It's worth organizing these ideas so that when hiring someone for our project, we know what to ask for. Many times we find ourselves in a dilemma between discussing web design or web development, or both… why this back-and-forth between the two? Are they the same? When we talk about one, are we talking about the other?
Our first challenge is to clarify the difference between web design and web development. Both are closely related and are often (incorrectly) used interchangeably:
Web design is the art of planning and organizing the content of a website for its publication and online access. This involves selecting the type of page according to the case and the user experience (UX) that has been widely discussed lately.
While web development refers to building the structure of a website and involves knowledge of coding systems that ensure the website functions correctly.
Website Design and Its Scope
People turn to web design for various reasons, and depending on their ultimate goals, this results in different types of websites, such as:
A website with a digital portfolio
An online store to sell products
A business website to manage and grow a company
A blog to share knowledge with like-minded individuals
A restaurant website to facilitate online orders, reservations, and payments
A website for scheduling appointments with new clients
Planning the design of your website is like laying the foundation, as it will determine the arrangement and sequence of visual elements on each page of your site. This step is critical in web design and plays a role in the visual appearance of a site, the level of usability, and the amplification of its message.
The best design for your website can be determined by a variety of factors: the objectives of your website, the message you want to convey to viewers, and the type of content it will include.
Speed
Speed measures how quickly your website fully loads after a visitor enters. Nobody, especially in our fast-paced generation, likes a slow website. It needs to operate at high speed. In fact, studies show a 38% increase in bounce rates when a webpage’s loading time exceeds 3 seconds. No matter how beautiful the web design is, it won’t matter if it doesn’t provide visitors with a smoother browsing experience.
Many factors can affect a page’s loading time; some are related to the visitor's device or internet connection, while others may be specific to the website itself. Nowadays, there are proven practices and tools that check your website’s performance audit and improve loading speed.
SEO
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the process of optimizing a website to rank well in search engines. Since it plays an important role in the success of your website, we believe it deserves a place among the functional elements. The more people who can find your webpage on Google, the more visitors you will have.
Although SEO is an ongoing task, there are steps you can take to help your website's performance from the start. Simply put, if we want traffic and customers, there must be compatibility between web design and SEO. Both aim to improve the visibility of websites and, therefore, should be developed as a combined strategy..
There are also a number of common SEO practices you can implement before publishing: including headings in your content, adding alt text to images, using meta descriptions on relevant pages, and choosing a domain name that represents your brand or business.
If we want our potential customers to find us, we need to rely on a designer and an SEO consultant who can create a website that is tailored and optimized for this purpose.
UX
Since the explosion of computer use in the 1980s, the technology industry has been constantly exploring how humans can better interact with technology. This is the practice of UX, or user experience, and when applied correctly to web design, it can have a significant impact on user navigation.
The term UX is often used interchangeably with "user interface design" or "usability," which are actually parts of the broader vision that encompasses UX. While UX designers focus on these aspects of a product, they are also involved in looking at the bigger picture, finding ways to refine and develop products, branding, design, usability, and functionality.
The UX design process is aimed at ensuring that a website encompasses high-quality interactions, content, products, and services by improving these seven factors:
Useful
Usable
Available
Credible
Desirable
Accessible
Valuable
Adaptive Design vs. Responsive Design
Nowadays, mobile devices account for more than half of online traffic, so it is essential to adapt our websites to smaller screens. There are two types of styles that allow for changing a web design from its desktop version to a mobile device: adaptive design and responsive design. Knowing the difference between the two will be helpful, especially when choosing the website builder that suits you best, as most platforms only support one of the two:
Adaptive design involves creating different versions of the same website, where each version can adapt to a different screen size or browser width. For example, with Wix, our users can organize the design for the desktop version of their website, and they will be provided with a mobile website adaptation that can be customized.
Responsive design involves creating websites with a flexible grid. This creates a dynamic appearance, depending on the screen size and orientation of the device used to view it.
Website Maintenance
The web design industry is constantly evolving, adding new features, tools, and solutions. The downside of this rapidly changing world is that both you and your website need to stay updated continuously.
Once you've completed your initial design, you'll need to periodically update your website to ensure that the content remains relevant and that the design doesn't become outdated. While it may seem trivial, any outdated element on your website can negatively affect visitor interactions, resulting in decreased overall performance and sales.
Visit your website at least once a month to check for errors, ensure everything is functioning correctly, and keep your information updated. When considering a redesign, think about changes you can make to maintain the relevance of your web design, improve usability, or amplify performance. This could mean adding new visual content, an additional page, a note, working on SEO, or conducting an accessibility review.
You Never Get a Second Chance to Make a First Impression
We are sure that you don't want to make a bad impression; rather, you aim to impress, captivate, and present the best version of yourself. That’s why first impressions are incredibly important.
