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To understand the difference between Web Design and Web Development, you need to know how a web site works. A web site is a series of documents called web pages that are all connected to each other by links. These documents/web pages are written in a very unique coding language called HTML or Hypertext Markup Language. To view a web site you must use a web browser such as Internet Explorer or Firefox. Web browsers translate the HTML coding from web pages into a visual form that you can see and interact with.

So, what's the difference between Web Design and Web Development?

Web Design deals with how the web site should look and work in a web browser, while Web Development deals with creating the actual HTML code that is translated by the browser.

Web Design before Web Development

Before a web site can be created, you first need to come up with an idea for it. What will it be about? What will it look like? How will people interact with it? These are all questions that are answered during the Web Design process. Web Design creates a blueprint and model of how a web site should look, feel and work. Everything from the graphics used, to the type of font styling is considered during this process. Once a web designer knows how the web site should look, the next step is the Web Development process.

Web Development takes the Web Design idea/blueprint of a new site, and uses it as a guide to create HTML code that when viewed in a web browser will create the correct appearance of the site. For example, if a web designer had a layout idea for a new web site, the web developer would take that layout idea and would write HTML code that would display that layout idea properly in a browser.

Web Design and Web Development work hand-in-hand. They depend on each other in order for a web site to be created. Web Design provides a clear idea of how a web site should appear and behave, while Web Development turns that idea into a feasible model.

Hopefully by reading this you now have a better understanding of what Web Design and Web Development are, and how the interact with each other to create the awesome web sites we see on the internet everyday.

Learn more about this author, Alex Landis.
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