Do you need a web designer or a web developer?

What does a web designer do?

A web designer decides how your website looks and how people move through it. That means the layout of each page, the colors and type, where the call button goes, and what someone sees first on a phone.

Good designers also think about words. They plan what each page says so a visitor understands what you do and why to pick you in a few seconds. On a business website, design is less about looking pretty and more about getting the right people to call.

What does a web developer do?

A web developer builds how your website works. They turn the design into a real site that loads fast and works on every phone and computer.

Developers also build the parts that do real work.

• Forms that go somewhere. New leads land in your email, your calendar, or your sales software.
• Booking and payments. Customers pick a time, pay a deposit, or buy online.
• Logins and portals. Customers or staff sign in to see their own information.
• Connections to your other software. Your website talks to your CRM, your accounting, or your inventory.
• Speed and search setup. Fast pages and the behind-the-scenes setup that helps Google and AI tools read your site.

Which one does your project need?

It depends on what the site has to do.

If your website mostly needs to look professional and bring in calls, the design side does most of the work. If it needs to take bookings, payments, or connect to your other tools, you need real development too.

How much does each one cost?

For a business website, design and development usually come together in one price. Most business websites cost $2,000 to $10,000. A simple site with a few pages sits near the bottom of that range. Booking, payments, logins, and connections push it higher, because each one takes development time to build and test.

When the project grows past a website into an app, a customer portal, or a dashboard, it becomes custom software. That is priced by the features and the systems it connects with. We break that down in how much custom software costs.

Should you hire one team or two people?

Many owners start by hiring a designer and a developer separately. It can work, but it means two schedules, two bills, and a gap in the middle where things get lost. When something breaks, each one can say it is the other's job.

One team that does both is usually faster and easier. The person who plans the page also knows how it will be built, and you have one place to call when you need a change.

How do you find a good web developer in Mississippi?

Look at working sites and apps they've built, not only pictures of them. Click the forms, try the booking, and open everything on your phone.

Ask how they connect a website to your other software, who looks after the site after launch, and what that costs each month. If you are near Hattiesburg, our guide to choosing a web designer in Hattiesburg has a full list of questions to ask.

What does dbVantage do?

Both. dbVantage is based in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. We design how your website looks and reads, and we build how it works, from call buttons and quote forms to booking, payments, and connections to the software you already use. When a project needs more than a website, we build custom software too.

Websites cost $2,000 to $10,000, plus $50 to $250 a month for hosting, updates, and maintenance. Learn more about our web design in Hattiesburg.