You all will agree with me that having a website is important for every business or personal brand these days. But when we think about building one, we often come across two terms that seem very similar to us – web design and front-end development.
There’s always a bit of confusion in our minds about whether there is any difference between them or if they are just synonyms of each other.
Well, both of them, play a very important role to make a website successful but yes, their work is different. They have different focuses, and we, as web developers should understand that well.
Basically, web design is a creative process and front-end development is more of a technical one.
This blog shares a close look at the topic: Web Design vs Front-End Development. Hello readers, this is Jalak, a student of one of the web development courses at ADMEC Multimedia Institute, and this is my first write-up. Join me on this blog post to understand the key differences between front-end and web design.
Web Design
Web design as a process covers planning and designing the outer look of a website that the user directly sees and interacts with.
For example, when you search for something on Google.com and the first thing you interact with or notice, like logo image, text, and titles, are all the part that form a visual look of the webpage.
What is the aim?
The aim of web design is to make the website attractive and user-friendly, so that the visitor feels comfortable and spends more time on it. And this also helps in website ranking.
So basically, web design means planning, conceptualizing, and arranging the elements such as text, graphics, layout, colors, and font, etc. The work of designers is to combine all of these elements and make an attractive and user-friendly site.
Key Factors of Web Designing
There are some key factors that we follow in web design. These factors help us to make our websites look and feel better for users:
Layout
It’s the overall structure and arrangement of the website (header, footer, and content area).
Colors
Use the right color scheme that represents your brand and also looks soothing to the eyes of your audience. You should use colors with the best harmony. Check Adobe Color to find the right color palette for your website.
Typography (Fonts)
Use clear and readable font families that make reading easier for online readers on your site. Additionally, add short sentences, easy-to-read words, and a conversational style in your content. I learned these points in my SEO classes with Anuradha Mam, and they indeed make a difference.
Navigation
Use simple and easy-to-follow navigation so that visitors can easily move on the website. Do not avoid internal linking of pages. Always add one or two internal links while making a new page on the site.
Graphics & Images
Use high-quality images and illustrations so they can make the content of your site more engaging. Do not leave your pages with plain text. It is important to make it graphic-rich as people understand well with graphics and images.
Content Placement
Use proper content hierarchy (headings, paragraphs, CTAs). Keep one H1 on the page with multiple H2-H6 headings. You can use lists, quotes, and tables too.
Responsiveness
Website would be responsive for all devices, including mobile, tablet, and desktop.
Consistency
Colors, buttons, and styles are consistent on the whole website.
In order to possess, better understanding of these factors, you must attend practical classes on web design in Delhi, like I did with ADMEC.
Tools and Technologies of Web Design
We have design tools on one side and programming languages on the other side.
In design tools, we include Photoshop, Illustrator, XD, and Figma. They design the visible part of the website by planning layout, colors, fonts, icons, etc.
Once the UI is ready, we follow it as a blueprint in the coding side, from where front-end development mainly starts. Some of the core programming languages of front-end are:
- HTML: Makes the structure like headings, paragraphs, image placements, etc.
- CSS: Adds styling such as fonts, colors, spacing, animations, etc.
- JavaScript: Adds functionality and interactivity like form validations, sliders, and many more.
Now let’s talk about Front-end Development and how it is different from Web Design in detail.
2. Front-end Development
Front-end development means turning the visual designs that we created in web design stage into an interactive and functional website that we can run on a browser.
So, a front-end developer It means uses the UI made using Figma/Photoshop and converts it into a live website. HTML, CSS, Bootstrap, and JavaScript are the key languages to perform this job.
Adding interactive features, maintaining responsiveness across multiple devices, and keeping the website speed faster are some of the essential responsibilities of a front-end developer.
Key Factors of Front-end Development
Every front-end developer understands the 8 key factors given below:
1. HTML Structure & Semantics
Use proper semantic HTML tags like header, nav, footer, section, etc. to create a clean, organized and co-friendly structure.
2. CSS Styling & Responsiveness
CSS adds beauty to the website by controlling the look and feel of the website. It manages the layout using flexbox, positioning or grid. Even we can convert the static HTML page to a responsive layout using media queries of CSS.
3. JavaScript Interactivity
JavaScript brings life to a website by giving it behaviour. It does many things like adding interactivity, handling dynamic content, creating animations, and validating user input. A front-end project is incomplete without using JS in it.
4. Performance Optimization
Use optimized images, lazy loading, caching, and code splitting in the website for faster loading.
5. Accessibility (A11y)
Website should be usable for every kind of user. It includes differently-abled users (keyboard navigation, screen reader support, color contrast, etc).
6. Cross-browser Compatibility
Not every user used the same browser. So, it should be ensured that the website runs properly on all browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, etc).
7. Code Reusability & Maintainability
Write clean, modular (separated CSS files) and reusable code for future updates and scalability.
8. API Integration
Learn to connect APIs to make the website dynamic. APIs used as a bridge between front-end and back-end.
You can learn it all together in one course with GEN-AI features: Full Stack development course in Delhi.
Types of Front-end Development
Front-end development can be divided into many categories:
1. Static Front-end Development
It is most simplest type to develop websites that use HTML, CSS, and some more JavaScript. Example: Portfolio websites, basic blogs.
2. Dynamic Front-end Development
This type covers making website that changes their data according to user actions. Example: E-commerce site’s cart, news feed.
3. Framework-based Front-end Development
Under this type, we create scalable and maintainable apps by using modern frameworks and libraries, Example: React, Angular, and Vue.js.
4. Mobile-first Front-end Development
Under it, we first develop code for mobile, then adapt that for desktop and larger screens. With the help of this approach, we can enhance our site performance.
Check the detailed list of all front-end technologies for a better understanding.
Difference between Web Design and Front-end Development: (Quick review)
Web design | Front-end Development | |
Definition | It’s a technical process that turns design into a working website by using code. | It’s a technical process it turns design into a working website by using code. |
Focus | It focuses on visual appearance, user- experience. | Functionality, interactivity and responsiveness. |
Goal | Make a website attractive and user-friendly. | Make a website interactive and functional. |
Work involves | It involves layout, colors, fonts, graphics, images, navigation, responsiveness and many more. | It involves HTML, CSS, JavaScript, optimization, API integration and many more. |
Output | Prototype / wireframe / design file (Figma, Photoshop). | Live, interactive website in the browser. |
Tools and technology | Design Tools: Figma, Photoshop, Sketch, Adobe XD, Canva. (Optional basic coding): HTML, CSS, JS knowledge. | Languages: HTML, CSS, JavaScript. Frameworks/Libraries: React, Angular, Vue, Bootstrap. Tools: VS Code, Git, Web pack, APIs. |
Examples | Homepage’s layout, Logo design, Color scheme, Font selection | Navigation menu’s dropdown, Login/signup form validation, Product cart update, Animations/Sliders |
Courses | UI UX Master and Web Design Standard | Front-end Development Course and Web Premium |
Conclusion on Web Design vs Front-End Development:
Now, I think it should be clear that what web design and front-end development are. Both are different with diverse segments to target. Web design targets website looks and UX. While front-end development looks for coding part and turns the designs into a working website.
It is important to understand that there is a huge scope in both. If you enjoy designing as well as have interest in coding then learning both designing + front-end development is a very ideal choice to make. ADMEC has many good programs with the focus on both web design and front-end parts. Just pick the one to start.
About Author
This blog is written by Zhalak Sindhu, who is currently pursuing Web Master diploma via online mode from ADMEC Multimedia Institute. She is one of our brilliant students with command on all the learned tools and technologies.
