When it comes to web programming and website design, there seems to be a lot of confusion regarding what each field entails. While there are crossovers between the two, they each require a very different skill set. Are you considering pursuing a career in one of these fields? This article will help you differentiate between the two to help you make an informed decision.
Definitions
Web programming and website design are crucial for creating and maintaining quality websites. Experts in these fields work closely together to create websites that are not only visually appealing but functional too!
Website designers are responsible for the aesthetic and user experience aspects of a website. This includes the website layout, images displayed, font choices, and colour schemes. Web programmers are concerned with the technical aspects of a website. They work with a variety of coding languages to implement the intended design and developmore complex functionality.
Roles Explained
A course in web programming will allow you to specialise in one of the following areas:
Front-end development – using markup and codinglanguages, including CSS, HTML, and Java, to control how the information on a site appears to users via a browser or mobile device.
Back-end development – using programming languages like SQL, Python, Java, and PHP to write and maintain the code that keeps the user-facing side of a site running from behind the scenes. This is achieved by maintaining a constant flow of information between a website’s front-end and database.
Full-stack development– using front-end and back-end development to create fully functional websites.
A course in website design will allow you to perform three main roles:
UI Design – UIdesigners, or user interface designers, design all the interactive elements of a website, including forms and buttons.
UX Design – UX designers, or user experience designers, analyse dataand run complex tests to design website layouts that optimise the user experience and keep website visitors engaged.
Visual Design – Visual designers are versed in both UXand UI design and can create interfaces that are both aesthetically pleasing and easy to use.
Decision Time
We hope you find this crash course helpful and feel better equipped to make an informed careerchoice. If you are still struggling to decide between these two fields, that’s okay too! Many ITqualificationswill allow you to become versed in both, which will work to your advantage considering how closely interlinked these two fields are.
Belgium Campus iTversity offers two industry-relevant IT degrees, a Bachelor of Computing and a Bachelor of Information Technology, which will transform you into a world-class programmer capable of providing an exceptional user experience. Need more information on a specific course? Give us a call on 010 593 5361 or send us an email at info@belgiumcampus.ac.za.
