I’m a buyer (of the service) and also an employer. I agree with other people saying web designers and programmers should know a little about each other’s profession or what they actually do.
In today’s business, most of the sites are database driven. So web designers are asked to learn more about back-end programming knowledge and templating system structures than before. For example, to design WordPress theme, a web designer should know a little about php codes used.
Not with FLASH. lol
japonica, it is true that one needs to know some PHP codes to do the template. For example, styling how a post should display, the sidebars etc…and modifying a plugin or some additional features.
Ah you took what I was just gonna say, I shouldnt read posts so I sound like I have my own voice haha.
This sounds like an unnecessary tag for someone. There must be more to it, because when you say Web Producer it sounds like a big deal, when in reality they just get the slice tool and hangout with imageready with premade graphics taking no part in the code or design :injured:
If it is a title I would rename it to Graphic Slicer!
“Graphic Slicer” sounds silly. There’s more to web production than that… which IS a big deal as there’s the HTML, javascript, css etc that is “required to attain the interactivity goals specified by the client” guess I was just being lazy when I generalised.
I said “web producer” because it actually is/was a job title.
HTML code generated by imageready/fireworks is a little shifty and shouldn’t be used off the bat - or off the slice if you will.
Web Production consists of optimising the image that is provided by the web designer for web browsers and writing HTML code, CSS and javascript. A load that has been dumped on the web designer and/or the web developer making this position more and more phased out and unheard of or regarded as being “graphic slicer”.
regards,
In the web business, they’re not looking for a web designer or programmer or developer or producer. They’re looking for people with a certain skills set. It’s about your knowledge and the way you put that knowledge into practice. You often don’t see an ad up with: “looking for a web developer”. You’ll see an ad up with: “looking for someone who knows this and that, and this”. If you do see an ad up with web developer needed, the firm will always post up the necessary skills set. Each firm has it’s own view on web development, just like you guys, so they’re always specific.
However if you are looking for a name to represent yourself/work, my tip is to simply call yourself a web specialist, post up your skills set, and get done with it.
wi prefer web programmers :d
When dealing with smaller companies I always end up writing, or at least rewriting their copy as well as doing all the designing, HTML/CSS, optimising etc.
How to represent this to a potential customer?
IMO Web Developer covers most of the bases. A Web Programmer to me is someone who writes PHP/ASP, sets up the database etc in other words uses programming languages as opposed to straight mark-up stuff.
The Web Designer dolls up pretty graphics, the attractive layout.
In between and covering the other roles is the Web Developer. More correctly it should be Web Site Developer as the other sounds like Tim Berners-Lee!
My $0.02 (about $0.012 in US currency:))
ACK! This is driving me crazy! Where the heck is the marketing person in all of this? A designer that doesn’t know marketing is worthless. Most designers don’t even know that a web site visitor looks at the top right of a page first, then the middle, then the left. Most design as if for magazines and newspapers as if the visitor looks at the top left reading to the bottom right and stats show that’s just plain wrong on-line.
Good designers make a pretty looking web site that doesn’t earn its keep. Great designers study on-line marketing and hit it out of the park for their clients.
In company perspective a Designer should know as much as posible about the Programmer, and visa versa is true as well, Designers that Program.
I know my pixels, vectors, 2d and 3d, cdd html xhtml javascript php and im working on .net right now, only cause i am one single person developing complete applications doing graphics design as wel as coorporate design and commercial customisation in terms of selling your stuff.
Saying that i dont think one shoul limit itself to “Designer” or “Programmer”, in the fields of the web, both are required when working on your own.
A team of let’s say 8 ppl, 2 designer, 2 developers, 1 programmer and one tester, one is not required to know everything and can therefore be told to “Focus” on it’s speciality, where the programmer is programming way better that you could ever do on your own it’s told to “Focus” on it’s programming skills.
Often companies will have a static workflow in this matter, whereby every participant has it’s own responsibilities.
Until there is a clear definition of both, no one knows. Sure, people can say what they think it means, but what authority do they have?
I couldn’t agree more. Excellent breakdown of differences. I would fall into the ‘web programmer’ category - php, mysql, javascript and standard compliant xhtml/css (i do care about web standards)
Although I do know web developers that are more like CMS experts. They rely heavily on CMS (content management systems) in creating sites such as joomla, drupal, and wordpress, third party apps, etc and bringing them together.
The designer= design website
The programmer = make programm in use of website
web programmer = everything that is code (html, css, javascript, php, etc)
web designer = general layout, graphics, colors, pictures, etc
web designer = architect
web programmer = builder
Web designer is only doing the UI works… but the Website Programmer is implementing all the functionality… in the cms sections very important part web design… because all the site look feel based on that desinger only…
i think all people can be a programmer but not everybody can be a webdesigner