[McLovin']

I see a lot of threads in the services request & offering section that are filled with the wrong title. I've seen a few titles where the user wrote 'Website Developer needed' and when you open the thread, they describe all the requirements that a web designer can fulfill.

A Website Designer creates the layout and styling of your website i.e. he/she designs it. Web designers accomplish this through HTML, CSS and often times Photoshop (to get a PSD design of the website to later on be converted to HTML & CSS). This guy makes your site look sexy.

A Website Developer works on the back-end of the website i.e. the things you don't see on the website. The developer is the one that utilizes the design of the website to manipulate data and input/output accordingly. Web developers do this through programming languages like PHP, Ruby on Rails, JavaScript and libraries like jQuery and Node.js.

Here's a good read on the subject: http://www.theodinproject.com/introducti...loper-does

Spoiler (Click to View)When requesting or providing a service, make sure to know which one you're doing

[Online Expert]

Thanks for this I guess, I didn't know it was a big problem.

[McLovin']

Thanks for this I guess, I didn't know it was a big problem.

It often is. And not just for the services section, in general people usually forget to make this distinction. They're two very different things.

[Pillows]

Thank the lawd. At least someone here has a brain and can tell the difference between the two.

[Pineal]

Yeah I get this a lot when dealing with people.

[Exemplification]

Working with the average Joe you can't expect to be called the correct thing, as the person requesting it is generally not in the geek world. It is not the customer's job to know what they need or want, that is the job of the person offering the service and said person will not distinguish between the two terms that are actually relatively similar in the minds of consumers even with the points you have made.

TL;DR; its one word with understood context, it isn't a big deal.

[Mr.Peanut]

Very interesting, to be honest I didn't know there was a difference.. (meaning my developer worked on both ends)

But that's why I love this site, there's always something to learn. Also I think it's far more profitable to be a designer (on the business to business/consumer side). As people care about looks mainly (most people).

[SavageBoys]

It can get a bit tricky when you throw jQuery into the mix.

Some would consider the effects and various UI bits to fall into the web design category but there is so much more to it that its hard to place.

I personally find that jQuery and javascript in general is important for web designers to learn.

[Lukas]

If you want to go into more detail about a web designer (excluding HTML, CSS & so on) it would be better. I code, and also design, but you may want to touch up more about it.

A web designer (graphics) simply makes the layout of the web design, without coding it. There's two types of web designs if you think about it. Ones that code, and ones that do not. Web designers like we find creating graphic threads are the ones classified as designers. Sure you could classify the ones that code as designers also but in my opinion it's more suitable that the ones that design are classified as designers. I know most of you all probably think what I just said sounds really stupid or repeating what Purgified wrote, but it's really not. He stated that web designers style their designs through CSS and HTML, which is completely true, but they also simply create them in Photoshop also.

This is just a little paragraph that I decided to write because I felt like the two types of web designers weren't really be classified differently, which they do need to be if you're going to make a thread like this.

Thanks.

[8bits]

Or you can be both, I call it a full stack developer. That's what I call myself, anyways.

But I think a web designer should very well know javascript. I prefer terms "front-end developer" and "back-end developer" instead though.

Sometimes, like in my web design thread, I use the tern "Web Designer" because it's more understood that I create websites. Most of my clients don't give two shits what it actually means.

[McLovin']

I realise A lot of people provide full stack development. But it can become a problem if you're only offering design services and the customer expects you to code the back-end as well.

For someone like me who makes website designs, I don't want to work on the back-end so I need my clients to understand that distinction.

[๖ۣۜ-Bandit]

I realise A lot of people provide full stack development. But it can become a problem if you're only offering design services and the customer expects you to code the back-end as well.

For someone like me who makes website designs, I don't want to work on the back-end so I need my clients to understand that distinction.

Are you needing of a back-end man? I love to work on the back-end, so if you need someone, hit me up with a PM!

[Nasyr]

I can do the back-end and the design, I prefer more to do the design though because you see it more than the actual back-end of the site.
I love looking at the HTML and, honestly, it just makes me happy to see I have made something f use to someone.

[Tasemu]

Color Byt is actually correct. In the industry this is your usual stack:

Web Designer - Created PSD designs that the client signs off on
Front-end Developer - Takes the approved PSD and builds the site that the end user will see. Usually utilising HTML, CSS and Javascript.
Back-end Developer - Creates the server architecture to supply important information and handle most persistent and/or heavy data storage and retrieval. Usually uses PHP, Ruby, Node.js or others.

Might want to edit your OP, its a great thread but its always good to make sure it is as accurate as possible. :)

[McLovin']

Color Byt is actually correct. In the industry this is your usual stack:

Web Designer - Created PSD designs that the client signs off on
Front-end Developer - Takes the approved PSD and builds the site that the end user will see. Usually utilising HTML, CSS and Javascript.
Back-end Developer - Creates the server architecture to supply important information and handle most persistent and/or heavy data storage and retrieval. Usually uses PHP, Ruby, Node.js or others.

Might want to edit your OP, its a great thread but its always good to make sure it is as accurate as possible. :)

Thanks for the feedback. I would argue otherwise, though. Web designers don't always use PSD's to make a website design. A lot of people use HTML & CSS directly as well.

Here's a good blog post on the subject: http://blog.teamtreehouse.com/psd-to-html-is-dead