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UI vs UX: Which Website Designer Should You Hire?

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Zara, Staff Writer

Thursday, 6 May 2021

Hiring a professional web designer can be a huge relief, especially if you’re a busy professional or you aren’t accustomed to the jargon associated with building a website. But knowing which kind of web designer to hire for your project can be a challenge. 

UI or UX website designer? Which of the two can provide you with a solution to all of your problems? What do UI and UX even mean and what’s the difference between the two? 

Let’s get to the bottom of the difference between a UI/UX designer and which of the two you need for the success of your web design project.

What is UX Design?

UX stands for User Experience. A UX designer is responsible for designing a website that is functional, easy to use and enjoyable to interact with. They’ll focus on improving and developing the backend features of a website, such as usability and navigation, to create a user-centric product. 

The roles of a UX designer include performing the design and user research for the website, creating a content strategy, writing and managing website codes (where these apply), performing quality assurance and product testing, and forming the structure for the website. They create the product before the user reaches it. 

A UX designer takes the time to study the behaviours of website users to understand their online habits, gather useful data about them, and distil this into information that can be applied to the creation of a website.

What is UI design?

UI is short for User Interface. A UI designer specialises in the visual experience of the web interface, otherwise known as the front end. 

They aim to optimise the aesthetic experience of a website to improve the user’s experience of interacting with it. They determine, set up, and fix the controls web visitors use to interact with a website, web page, or app. 

UI designers are also responsible for creating button displays and gesture controls that aim to give web visitors a seamless experience on a site. They work on the point of interaction between the user and the website to improve the value of the experience for the user.

UI designers are usually good with graphic design, vector manipulation, and sometimes, motion graphics. With these specialised skills, they manage the visual representation of websites and ensure that web features allow users to easily interact with the product. 

Think of the UX designer as the website architect, and the UI designer as the building constructor. The UX designer would usually draw out the map and lay a foundation for the activities of the UI designer.  

UX vs UI: Which should you hire?

Now that you know who these professionals are and their relationship with the creation of websites, it is time to answer the question of who you should hire for your projects.

If you’re at the beginning of a project and you’re looking for someone to carry out thorough research and build your website from the ground up, you’ll need a UI designer to bring your vision to life. If you’re looking for help with the visual elements of your website’s interface, such as branding, styling and colouring, then a UI designer is your best bet. 

For the best overall success of your project, however, hire both a UX and UI web designer, as they go hand-in-hand. UX designers and UI designers often work together to fit together the separate pieces of your product puzzle, so it’s a good idea to hire both if you have the budget. Alternatively, you can find someone who can fulfil both job descriptions - making life that little bit easier.

Find both UI and UX web designers to support with the creation of your website on Bark.

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