In the 1990s and early 2000s, web designers, ad agencies and marketing firms controlled their clients’ message; thus, they acted in a chief decision-making role regarding technology decisions, driving their clients’ websites. Marketers tossed about the term “web developer” as if synonymous to “web designer.” Conversely, web developers rarely muddled the terminology. Why not? Because the last thing most true web developers wanted to manage was the creative process, let alone the client.
- Web Designers Envision It: Creative, Interface Layout, Digital Experience, Wireframe, Business Message
- Web Developers Make It Work: Coding, Framework, Security, Performance & Speed, Compatibility, etc
Technology Decisions: Business Decisions in Disguise
Smart marketers, however, knew then, and they know now, the importance of client ownership. So while they often lacked the technical skills to legitimately position themselves as “web developers,” they knew how to outsource. Marketers realized then, and they know now, most technology decisions were are actually business decisions in disguise.
Over two decades since the advent of the World Wide Web, the challenge persists. Web design firms with little or no technology chops position themselves as web development firms. The difference today is threefold: First, clients aren’t as gullible; Second, Ironically, for all the advancements of the Web ecosystem in the past 20 years, it’s actually more complex than ever to get web design and development right, without the highly trained skills of a qualified web developer; Third and most notably, the technologists have discovered (and mastered) marketing. Yes, “The inmates have taken over the asylum.”
There’s still a lot of hype in this area, but despite what many short-sighted marketers in the web design world would have you believe, there still remains a big difference between web design and web development. The big difference is, web designers still can’t do the development very well. They can’t do it, and most can’t project manage it. Web developers, on the other hand, figured out how that web design is just one phase of the process.
Marketing + Technology: Separate Them at Your Own Risk
Web design at ‘corePHP’, web designers are on our team, but we go far beyond what your typical web design firm can do. We’re web developers, and unlike designers, you can rest assured that we’re well qualified to update, upgrade, improve and integrate your website’s core code.
Sure, a few web designers have some coding chops, but not many. That may seem all fine and dandy, until your website breaks, gets hacked, or worse. Then whom do you call? Would your designer know how to properly fix your site, and secure it, preventing it from happening again?
If you’re creating a one-off site or a personal website that’s one circumstance, but if your business is on the line, you don’t want to risk it by choosing a web design firm or ad agency to handle all the intricacies of your web-based business. Unlike the 1990s, when web design firms and digital marketing agencies led web projects, these days, web development firms have begun to take their place, assuming the role (and title) of “digital agency.” Count ‘corePHP’ in that category, once strictly a web development firm, offering web design as one of many services in the total certainly
important to make sure you with PHP, JavaScript, MySQL, CSS, LESS and HTML5 to help create the ideal solution for your business. We have designers on staff, but beyond that, we’re web architects, engineers and mechanics, devising and building the core code you need to build your Joomla-powered business.
Visual treatment is very important for your site’s message building and other customer-facing elements, as well as creating your site’s digital experience and ease of use. However, it’s critically important to ensure you’ve got qualified people leading your project who are qualified to oversee, conduct, and ensure the quality of your PHP code, your security, your JavaScript, CSS and server environment, when building the core foundation for your organization’s online presence. We’re sorry to break the news, but Designers aren’t qualified to handle such things, nor should they be expected to do so. You need the full services of ‘corePHP’, a marketing technology solutions provider. We’ve got the full service team it takes to handle your website development project from start to finish, and we stand behind our work 100%.
