a business. Either way, you’re finally in a place where you can start making the vision a reality, and you need to get your web presence up and running ASAP. But do you need a web designer, or a web developer?
What’s the difference? Is there a difference? Wasn’t the website supposed to be the easy part of running a business? Who told you there was an ‘easy part’ of running a business anyway?! Well, the good news is that we can bring some clarity to the web design/development conundrum. And not only that – we can also make sure that having an amazing website is one of the easiest parts of running your business.
Web design, web development; what’s the difference?
You can think of the difference as being similar to that between an architect and an engineer. The architect plans how something is going to look and function; the engineers actually bring the plans to life and make them a practical reality.
The term ‘web design’ generally refers to the process of visualising the ‘front end’ of the website and how it will function, making it clear, concise, and visually attractive. Web designers are the ones who do the creative work and actually design all the pieces that the visitor to your website will see. They will consider ‘user experience’ and the ‘user interface’ (UX or UI) and their main focus is planning how users will interact with the website, ensuring it’s as instinctive and enjoyable as possible.
On the other hand, ‘web development’ refers to all the behind-the-scenes technical magic that makes your website actually work. Let’s say the web designer wants a ‘Subscribe Now’ button to be animated in the upper left corner, or to make the landing page unfurl like a scroll. Those are great, creative ideas – but how do you translate them into a fast, slick website? That’s where the web developer steps in with the technical knowledge needed to build a functioning website, using the right technologies and testing to make sure everything works as it should.
At Soto, our team of digital experts work hand-in-hand with designers to give their input on UX, offering a variety of options based on best practice. Equally, we can sometimes work directly with a client to cut out the design process entirely, going straight to development and helping to keep the project cost effective.
Using intricate coding techniques and programming languages such as Javascript, PHP, HTML and CSS, developers ensure that your website is fully intuitive and user-friendly. Not only will that ‘Subscribe Now’ be animated, but clicking it is going to smoothly trigger a contact form to gather the customer’s details. And that landing page? It’ll appear in (approximately) no time at all, the second a visitor hits your site. With your ideas and our developers, anything is possible.
What you need for your business – and how Soto can help
As experts in the field of web development and hosting, Soto will be your web development partner, bringing your vision to life. We work with hundreds of individuals, web designers and businesses, from start-ups to long-standing corporations, helping to bridge the gap between their website plans and their fully-functioning, high-spec website reality. Working as your web development partner, we provide seamless front-end integration, back-end innovation and secure hosting, translating into real results for you and your business. Our relationship with you is built on collaboration, so we have a vested interest in making sure you succeed and we’ll be there with you every step of the way on your digital journey.
Get in touch with us today – and let us start bringing your web presence to life!
