Second, in our ‘Train of Thought’ series:
We wanted to provide both a brief overview of web development as well as commentary on the subject from some of the greatest minds in the business (much like we did for our ‘Web Design’ segment).
The term ‘web development’ is very generic as it can stand for much of the work that is put towards developing a site for the internet. This term considers a wide range of development – from the simplest individual static page, to the most complex of applications. We at Loud Canvas Media, as well as other web professionals, consider ‘web development’ as a focus point of writing and coding (not inclusive of the design aspects of the site).
This focus, along with mobile responsiveness, web accessibility, and the structure of information, can be blended together seamlessly with the web design to create top notch websites.
While our brief description gives you some idea as to what ‘web development’ really is, it helps to include the thoughts of web professionals and other experts who are diving head-first into the world of web development each and every day.
“Web development comes in two flavors – front-end development and back-end development. Some of the skills in these two flavors overlap, but they do have very different purposes in the web design profession. A front-end developer takes the visual design of a website (whether they created that design or it was handed to them by a visual designer) and builds it in code….Back-end development deals with the more advanced programming and interactions on the pages.” – Jennifer Kyrnin, Web Design & HTML Expert
“Development is for left-brained people; Design is better suited for the right-brain. Most developers tend to think with the left side of their brain, which is the logical, linear thinking and technical side. Designers are typically more in tune with their right brain hemisphere, utilizing their creativity, intuition and imagination, to design amazing user experiences. If web designers are the architects of the web then developers are the builders. Without coders, the plans would never come to life. They work with designers in making semantic mark-up languages like XHTML and CSS and transform static PSDs into interactive working web browser pages.” – Lauren Holliday, Launch Academy
“Web developers tend to approach the world from a logical, scientific standpoint. If they were lost, rather than looking for a familiar landmark to guide them, they might look up at the stars or drop a GPS pin. Web developers also tend to see the world as a vast collection of data that can be used for different purposes. If you asked a web developer to write a word in the center of a page, they would look for a tool to measure it in the quickest, most efficient way, maybe by folding the paper evenly into 4 squares or grabbing a ruler. Web developers like to handle big projects by taking them one step at a time and paying close attention to the details. If a web developer were building a theme park, she would love working on the details of the physics of the rides and the number of visitors the park could accommodate, and she’d work through them one small step at a time.” – Randle Browning, skillcrush.com
