Good day all! Can some of the pros here please clarify the terminology of a website designer, developer etc... If I take a template and modify it, having the client supply their own graphics.. "What am I?" If I do the graphics and modify the template "What am I?" If I do the entire coding of the site however have the client supply the graphics "What am I?" If I do the entire coding and all the graphcis of a website "What am I?" Thanks in advance for responding. Tom
Developers code. Designers specify requirements for layout, functionality, and in some cases security. Doing graphics is neither web design or web development; it is graphics design or illustration and applies to all kinds of media not just the web. Most designers are reality challenged, and have no clue of what it takes to actually code their "cute" ideas. The best developers are those who can do their own design, but other than simple graphics, it is generally best to use a graphics designer for complex image-intensive layouts. For large projects there might also be a security admin, Database admin, tester, and documentalist/librarian. to directly answer your basic question: In all those cases, you are a developer doing what you need to do to get the job done, because in the end the developer almost always has to fix the mistakes made by those who can't code.
Thanks Cobol, that is what I thought, but I was challenged on this question the other day, as I referred to I will develop your site but you must supply the graphics, so in reality you (the client) are paying for website development, and got the response of, so you are going to develop my site for me, and I replied yes based off a template. I can go off the template and find the errors or code it to the client's specifications, but to code myself from scratch I am not sure of all the coding, so just asking exactly what I would classify it as to a client that has some background knowledge in this, so I don't feel as if I am misleading the client.
Whether you modify one line of code or write a complete page, it is still development. Some folks might split hairs between maintenance and new development, but the skills required are the same. It may be that an experienced developer has acquired a broader skill set over time, but that just means they can take on bigger projects with confidence and charge a higher hourly rate.