Web Design 101 – How to Have Designers Collaborate with Developers Successfully

Web designers and developers are often regarded as two separate individuals working in separate universes. The truth is, when it comes to website planning, they are both required to work closely to create an effective and functional website. Instead of retreating into their own concealed corners of their areas of expertise, they are expected to trade knowledge and ideas back and forth for continued product enhancement.

Designers working effectively with web developers can pose a challenge, especially if they are only starting out and have limited experience. Here are some tips on how to collaborate with developers successfully for a better website design:

1. Create a solid plan

There is a saying, “failure to plan is planning to fail”—and that holds true in the world of web design and development. A concrete game plan is necessary for designing and creating an effective website. However, it is also important that your developer is aware and understands your expectations.

To avoid any miscommunications, before investing your time and effort in website planning, have your developer go through and review your wireframes. This is a great opportunity to ask pertinent questions such as “Can we achieve this with our budget?” or “Do you have any issues here that will hinder our plans?”

2. Have a clear, respectful, and open communication

For any project to be successful, clear and open communication is vital—it helps everyone on the team push themselves harder for new and creative ideas. If both developers and designers are already involved during the early stages of communication, web developers will be able to contribute to designing ideas, and designers can still enhance their designs.

Constant and regular interaction breaks the barrier and creates a friendly working environment, where each member can look forward to ideas and feedback from others. Respect of opinions and trust are two of the top requirements for a successful collaboration. This enables effective and productive interactions throughout the project, and progress towards the same end goal.

3. Learn the developer’s language

Speaking from someone else’s language—in this case, your developer—makes life a little easier and simpler. Website planning and product development will not be a complicated path when both developers and designers speak each other’s language. It will be very useful to learn a few basic industry terms. For example, web developers use CSS to apply an effect, while designers use Photoshop.

Developers also need to learn basic designing terms, such as wireframing, prototyping, sketching, or mockups. InVision, a Prototype tool, is useful for designer and developer collaboration. The same concept applies to designers—they must learn and understand a developer’s language. Basic terms like CSS or HTML can be incredibly useful. A bit of coding can also be helpful for designers to be able to design a development-friendly interface.

Bottom Line

A harmonious designer and developer collaboration are important for building a robust solution. Few other advantages include:

• Excellent customer experience
• Less cost and re-work
• A minimal percentage of errors
• Sharing of knowledge that is great for sharpening individual skills

Taking the time, effort, and money on staying organised will eventually pay off. If you are a newbie designer, do not let an opportunity to learn to pass you by. Ask questions to your developer and learn from your mistakes to make sure that the next web planning project will move on as scheduled and your design will pan out as planned.

We’re a web design agency based in Leeds, get in touch with us today to see how we can help!