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General Discussion

Posted by Ismaila Gueye
Ismaila Gueye
1,976 Points

Question: Front-end development vs. Web design

Hi all, I was wondering: What is the difference between a front-end developer and web designer in terms of job duties? Does someone who is less creative go into front-end to do more of the implementing side of things or? (Just out of curiosity, why does one pick one over the other in other words) I looked it up previously, and I've seen responses anywhere from a front-end developer and web designer being pretty much the same to responses about front-end being more about code and web design being exactly about design.

And last question: What should a beginning front-end developer's portfolio look like as opposed to a web designer's portfolio? (Any examples if possible?)

Thanks guys!

2 Answers

Cristian Cisneros
Cristian Cisneros
794 Points
Cristian Cisneros
Cristian Cisneros
794 Points

Michael Locke has some great answers to some of your questions. Check out this great video of "The Difference between Web Designer & UI/UX Designer" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6-sedIvt7E

Ben Lee
Ben Lee
3,450 Points

So is a UI/UX Designer just another name for a Web Developer? Or are they different jobs/roles?

Cristian Cisneros
Cristian Cisneros
794 Points
Cristian Cisneros
Cristian Cisneros
794 Points

Yes, but you'll notice with some of the larger companies with dedicated web teams, large budgets, and departments refer to UI/UX Designers as "Front-end Web Designers" and "Web Developers" for the back end stuff. They both have different jobs and roles. HOWEVER, the medium or small companies will use terms like "Website Developer", "Website Designer", "Web Designer", and my least favorite "Web Programmer" and they'll expect you to KNOW EVERYTHING.