The Contrast And Similarities Between A Web Designer And Web Programmer

By Onaefe Edebi
Posted Tuesday, July 27, 2004

The concept of web designing based on the nature and rapid growth of the Internet is nothing to boast of any more. This is because of the large number of web sites published to the Internet everyday, so as to showcase one’s presence and dominance on the World Wide Web. You may ask why this is so, well, the so simple answer is the rate at which technology is evolving.

An example is illustrated with the popular Microsoft FrontPage and Macromedia’s Flash. They are two different web designing software which have the same basic function (to create an interactive website). However, a person who has used both programs would observe that Microsoft FrontPage, which has been existing over quite a long period of time, deals basically with HTML codes. No programming language or knowledge is involved; that is why I choose to term its use in the category of web designing. Almost everybody, who owns a computer with the Windows Operating System along side MS FrontPage installed in it, knows how to design a simple website. This is because of it’s format which does not require programming skills, but only requires the user to type the text, copy and paste even drag and drop a picture to the potential website. However, Macromedia’s Flash, which was released years after Microsoft’s first release of it’s FrontPage, shows it’s advancement in effects, animations and even graphics. This powerful also shows an advancement in web designing technology. You’re probably thinking, “how incorrect”. Well, I like you to know the programming and designing are entirely two different things. While designing as been discussed about using Microsoft FrontPage as an example let us look into programming on the web.

Now, unlike Microsoft FrontPage, Macromedia’s Flash creates a more animated and effects-filled website that Microsoft FrontPage. However it require programming skills to maximize its use and put it to work. So as a person with ground knowledge of Microsoft FrontPage would call himself a web designer, the other with Macromedia’s Flash would call himself a web programmer so as to differentiate himself to a so called ‘novice’, who may have learnt web designing through the widely believed ‘easy-to-use’ Microsoft FrontPage. But whichever way a website is created, it is important to note that its primary function is to supply information about services, products and other functionaries. So, whether a web programmer or a web designer; if the same work given to them is to create a website, they symbolize oneness, in the sense that however way the site may be created, or how more interactive one’s work may be, compared to the other, they still pass the same information to the website visitors, thus making them both creative in the aspect of ‘web designing’, which almost every high school kid can do.

Yet as one, who is a programmer, I do not see much of a difference between the web designer and programmer, unless a far more advanced form of web programming than we (web programmers) have now, is created. But till then the so-called web programmers would continue to stretch on their differences from the web designer, irrespective to their similarities.

About The Author
As a student I studied the basic and intermediate concepts of Web designing and Web programming. I am also into webdesigning and webprogramming
onaefe@active.ws