When considering a web development major, it is not unreasonable to wonder what kinds of courses will you take and what topics will you study? Naturally, as an integral part of a company's website management team, web developers must understand basic web design. Therefore, undergraduate courses, as well as certificate and diploma programs generally start with courses in web design software. In these courses, students learn how to create web pages using HTML, XMTL, and CSS style sheets, basic color palettes, and how to upload content to web servers. As the program progresses, students learn about basic site analytic tools, search engine optimization, and basic scripting.

When students move beyond the basic web design skills required for their web development major, they may study more advanced analytics, server security, network security configurations, and other more advanced skills. Additional courses in e-commerce software, scripts, databases, mark-up, and complex coding skills are taught to further students' understanding of various behind the scenes website technologies. In the world of website design and development, it is understood that the difference between a designer and a developer is the focus on the mechanics of a website. Where designers focus on what visitors see, developers focus on how to make design elements work without compromising server security or user data.

In short, a web development major requires students to learn what's under the hood of a website, including how scripts, mark ups, and coding elements affect the functionality of a website. Likewise, these professionals must also understand the complex algorithms associated with search engines, including how to develop content that is searchable by bots, web crawlers, and spiders. If a website where a person, the designer would be dressmakers and tailors where developers would be doctors and physical trainers. Both are important, but without the right mechanics underneath, design elements would not function.

If you are interested in pursuing a lucrative career building websites, before deciding on a web development major ask yourself which interests you more: designing aesthetically pleasing websites or the coding, scripts, software, and security protocols behind a website? This will help you determine if you should study website design or website development. You can study web development and still design websites, but you cannot necessarily study web design and expect to get hired as a web developer without additional training. Therefore, unless you have little to no interest in the mechanics behind websites, opting for web development studies provides more opportunities.

Likewise, as technologies continue to evolve and expand to mobile devices, smart phones, and wireless computing, more will be expected of website designers and developers. It is conceivable that within the next generation, a web development major will be the expected standard and web designers will be obsolete in light of the more demanding requirements of future websites. With considerations toward future changes in the industry, it would seem rather short sided to opt for a web design program over a web development program for individuals who want to continuing working no matter the advances in technology.