What is web development and how is it different to software development and web design?
Web development is often used interchangeably with software development and web design. But while there is overlap between all three terms, there are also differences in focus that can be important to understand in specific circumstances.
So let’s concisely define the differences between software development vs web development and web development vs web design.
As a term, software development has a broader scope than web development, which is a sub-sector of the category. Software development can mean the design and creation of any and every kind of code that fulfils a particular function.
By contrast, web development is a sub-category of software development and refers specifically to software designed to run on an internet browser. It’s still a rather broad sub-sector and “web development” can mean anything from a simple website of 5 pages, a blog and an off-the-shelf CRM to a sophisticated, cloud-native SaaS product like Salesforce.
In summary, web developers are software developers – they both create software. But not all software developers, engineers and architects are web developers. A software developer specialising in developing software built to run on a particular operating system, such as a Linux, Windows or macOS desktop OS, or native mobile operating systems like Android or iOS, isn’t a web developer.
Web Development vs. Web Design – Not To Be Confused
Web developers have a very different skill set from web designers, though both contribute to the creation of web-based applications and a development team will usually feature both roles.
Web designers are not developers, though most senior web designers usually do now need to have a reasonable command of programming and scripting languages including HTML, CSS, JavaScript and PHP. But the core of a web designer’s work is with design software to create visuals. Front end web developers are then responsible for bringing that design to life as a functioning website using code and tools.
The design has to take into account the car’s electrical and mechanical engineering. For example, it has to leave enough room for the engine, fuel tank and so on. And it also has to take functionality into account. There’s a reason why sports cars have a particular aesthetic and off-road vehicles have another.
Web design is the car’s shell and surface-level interior. Web development is the mechanics and electronics that make it go. The dynamic between its aesthetics and how everything else underneath supports and interacts with that design is what defines the car. Something similar can be said of a web application.
Web design agencies don’t just create the visuals and UX of web applications for them to then be handed over to a web development company. They build fully functioning websites and web-based apps.
A company that describes itself as a web design agency can usually be said to be design-first. It is positioning itself as a specialist in creating web applications that are outstanding from a design and (ideally but not always) UX perspective.
A web design agency may well also have very good web developers. And a web development agency could employ fantastic web designers. But the former is most focused on the quality of the design and (hopefully) UI/UX of the applications they build. The latter emphasises the quality of the technology under the application’s hood.
