Webmaster forum - Web Designer vs Web Programmer

Author

Web Designer vs Web Programmer

Alex

2007-03-23, 7:19 pm

Hi Everyone,

When I tell folks I'm a Web Programmer I often get inundated with
people wanting me to help them redesign their website. When I tell
them I'm a Web Programmer, not a Web Designer, and that I can't help
them _design_ their site, they normally have a blank stare on their
face.

For me, I enjoy coding websites, but I'm horrible at doing graphic
design and interfaces. This is why I call myself a Programmer as
opposed to a Designer. I've worked with Web Designers who know the
standards and capabilities of web graphics, and they can create a
great 'website' in Photoshop then send it to me where I convert it to
a physical web page. Many of these Designers can't code just like I
can't design. And I know there's those lucky folks who can do awesome
designs plus write awesome code, and those are who I personally call
Webmasters :) Me though, Web Programmer is what I generally use.

Do others run into this? Also do others look at the difference
between Web Programmer and Web Designer the same as I do? I've often
equated this to the difference between a home builder and a home
architect. You wouldn't want your architect to physically build the
house just like you wouldn't want the guys framing your house to
design it.

Anyway, just something I thought I'd throw out there --

Alex

Ignoramus10399

2007-03-23, 7:19 pm

I am a programmer, and a designer, but not a decorator. In general,
you are spot on -- except that design includes both visual as well as
logical design. I now need help of a web decorator, sort of. Like a
house decorator who would recommend moving furniture around, etc.

i

On 23 Mar 2007 14:25:45 -0700, Alex <samalex@XXXXXXXXXX> wrote:
> Hi Everyone,
>
> When I tell folks I'm a Web Programmer I often get inundated with
> people wanting me to help them redesign their website. When I tell
> them I'm a Web Programmer, not a Web Designer, and that I can't help
> them _design_ their site, they normally have a blank stare on their
> face.
>
> For me, I enjoy coding websites, but I'm horrible at doing graphic
> design and interfaces. This is why I call myself a Programmer as
> opposed to a Designer. I've worked with Web Designers who know the
> standards and capabilities of web graphics, and they can create a
> great 'website' in Photoshop then send it to me where I convert it to
> a physical web page. Many of these Designers can't code just like I
> can't design. And I know there's those lucky folks who can do awesome
> designs plus write awesome code, and those are who I personally call
> Webmasters :) Me though, Web Programmer is what I generally use.
>
> Do others run into this? Also do others look at the difference
> between Web Programmer and Web Designer the same as I do? I've often
> equated this to the difference between a home builder and a home
> architect. You wouldn't want your architect to physically build the
> house just like you wouldn't want the guys framing your house to
> design it.
>
> Anyway, just something I thought I'd throw out there --
>
> Alex
>

Alex

2007-03-23, 7:19 pm

> On 23 Mar 2007 14:25:45 -0700, Alex <sama...@XXXXXXXXXX> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>

On Mar 23, 4:36 pm, Ignoramus10399 <ignoramus10...@NOSPAM.
10399.invalid> wrote:[color=darkred]
> I am a programmer, and a designer, but not a decorator. In general,
> you are spot on -- except that design includes both visual as well as
> logical design. I now need help of a web decorator, sort of. Like a
> house decorator who would recommend moving furniture around, etc.
>
> i
>

Hi i,

I never thought about that. For me, though I'm horrible at design,
I'm pretty good at coming up with the logical layout of the site, like
which menus need to do what and what needs to be on what page. I just
don't have any talent to present that layout in an aesthetically
pleasing fashion. I'm deaf when it comes to color combinations, and
though I use a color wheel at times and even use other sites as
examples, I can never come-up with truly great designs.

But I see where you're coming from about design vs decoration... I
guess for larger companies that have a heavy web presence, they'd have
an entire web team of folks to help them do the website. For my
projects though, it's just me and a few 'web designers' I use to do
the graphics, which generally is the color scheme, titles, general
menus, etc, and I run with the rest.

Alex

Fat Sam

2007-03-23, 7:20 pm

Alex wrote:
> Hi Everyone,
>
> When I tell folks I'm a Web Programmer I often get inundated with
> people wanting me to help them redesign their website. When I tell
> them I'm a Web Programmer, not a Web Designer, and that I can't help
> them _design_ their site, they normally have a blank stare on their
> face.
>
> For me, I enjoy coding websites, but I'm horrible at doing graphic
> design and interfaces. This is why I call myself a Programmer as
> opposed to a Designer. I've worked with Web Designers who know the
> standards and capabilities of web graphics, and they can create a
> great 'website' in Photoshop then send it to me where I convert it to
> a physical web page. Many of these Designers can't code just like I
> can't design. And I know there's those lucky folks who can do awesome
> designs plus write awesome code, and those are who I personally call
> Webmasters :) Me though, Web Programmer is what I generally use.
>
> Do others run into this? Also do others look at the difference
> between Web Programmer and Web Designer the same as I do? I've often
> equated this to the difference between a home builder and a home
> architect. You wouldn't want your architect to physically build the
> house just like you wouldn't want the guys framing your house to
> design it.
>
> Anyway, just something I thought I'd throw out there --
>
> Alex

I find it helps differentiate between the two disciplines if yask people to
draw a mental analogy.
Ask them this simple question. "Would you take your car to a spray shop and
ask them to fix the engine?"

