TL;DR: Website designers focus on visuals and user experience, while web developers handle coding, functionality, and performance. Designers shape how a site looks and feels; developers make sure it works smoothly.

In Australia, designers typically earn $60k–$95k per year, while developers range from $70k–$120k. Freelance rates vary by skill and location, with Sydney and Melbourne often higher.

Hire a designer for branding, UX, and visual updates—or when planning a website redesign. Choose a developer for custom features, integrations, and technical fixes. Larger projects like e-commerce sites and web apps usually need both roles working together.

Your choice depends on project goals, technical requirements, and budget—smaller budgets may prioritise one role, while bigger projects benefit from combining both—especially when deciding whether you need a redesign or a new website.

The success of a website often comes down to one choice: hiring a designer, a developer, or both.

Building a website involves more than creating a good design or writing solid code. Both elements need to work together, but many Australian businesses face costly delays or inflated budgets when they hire the wrong professional.

Web designers focus on visuals and user experience, while developers take care of coding, functionality, and performance. Knowing the difference helps businesses make smarter hiring choices.

This guide outlines what each role does, typical costs in Australia, and how to decide whether you need a designer, a developer, or both.

What Does a Web Designer Do?

Web designers are the creative minds behind how a website looks and feels. They shape the visual identity of a site, making sure it reflects the brand while guiding users through a smooth experience.

Key responsibilities include:

  • Creating wireframes and mockups
  • Designing user interfaces (UI)
  • Developing brand-consistent visual elements
  • Mapping out user experience (UX) strategies
  • Selecting colour schemes and typography
  • Producing graphics and visual content

Research from Stanford shows that nearly half of consumers judge a company’s credibility by its design—layout, typography, and colour choices all play a role. That makes web designers a crucial part of building trust online.

Many designers specialise further. UX designers focus on user research and journey mapping. UI designers refine interface elements and interactions. Visual designers bring expertise in graphics, illustration, and branding.

Their toolkit often includes platforms like Figma, Sketch, and Adobe Creative Suite, along with no-code builders such as Webflow, which allow for interactive prototypes before a single line of code is written.

What Does a Web Developer Do?

Web developers turn design concepts into working websites. They build the underlying code and systems that make a site functional, reliable, and scalable.

Core responsibilities include:

  • Writing HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
  • Building server-side functionality
  • Creating and managing databases
  • Implementing content management systems
  • Ensuring website security
  • Optimising site performance

While designers focus on how a site looks, developers make sure it runs smoothly across devices and browsers. Their work covers everything from simple landing pages to complex e-commerce platforms and custom web applications.

Developers also bring structure to the process, following systematic methods for coding, testing, and deployment to keep projects on track.

Key Differences in Focus and Approach

Design and Development Perspectives

The distinction between designers and developers goes beyond “looks versus code.” Each role approaches problems differently, and both perspectives are essential.

Mindset

  • Designers focus on people—how a site feels, the emotions it triggers, and how easily users can find what they need.
  • Developers focus on systems—scalability, efficiency, security, and performance.

Problem-Solving

  • A designer might fix a slow-loading page by simplifying visuals or optimising images.
  • A developer would address server response times, compress code, or enable lazy loading.

Workflow

  • Designers often take an iterative, creative approach—exploring ideas through research, mood boards, and prototypes.
  • Developers typically follow structured methods—breaking down requirements, planning architecture, coding, and testing.

Deliverables

  • Designers hand over wireframes, mockups, and style guides that capture the look and feel.
  • Developers deliver working code, databases, and applications that power the site.

Both roles are needed: Google research shows 53% of mobile users abandon a site that takes more than three seconds to load—something that demands strong design and solid development.

Cost Comparison

Hiring costs vary widely depending on experience, location, and the complexity of the project. Here’s what Australian businesses can expect.

Web Designer Costs in Australia

Freelance Rates:

  • Junior: $50-$75/hour
  • Mid-level: $75-$120/hour
  • Senior: $120-$200+/hour

Annual Salaries:

  • Entry-level: $55,000-$65,000
  • Experienced: $70,000-$95,000
  • Senior: $95,000-$130,000

Sydney and Melbourne designers typically charge 15–20% more. Projects can range from $3,000 for a simple site to $25,000+ for a full brand package.

Web Developer Costs in Australia

Freelance Rates:

  • Junior: $60-$90/hour
  • Mid-level: $90-$150/hour
  • Senior: $150-$250+/hour

Annual Salaries:

  • Junior: $65,000-$75,000
  • Mid-level: $80,000-$110,000
  • Senior: $110,000-$150,000+

Full-stack developers (who can handle both front- and back-end work) earn 10–15% more. Project costs start around $5,000 for simple builds and can exceed $100,000 for complex platforms.

When to Hire a Web Designer vs a Developer

When Do You Need a Web Designer?

Hire a designer when the issues are visual—things like brand identity, website redesigns, user experience improvements, or creating style guides.

Signs you may need a designer:

  • Your site feels outdated or doesn’t reflect your brand properly
  • Customers find it hard to navigate pages or locate information
  • Landing pages aren’t converting visitors into enquiries or sales
  • You need consistent colours, fonts, and imagery across your site

Typical projects: e-commerce refreshes, marketing campaign pages, mobile usability improvements, brand consistency updates.

When Do You Need a Web Developer?

Hire a developer when the challenges are technical—custom features, database and API integrations, e-commerce setup, or security and performance fixes.

Signs you may need a developer:

  • You need features beyond the basics (e.g. booking systems, portals, or custom tools)
  • Your site needs to connect with other systems (databases, APIs, payment gateways)
  • Pages are slow to load, or the site has recurring technical issues
  • Security or scalability is becoming a concern as your business grows

Typical projects: custom booking systems, member portals, payment gateways, web applications, platform migrations, automation.

When You Need Both a Web Designer and a Web Developer

Some projects can’t succeed with only one skill set. Even if the priority starts with design or development, the two quickly overlap. A well-designed interface won’t perform if the code behind it is weak, and a technically sound build won’t deliver results if the design doesn’t engage users.

That’s why businesses often bring both roles together for projects such as:

  • Complete website builds
  • E-commerce platforms
  • Web applications
  • SaaS products
  • Digital transformation projects

Involving designers and developers from day one ensures the creative vision is achievable, technical limitations are identified early, and revisions are kept to a minimum. This collaboration produces sites that are not only visually polished but also reliable, scalable, and ready to support business growth.

Budget Considerations

If you’re still unsure after weighing up design vs development needs, consider your budget. That often makes the decision clearer.

Small budget ($3,000–$10,000):
Focus on your most pressing need. This could mean hiring a designer to refresh the look of your site using templates, or a developer to customise an existing platform.

Medium budget ($15,000–$50,000):

Engage both skill sets. You might bring in a designer first, then a developer to build the site, or choose an agency that provides integrated services.

Large budget ($50,000+):
Build a dedicated team. Larger projects usually benefit from having both designers and developers working together from the start to deliver a site that’s visually strong, technically sound, and scalable.

Making the Smart Choice for Your Next Website

Whether you need a designer, a developer, or both depends on the goals of your project and the resources available. Clear visuals and strong functionality work best when they’re developed together, ensuring your website not only looks professional but also performs reliably.

For many businesses, the challenge isn’t just choosing the right role but finding a team that can balance both. At Spark, we help Australian businesses make the smart choice for their next website. Our team combines design and development expertise to deliver websites that attract, perform, and grow with your business.

Ready to start your next project? Get in touch with Spark today and let’s build a website that works for you.