Web development today is broadly divided into two categories – front-end development and back-end development. A decade ago, back-end development was given more attention unless the app explicitly required a good design namely gaming apps, entertainment apps, and lifestyle apps. But that’s not the case today. The front-end development gets as much attention as the back-end.
As a matter of fact, the inclination toward product design has led to the emergence of new design disciplines and of course, new opportunities as well. But it has led to more confusion among the non-technical masses. Apparently, people looking for good designs are familiar with the basic technical terms like front-end developers, UX design and UI concepts, but when hiring a design team, they often get confounded because the difference between front-end developers and UX/UI designers is not very clear to them.
When it comes to best Ottawa web designers, it is important to understand the roles of both front-end developers and UX/UI designers. Front-end developers are responsible for coding and creating the user interface of a website or app.
Here, we have given you an insight into the basic roles of front-end developers and UI/UX designers and the ways in which they both differ. But first, let’s see who’s who.
Who are Front-end Developers?
Front-end developers are the ones who work on an app’s basic design functionality. They ensure that all those buttons, images, navigational bars, and other interface elements work properly. They work on the coding part of the design elements by using front-end technologies like HTML and CSS and make sure that those elements can process and communicate seamlessly with the back-end part.
Who are UX/UI Designers?
In the simplest terms, UX/UI designers are people who work exclusively on the visual appearance of a website or a web or mobile app. They are the ones who construct the structure of an app including colors, backgrounds, textures, and other design elements, while ensuring that the interface not only appears aesthetically pleasant but is also interactive, thereby enriching the overall experience of the users.
The Core Differences between a Front-end Developer and a UX/UI Designer
So now that you have a basic idea of who’s who, let’s look at the differences between the two.
Skills
The most basic skill possessed by a front-end developer is a good command of various front-end development technologies like JavaScript, CSS and HTML. The web development skills of a front-end developer is known for his/her capability to code the design elements in a way that connects the layout with its functionalities in a seamless manner.
The basic skill of a UX/UI designer is that of graphic designing. However, a UI designer should also have good research skills and should be well aware of the current web designing trends. A good UI/UX designer should also know about designing a layout that makes the journey of the users rich and enjoyable.
However, apart from the technological skills, it is considered good if front-end developers and UX designers are good with their soft skills too as communicating with clients and users is a big part of their task.
Roles and Responsibilities
Though both front-end developers and UX designers are associated with product design, they differ in their roles and responsibilities. A task of a UX designer is to work on the conceptual ideas of the clients and convert them into high-quality, workable designs. He/she is given the responsibility of creating wireframes, sitemaps, product prototypes, and storyboards along with UX flow diagrams.
A UX/UI designer is also given the task of carrying out user surveys and research to gather data and comprehend their needs and requirements. He/she also needs to ensure that the design meets the requirements of the niche business, but at the same time, it’s human-centered. A front-end developer on the other hand is responsible for carrying out the following tasks:
– Work on the technical aspects of the design elements
– Work on front-end templates to modernize the overall outlook and prepare them for modern browsers
– Test the designs across multiple devices and platforms to cross-check their compatibility, responsiveness, and image quality
– Troubleshoot the designs and fix the bugs for a seamless browsing experience
Technological Prerequisites
The next thing in which a front-end developer and UI/UX designer differ is the technological prerequisites. Both need to work with different types of software. While a front-end developer works typically with web development frameworks, libraries, and modules like Angular, Express.JS, and jQuery, a UX/UI designer mainly works with graphic software, and wireframe and prototype development tools like Sketch, Balsamiq, Adobe XD, Axure and Figma. UI designers also need to be good with animation tools.
Should a Front-end Developer learn UX/UI design?
UX/UI design is more than deciding colors, navigation and texture. It includes working with every aspect of app design including input controls like dropdowns, checkboxes, buttons, text fields, and informational and navigational components like breadcrumbs, icons, sliders, pagination, search box, etc.
Both front-end developers and UX designers need to work in close proximity to craft a successful and highly functional app design. But it is often considered an additional benefit if front-end developers learn UX/UI design. First of all, it helps them to develop the layout with a sound understanding of the basic functions, which in turn helps them to make the design more user-friendly. Some other advantages of learning UX/UI for a front-end developer are:
– Reduction in development flaws
– Assistance in choosing the right software through clarification of design demands
– Better communication with the design team
– Use of better designing techniques
Summing Up
Building a classic design requires the ideas of UX designers and the smart work of front-end developers. The UI designers construct the ideas into tangible designs, and the front-end developers construct those prototyped designs into functional and practical apps. The ultimate goal of both the designers and the developers is to remove the navigational faults and offer an unforgettable browsing experience to the users.
However, for start-ups and entrepreneurs, hiring both at the same time might seem like too much. So a good option here is to hire the open source customization services of an experienced and reliable software design and development company. Doing so will ensure that you have the quality work of both front-end developers and UI/UI designers within your budget.
Author Bio:
Albert Smith is Digital Marketing Manager at Hidden Brains, a leading software development company specializing in mobile & web apps. He provides innovative ways to help tech companies, startups and large enterprises build their brand.
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