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What am I - web designer or web developer?
19 March 2007
I signed up for the Future of Web Design Conference recently and the name badge registration asked whether I was a web designer or web developer. Hmmm. Tricky question. I'm not sure I fit in either of those two categories.
I think I fit somewhere in the middle
I wouldn't really class myself as a designer (you can probably tell) in the true graphic design sense but I am not a hardcore coder either. I think I fit somewhere in the middle. I work mainly with cascading style sheets (CSS) and HTML mark-up but I am also happy to dip my toes into the PHP and JavaScript waters when the occasion calls for it. I work freelance and the name of the company is 'web design' but I also build ecommerce websites using ecommerce web templates. Is that web design or web development?
I asked myself a similar question when I signed up for another meeting, the £5 App Meet in Brighton. I'm not sure I can blag it as a web developer but I'm interested in web application ideas. Given the time, I'd like to learn Ruby on Rails or something equally cool - but I also want to look at CSS showcase websites.
Back to the question. Web designer or web developer? I think I'm stuck for an answer but maybe that's not a bad thing? I quite like the freedom to move around.
Well said! We should all follow your example and resist the temptation to be pigeonholed. The best things happen near the margins and where cross-fertilisation is rife.
· Mike Dillamore Mar 19, 06:23 PM 1