{"id":21605,"date":"2017-03-06T11:00:48","date_gmt":"2017-03-06T17:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/getflywheel.com\/?p=21605"},"modified":"2023-10-17T20:52:33","modified_gmt":"2023-10-18T01:52:33","slug":"hybrid-web-designer-developer","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/case-studies\/resources\/hybrid-web-designer-developer\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pros and Cons of Being a Hybrid Web Designer\/Developer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
If you\u2019ve been a designer for any length of time, you\u2019ve probably had clients request things from you that go beyond design and into the realm of development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Web design, as you know, involves the visual and structural design of a website. You\u2019re making creative decisions about things like layouts, navigation, and user experience. There\u2019s certainly a good bit of science behind the decisions you make, but it\u2019s more art than science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s like architecture\u2014you come up with the plans for a site, but developers are the ones who actually put the ricks (aka tech) in place for the site to exist. You aren\u2019t the one out digging a foundation and hanging drywall; you\u2019re just saying where the foundation and drywall should go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Then there\u2019s web development. Developers are the folks who actually go and build a website. If we\u2019re talking art vs. science, development is definitely heavy on the science end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Developers take a concept and find a way to execute it, but generally speaking aren\u2019t the folks who are pouring hours of creative energy and thought into the concept. They deal in coding and tech and construction\u2014they\u2019re like the builders, not the architects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s a caveat and you\u2019ve probably already thought about it: designers totally build websites! But they do so using themes, plugins, and usually some CSS or HTML5. They\u2019re building the site from the design \u201cblueprints\u201d (to continue the architecture idea), but they\u2019re essentially customizing frameworks and elements that were created (coded) by developers for the specific purpose of being assembled by designers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Very few designers will actually design a site and then code it from scratch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And those designers who do aren\u2019t really designers at all. They\u2019re hybrids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
So What is a Hybrid Web Designer\/Developer?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Designers design; developers build. A hybrid web designer\/developer designs and then builds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you love coding and building beautiful, effective websites from the ground up, you might be a hybrid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you make some stuff happen in CSS and maybe you\u2019ll build a page with HTML now and then, you\u2019re probably not a hybrid. You\u2019re still awesome\u2014a designer who\u2019s able to code in CSS, HTML, and more. The more coding skills you have, the more robust you are as a designer\u2026but that doesn\u2019t necessarily mean you\u2019re also a developer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It works the other way, too. If you\u2019re a serious coder and you know how to put together some basic websites that are easy enough to use but don\u2019t really focus on user experience, conversion goals, or positioning, you might not really be a \u201cweb designer\u201d in the primary sense of web design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You, too, are still awesome! But not all developers should be designers, and there\u2019s nothing wrong with focusing just on coding and leaving the worries about multiple menu placements and calls to action to someone else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But, of course, if that stuff fascinates you and you\u2019ve looked into it \u2013 or you\u2019ve even taken coursework to learn more about the purpose of a website and how to make designs more effective, you might be a hybrid!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Benefits of Going Hybrid<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
These days, hybrid web designer\/developers get a lot of buzz, and with good reason. The more well-rounded you are, the more robust of a service provider you can be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Designers who truly understand the development process can offer expert advice on what\u2019s doable and what\u2019s not, which can open the doors for a lot of creativity and \u2013 perhaps more importantly\u2014shut the doors on a lot of stuff that seems cool on paper (or in wireframes) but really isn\u2019t feasible from a construction standpoint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a hybrid, you\u2019re what some people call a \u201cunicorn\u201d\u2014a magical creature we hope to find someday, but who we don\u2019t actually think will be able to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just think\u2014a client comes to you and says “I want this! and this! and this!\u201d and you have to bring them down to Earth because, as awesome as Divi or Genesis is, there\u2019s no way to make all those ideas happen within those frameworks \u2013 and that\u2019s what you\u2019re limited to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now imagine being able to blow the roof off the framework, giving your client anything and everything they want despite any particular theme\u2019s limitations, and then charging a premium price to do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sounds awesome, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s because it really can be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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