Someone asks me for a website and the first thing they say is "I need a designer" or "I need a developer". Often they are not sure which, and the two words get used as if they mean the same thing. They don't, and hiring the wrong one is a slow, annoying way to lose a month.
Here is how I'd split it, in plain language, with a few ways to tell which one your project needs.
What a web designer does
A web designer decides how the site looks and how a visitor moves through it. Layout, colours, fonts, the order of the sections, where the button goes, what the page looks like on a phone. Good designers also think about what you want a visitor to do and shape the page around that.
Many designers work in tools like Figma and hand over a picture of the finished site. Others build it themselves inside a page builder. Either way, their strength is visual judgement and clarity.
What a web developer does
A web developer makes the site actually work. They build the pages in code or in a system like WordPress, connect the contact form so it lands in your inbox, set up hosting and email, make the site load quickly, and keep it secure and backed up. If something breaks at 8pm on a Friday, it is the developer's problem.
Developers are also the people who answer questions like "can customers book and pay on the site?" or "can this talk to our stock system?". Those are working-parts questions, not looks questions.
Where the two overlap
On a small business website the roles blur, and that is fine. Plenty of freelancers do both, and a WordPress theme with a few sensible choices can look good without a separate designer. The question is not which job title is on the invoice. It is who is responsible for each part, and whether someone has said so out loud.
I do the build side. I can make sensible layout decisions, and I will say so plainly when your project needs a proper brand designer rather than me guessing. If you want a look that is properly distinctive, a designer's input is worth paying for. If you want a clear, fast site that does its job, a developer who cares about layout is usually enough.
Three signs you need a developer first
The site has to do something, such as take bookings, show live stock, let people log in or send data to another system.
You already have a design or a brand and need it built properly.
Your existing site is slow, keeps breaking, or you are not sure who controls the hosting and the code.
That last one comes up more than you'd think. If you are unsure who holds the keys, read who owns your website, domain, hosting and code before you hire anyone.
Three signs you need a designer first
You are starting a business and have no logo, colours or tone of voice yet.
You can't explain what the site should feel like, only that the current one looks tired.
You are planning a big rebrand and the website is one part of it.
In those cases the design work comes first, because a change to a drawing costs far less than a change to a finished build. A developer can then build exactly what was agreed.
What goes wrong when you hire the wrong one
Hire only a designer for a project that needs real functionality and you get a beautiful mock-up that nobody has worked out how to build. The surprises arrive later, usually as extra cost. Hire only a developer for a project that needs a distinctive identity and you get a working site that looks like everyone else's.
Neither is a disaster if you catch it early. The cure is a short written brief that says what the site must do and what it should feel like. I wrote a guide on how to brief a web developer that works just as well when you are briefing a designer.
How the money tends to work
Designers often charge for the design stage on its own, then the build is quoted separately. Developers who handle both usually quote one figure for the lot. Neither approach is better, but you should know which one you are looking at so two quotes are not compared like for like when they cover different things. Fixed price, day rate or monthly fee explains how the common pricing models differ.
Questions to ask before you commit
Who is responsible for the layout, and who is responsible for making it work?
Will I get the design files, the code and the login details when the job is finished?
If I need a change in six months, who do I call?
Is anything outside this quote, such as copywriting, photography or ongoing hosting?
If you are hiring in WordPress specifically, questions to ask a WordPress developer before you hire goes into more detail.
My take
For most small businesses in Hull and East Yorkshire, one good developer who also has an eye for layout is the simplest route. One person, one conversation, one invoice, and nobody can say "that was the other person's job". For the build itself I work in WordPress when it is the right fit, and I'll say so plainly when it isn't.
If you are still not sure which of the two you need, that is exactly what the free 30 minute surgery is for. Tell me what the site has to do and what you've got now, and I'll tell you whether you need a designer, a developer, or neither yet. You can book it through the contact page.
Free 30-min surgery
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