Although Melbourne is classified as the tech hub of Australia, Sydney is not far behind in laying down the groundwork for startups and tech-related businesses. One edge that Sydney has over other cities is it will always attract talent, not just in Australia but also from other parts of the globe. Perhaps, the city’s crown jewel is the planned multi-storey project by Atlassian called “Tech Central,” which will open in 2025. The timber building is billed to be the country’s tallest tech-hub, which would become a springboard to make Sydney the Silicon Valley of Australia.
But tech hubs or startups also need their own website. People think that since they are in the innovation business, they do not need to hire a creative web design agency in Sydney. Nothing could be further from the truth. And even if they possess the technical know-how, outsourcing the job to specialists will allow them to focus on their core expertise,
Nevertheless, people still confuse web design and web development. Understanding the distinction is crucial because your decision will affect the outcome vs. your goals.
Web Designers vs Web Developers
Web designers — They take care of the visual appeal of your website and how all parts go together to make sure that it functions as designed. Among the software programs that they will use include Adobe Dreamweaver, Adobe Illustrator, Canva, and even Photoshop. They also take advantage of programming languages like HTML or CSS.
In construction, for example, they do not lay the bricks to build your house. Instead, they will map out a blueprint to which each brick will go.
Web developers — Once they get the prototype from the creative vision of the web designers, they will then use coding languages to build the core structure of your website. They will be the brick-layers. The web developers do not simply follow the prototype, but their knowledge in coding is also crucial to make sure that a business website functions as it should.
For example, the web designer has outlined sliders on the eCommerce website to highlight products on the original design. It is now the job of the web developer to make the design a reality. To do that, he has to address some points:
- How long should each image last on the front page before it slides.
- How to make sure that the slider will not impact on the page loading time.
If the web designers have done their job right, these questions would not even crop up. More than the technical know-how, both designers and developers must possess a high level of problem-solving skills.
Conclusion
As you can see, hiring a creative web design agency in Sydney is different from commissioning a web development agency. They possess varying skill sets. Going back to the planned Tech Central building, for instance. You need construction workers to build it, and they would be your web developers. The one that drew the blueprint, however, are the architects or, using the same analogy, they would be the web designers.
The good news is that creative agencies employ both web designers and developers, or professionals that possess both specialties. It means you only talk to one person, usually the project manager, from conception to completion of your website.
