Full Moon Loom
Development
Web development is different from web design in that it doesn't focus on the aesthetics of a website, but rather its content. It typically refers to the work done "behind the scenes". This includes forms, search engine optimization, programming, file organization, code comments, efficiency, and much, much more.
You are probably thinking "Why does this matter if I can't see it?". Well, in a world where websites are created and never changed, it wouldn't matter. But websites do have to change. Proper development offers many advantages in this area, including but not limited to: quick site-wide changes, fast page loads, use of databases, and dynamic features.
When I call myself a Web Developer, I mean to say that I do more than make pretty images in Photoshop and embed them into a web page. I mean to say that I am a programmer. Programming is what separates web developers from designers. I am a designer, too, but my programming skills have prevailed thus far and will be more valuable going forward.
What Makes Programming so Powerful?
Programming allows a website to be constantly changing (dynamic) without any action by the webmaster or business owner. When I create dynamic websites, I use a scripting language called PHP. It is an established and growing technology used by web giants such as Facebook, Yahoo, Wikipedia, and Digg, just to name a few.
Like I said, it allows a site to change without having to add more pages or more content. More importantly, it allows a site to grow. For example, suppose you needed to send out an email newsletter to people interested in your website. With PHP, you could have a form on your site that allows users to sign up for the newsletter using their name, email, etc. Furthermore, you could have a password protected "back end" of your site where you could actually send out personalized monthly mailers to all of your subscribers!
I can develop anything from mailing lists to content management systems to traffic reports all using PHP. Programming turns your site from a static "billboard" to an interactive tool that can increase exposure and bring in more business.