Jamie

2007-03-23, 11:21 pm

In <1174685145.726631.129220@n59g2000hsh.googlegroups.com>,
"Alex" <samalex@XXXXXXXXXX> mentions:
>Do others run into this? Also do others look at the difference
>between Web Programmer and Web Designer the same as I do? I've often
>equated this to the difference between a home builder and a home
>architect. You wouldn't want your architect to physically build the
>house just like you wouldn't want the guys framing your house to
>design it.

I see it all the time. Works both ways, too. I've seen web designers
do "programming".

It's two completely different things, a web designer is the kind of
person who would edit httpd.conf in Microsoft Office and save it
as httpd.conf.doc, after carefully insuring all the directives
are in the proper font size.

A programmer is the kind of person who might just have a directory
with a bunch of .txt files, with grep.cgi being the "search page".

Jamie
--
http://www.geniegate.com Custom web programming
Perl * Java * UNIX User Management Solutions

Auggie

2007-03-24, 4:18 am

"Alex" <samalex@XXXXXXXXXX> wrote in message
news:1174685145.726631.129220@n59g2000hsh.googlegroups.com...
> Hi Everyone,
>
> When I tell folks I'm a Web Programmer I often get inundated with
> people wanting me to help them redesign their website. When I tell
> them I'm a Web Programmer, not a Web Designer, and that I can't help
> them _design_ their site, they normally have a blank stare on their
> face.
>
> For me, I enjoy coding websites, but I'm horrible at doing graphic
> design and interfaces. This is why I call myself a Programmer as
> opposed to a Designer. I've worked with Web Designers who know the
> standards and capabilities of web graphics, and they can create a
> great 'website' in Photoshop then send it to me where I convert it to
> a physical web page. Many of these Designers can't code just like I
> can't design. And I know there's those lucky folks who can do awesome
> designs plus write awesome code, and those are who I personally call
> Webmasters :) Me though, Web Programmer is what I generally use.
>
> Do others run into this? Also do others look at the difference
> between Web Programmer and Web Designer the same as I do? I've often
> equated this to the difference between a home builder and a home
> architect. You wouldn't want your architect to physically build the
> house just like you wouldn't want the guys framing your house to
> design it.
>
> Anyway, just something I thought I'd throw out there

I know my way around photoshop, but I am definitly a programmer.

For me, I would go to some of the local schools that taught graphic design
and post a notice on their bulliten boards that I was a web developer and
wanted to get in touch with a couple of graphics designers for occasional
future work.

I would usually get a couple of dozen resumes and portfolios sent to me and
when a job came in that was beyond my gaphics ability I would offer them
usually around $300-500 for a site design. I would get the graphic design
at an affordable rate, the price was passed on to the client and the student
gets to add to their portfolio.

ol'softy

2007-03-24, 7:18 am

"Alex" <samalex@XXXXXXXXXX> wrote:

>Hi Everyone,
>
>When I tell folks I'm a Web Programmer I often get inundated with
>people wanting me to help them redesign their website. When I tell
>them I'm a Web Programmer, not a Web Designer, and that I can't help
>them _design_ their site, they normally have a blank stare on their
>face.
>
>For me, I enjoy coding websites, but I'm horrible at doing graphic
>design and interfaces. This is why I call myself a Programmer as
>opposed to a Designer. I've worked with Web Designers who know the
>standards and capabilities of web graphics, and they can create a
>great 'website' in Photoshop then send it to me where I convert it to
>a physical web page. Many of these Designers can't code just like I
>can't design. And I know there's those lucky folks who can do awesome
>designs plus write awesome code, and those are who I personally call
>Webmasters :) Me though, Web Programmer is what I generally use.
>
>Do others run into this? Also do others look at the difference
>between Web Programmer and Web Designer the same as I do? I've often
>equated this to the difference between a home builder and a home
>architect. You wouldn't want your architect to physically build the
>house just like you wouldn't want the guys framing your house to
>design it.
>
>Anyway, just something I thought I'd throw out there --
>
>Alex

When people ask what I do, I just usually say that I'm retired -- that
short-circuits having to explain to them what a "software toolbuilder"
is so we can talk about more interesting stuff like the weather or how
nicely the paint is drying. Some questions just have no good answer.

