If you are a small business owner in Cameroon and you want a website, you will often hear two terms, web designer and web developer.
They sound similar, but they are not the same job.
Knowing the difference can help you avoid confusion and hire the right person for your business.
A web designer is like the artist or interior decorator of a website.
They decide how the site should look and how visitors will feel when they use it.
They think about:
The colours that match your brand
The fonts (text style) that are easy to read
The layout (where each section goes)
Pictures, logos, and buttons that make the site attractive
In short, a web designer creates what you see with your eyes.
For example:
If you visit your favourite online shop and see a “Buy Now” button that stands out in red, that was the designer’s idea.
If the menu is easy to find at the top of the page, that is the designer’s work too.
A web developer is like the engineer or mechanic of a website.
They take the designer’s idea and make it work in real life.
They think about:
Making sure buttons link to the correct pages
Adding forms so visitors can contact you
Creating features like online payments or bookings
Making the website fast and smooth to use
For example:
When you click on a “See More Services” button and it takes you straight to the services page, that’s the developer’s work.
Developers use coding languages like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, or tools like WordPress to bring the design to life.
Designer – makes it look good and easy to use
Developer – makes it work well and do the job
Both are important.
A beautiful site without good functionality will frustrate visitors.
A perfectly working site that looks bad will chase people away.
Yes. Some people are both designers and developers.
I am one of them.
I design the websites I create and also build them myself.
This means I can start in Figma for the visual plan, then move to WordPress Elementor to build it, or sometimes design and develop at the same time directly in Elementor.
This is often faster for small business projects in Cameroon, but for bigger websites, sometimes having a separate designer and developer is better.
ALSO READ: Why a Bad Website Is Killing Your Business (And What to Do About It)
If you are a small business owner in Cameroon:
If you want a good-looking site, check the designer’s past work and style.
If you want specific features, ask the developer if they can create them.
If you want both design and function, find someone who can do both or hire a team.
Knowing the difference will save you time, money, and stress. You will also get the right person for the right job.
ALSO READ: How Long to Build a Website in Cameroon?
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