Many 'UX agencies' are really web design shops. Here's the difference, when you actually need UX, and five tests to tell them apart.
A UX design agency can do web design, but a web design company cannot do UX. Web design makes pages; UI design is a tested, theory-grounded output of a UX process; UX is the broad discipline that contains UI but goes far beyond it (research, IA, CX, strategy). Five tips separate a real UX agency from a web shop: (1) it always researches, (2) it pre-tests with prototypes rather than shipping finished pages, (3) it costs more upfront but returns more, (4) it can guarantee results because it constantly measures and adjusts, and (5) it can even do your web design better than a pure web shop. You need UX when the project is central to your business; simple web design is fine when it isn’t.
Key takeaways
- A UX agency can do web design; a web design company cannot do UX.
- Web design, UI design and UX are three different things, wrongly merged by the 'UI/UX' myth.
- Use UX when the project is central to your business; plain web design when it isn't.
- 'UX debt' (like technical debt) accrues as lower satisfaction and churn if you skip UX.
- The signature test: real UX agencies always research and pre-test before shipping.
Web design vs UI vs UX
| Discipline | What it is | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Web design | Making a web page (or mobile screens) visible and laid out. Responsive Web Design adapts one site across devices. Largely an aesthetic/layout endeavor. | Pages |
| UI design | The interface itself, where nothing is arbitrary: theory-grounded, and an output of a UX process, tested as a prototype. Not the same as web design. | Interface (HCI) |
| UX design | The broad discipline containing UI but extending far beyond it: research, information architecture, CX, urban/strategic design, measurement. ‘Design’ here can mean a plan, not a visual. | The whole experience |
A UX design company can do web design, but a web design company cannot do UX.
Fabio Devin
When do you need UX (and when just web design)?
Need UX when the project is the most important part of your business. There’s a concept called ‘UX debt’ (an extension of technical debt, coined by Joshua Kerievsky): choosing the quick, limited solution now creates a debt that later shows up as lower customer satisfaction and churn. If your success depends on the project, hire real UX professionals. Plain web design (without UI/UX) is enough for peripheral needs: an event page, a personal site, or a product that isn’t central to your strategy.
The 5 tips (plus a bonus)
A UX agency researches, tests and designs the whole experience (and can also do web design). A web design company makes pages and can’t deliver a real UX process.
No. Web design lays out pages; UI design is a theory-grounded, tested output of a UX process. And UI is only one part of UX.
When the project is central to your business. Skipping it creates ‘UX debt’ that surfaces later as lower satisfaction and churn. For peripheral projects, plain web design is fine.
More people, time and process (often about three times a web shop). But it’s affordable long-term because it tends to recover the investment through better results.
Yes. Modern collaboration tools (Trello/Asana, Figma/Zeplin, GitHub/JIRA) make combining specialized teams straightforward.
Not sure if you need UX or just web design? Talk to Dorve, advice is free.
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