--
contact via http://www.ren-prod-inc.com/hug_soft

Justin

2007-03-24, 7:19 pm

Jamie wrote:

> It's two completely different things, a web designer is the kind of
> person who would edit httpd.conf in Microsoft Office and save it
> as httpd.conf.doc, after carefully insuring all the directives
> are in the proper font size.

I think that's a bit harsh. A graphic designer, perhaps. But web
designers tend to be a lot more technical minded.

SEOwebMarket.com

2007-03-24, 11:17 pm

Ignoramus10399 wrote:
> I am a programmer, and a designer, but not a decorator. In general,
> you are spot on -- except that design includes both visual as well as
> logical design. I now need help of a web decorator, sort of. Like a
> house decorator who would recommend moving furniture around

yeah, they call them "interior DESIGNERS".

SEOwebMarket.com

2007-03-24, 11:17 pm

On Mar 23, 4:25 pm, "Alex" <sama...@XXXXXXXXXX> wrote:

> Do others look at the difference
> between Web Programmer and Web Designer the same as I do?

Absolutely; I do both well. You're correct that most people wouldn't
realize the difference.

There are also a few other areas (that I specialize in) that greatly
contribute to quality final products.

Copywriting is a HUGE factor, SEO, site architecture, filing
structure, graphic design, multimedia, presentation, marketing,
business, sales - I could go on all day long. These areas of
expertise are what creates the barrier between professional and
amateur web development.

Any kid can make a web site - but not everyone can afford to pay
professional copywriters for appeal to an educated audience, and pay
professionals to optimize site traffic and sales conversions.

- Brett (www.SEOwebMarket.com)

Mark Goodge

2007-03-25, 4:17 am

On 24 Mar 2007 18:20:12 -0700, SEOwebMarket.com put finger to keyboard
and typed:

>On Mar 23, 4:25 pm, "Alex" <sama...@XXXXXXXXXX> wrote:
>
>
>Absolutely; I do both well.

What languages do you program in?

Mark
--
Please give me one! http://www.pleasegivemeone.com
"I know I can be afraid but I'm alive"

SpaceGirl

2007-03-26, 7:20 pm

On Mar 23, 10:25 pm, "Alex" <sama...@XXXXXXXXXX> wrote:
> Hi Everyone,
>
> When I tell folks I'm a Web Programmer I often get inundated with
> people wanting me to help them redesign their website. When I tell
> them I'm a Web Programmer, not a Web Designer, and that I can't help
> them _design_ their site, they normally have a blank stare on their
> face.
>
> For me, I enjoy coding websites, but I'm horrible at doing graphic
> design and interfaces. This is why I call myself a Programmer as
> opposed to a Designer. I've worked with Web Designers who know the
> standards and capabilities of web graphics, and they can create a
> great 'website' in Photoshop then send it to me where I convert it to
> a physical web page. Many of these Designers can't code just like I
> can't design. And I know there's those lucky folks who can do awesome
> designs plus write awesome code, and those are who I personally call
> Webmasters :) Me though, Web Programmer is what I generally use.
>
> Do others run into this? Also do others look at the difference
> between Web Programmer and Web Designer the same as I do? I've often
> equated this to the difference between a home builder and a home
> architect. You wouldn't want your architect to physically build the
> house just like you wouldn't want the guys framing your house to
> design it.
>
> Anyway, just something I thought I'd throw out there --
>
> Alex

Web... developer? Monkey?

New Media Guru...?

Chaddy2222

2007-03-26, 7:21 pm

SpaceGirl wrote:
> On Mar 23, 10:25 pm, "Alex" <sama...@XXXXXXXXXX> wrote:
>
> Web... developer? Monkey?
>
Yeah, I kind of like the term Web Monkey.

--
Regards Chad. http://freewebdesign.cjb.cc

Alex

2007-03-26, 7:21 pm

On Mar 26, 8:23 am, "Chaddy2222" <spamlovermailbox-
sicur...@yahoo.com.au> wrote:
> SpaceGirl wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yeah, I kind of like the term Web Monkey.
>
> --
> Regards Chad.http://freewebdesign.cjb.cc

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for all the great feedback... I've actually started telling
folks I'm just a programmer (no Web) just to avoid the 'will you help
me' questions. Seems like everyone wants their stuff on the Internet
but few want to learn how to do it properly. I also get the questions
like 'what did you write your site in' as if I used MS Office or some
other suite to write it, but being I code everything in Homesite on
Windows or TextMate on my Mac, I tell them instead that I code in
HTML, ColdFusion, and/or PHP, augmented with mysql or MSSQL. Most
don't ask much beyond that :-)

Take care..

Alex