It’s always interesting to see the differences between web designers and web developers in the way they view project solutions. In my time spent in this industry, I’ve seen a lot of designers frustrated with developers, and vice verse. I’ve heard a lot of developer friends complain about the designs they’ve been handed by others, and designers annoyed they “can’t do something” they think would be spectacular… because the developer doesn’t want to code it.

Any larger-scale web presence is going to require at least one designer and at least one developer working on it. It isn’t in the interest of the client to have an ongoing war between these people. They generally just want their site up, as quickly as possible, and as cheaply as possible. It’s best for them if the designer/developer work well together and understand each other. Judging from what I’ve heard and seen from both my designer and developer acquaintances, this doesn’t often happen.

I have a theory about this. My theory: both designers and developers have egos. (Who doesn’t?) A web designer might become enamored of their layout and not want to change a thing. Being told something isn’t possible with the way the back end of a website works, or that it’s not possible to template the layout, is the last thing they want to hear. On the development side of things, you have programmers who view their work with more importance than the designers’, to them, the layout may simply be decoration. (It works both ways. Designers have a tendency to go on about branding importance. Branding is important. So is a functioning site people can navigate and use to find information.)

I’ve really seen both sides of it all. My formal educational background is in print design. But I’ve been making websites since high school in the mid-late 1990s. I started with a free/limited version of Photoshop 5.0 and Notepad. I found since graduation from design school, I kept getting asked, “hey, you build websites, right?” Now, online content is about 70% of what I do. (Last year I’ve been learning more .php to work with open source database-driven CMSs.)

I’ve worked with print designers to build their clients’ websites, and outsourced back end to developers. I’ve been fortunate with who I have worked with, personally. I think the fact I do both design and development has helped me communicate with both types of people. I’m able to see their side of things because I do their side of things.

If you want to become a better web designer: stop using Dreamweaver/WYSIWYG software. Learn how to actually code for the web, to write properly marked-up HTML, to use styles correctly for layout in all browsers. Take a beginner/intermediate level course in it. Don’t expect to suddenly be able to do the job of a web developer… just learn a bit about it for the sake of knowing what those terms are they like to throw around so much.

If you want to become a better web developer: take an art course, like painting. I know this sounds bizarre, but understanding the artistically visual mind is integral to learn how to talk to the designer who believes their site layout is amazing. I don’t want to say “get creative”, because to me, coding is creative. It’s creative problem solving and that is why I can write scripts but not do calculus.

Overall, the thing to keep in mind: you both have the same goal, that of the client’s: to produce a functioning, attractive website that fits their needs. Remember that, and you’ll do fine.