Design of Interface Web design may seem like a somewhat archaic term today, dating back to the days when a single person handled all aspects of website design. By modern standards, the term "web designer" can be a bit vague; thanks to technology and our ever deepening and complex understanding of this reality, we have a myriad of subdivisions.
Generally speaking, web design relates to the visual features and functionality of a website. It is a field intrinsically linked to graphic design at all levels and deals with the same design principles as visual communication.
Knowing the terminology of the technology industry can resemble listening to a foreign language, full of complex expressions and concepts. Exploring some basic definitions related to this context leads to relevant elements of intervention:
- Web design - a broad category for everything related to the visual design and usability of a website. UI and UX design, alongside many other fields, are included in the web design.
- Web Development - The technical part of producing a website, focusing on programming and code. Web development is divided into "front-end" and "back-end".
- User Interface (UI) - A specialization in web design which deals with the controls the audience uses to interact with a website or app, including button displays and gesture control.
- User Experience (UX) - Another specialization in web design, which deals with the user's behavior and feeling when using the website or app. UX design encompasses many other areas, but always from the user's perspective.
None of these areas are exclusive and there is considerable overlap. Web design and development are just two sides of the same coin, user interface design influences UX design, web development supports them all. The process relates less to defining which fields deal with which tasks and more about how each field considers the same task from a different and complementary point of view.
Subcategories of web design include UI and UX, but also other dimensions such as IA (information architecture, dealing with site mapping and navigation) and CRO (conversion rate optimization, adjusting site design to increase sales or other specific actions).