The Engineering Projects

Web Design vs. Web Development

Hi Friends! Welcome to The Engineering Projects. At the present time, it is an important to upgrade the technical skills. As we approach a more digital era, the use of the internet has become part of our day-to-day activities. When it comes to looking up for something online, we always go to our chosen and trusted websites for information. Our trusted website, of course, is pleasing to the eyes, with all the functions and settings working perfectly. Although as a browser, we would sometimes not bother to give a second look at the web design or how it was developed. But if by any chance, your mind seeks to know more, to have in-depth knowledge about websites in general, this article seeks to explain the difference between web design and web development.

Web Design and Web Development: Which Is Which?

Web Design

In layman’s terms, web design involves the aesthetic of a particular website. It is how the site looks from an outsider’s point of view. The web designer’s job includes making the website look aesthetically-pleasing to its viewers—these would include a selection of the color scheme to be used, selection of the font and font size, and where the website functions should be placed.  Web design mainly requires the artistic and creative touch of the web designer. Aside from the aesthetic look of a website, there are numerous areas in web design that the web designer should never neglect, including the user interface design (UI), the graphic design, user experience design (UX), and search engine optimization (SEO). To make web design possible, web designers use a bunch of tools that would be perfect for the production process that they would be needing. Web designers normally would use vector and raster graphics editor in order to make design prototypes or web-formatted images. The tools that they use are updated from time to time in order to always have an updated software or standards. Web designers also use technologies to create websites like CSS and HTML. The UI and UX of a website are also considered in the web design. The UX pertains to the layout, including labeling and clear instructions on each function. UI, however, is the more commonly used function of a website, as this pertains to the website’s interface as a whole.

Web Development

As the back end (and front end) of a website, web application development services consist of all the software and programs that are needed in making the website thoroughly and smoothly functioning. A web developer’s main objective is to develop the backend of a website to give a pleasing and smooth web experience for whoever will browse the website. Since web development is a complicated and tedious task, it requires a skilled and skilled web developer, who is also familiar with technical computer languages such as Java, ASP, Coldfusion, and PHP, among others. Web development can be as simple as making a single static page or even making web-based applications of the internet and web apps. Web developers have numerous tasks to accomplish when developing a website. These include web engineering, web content development, client-side or server-side scripting, web server, network security configuration, e-commerce development, and even web design. Web development sometimes uses content management systems (CMS) in order to make the necessary changes in the content easier and more accessible with basic technical skills.  Web Design vs. Web Development: Brief Summary Both web development and web design are important in making a website. These two approaches (front end and back end) when combined, produce, and develop the system and design needed for a completely working and aesthetically-pleasing website. Web development mostly pertains to the back end of a website, making sure that all the systems, functions, and configuration are working properly. This may be unseen by the web browser but can surely experience it upon browsing any given website. The website’s aesthetic look and design, however, is part of the work of a web designer. As a skilled web designer, the graphics, colors, fonts, graphics placement, UI and UX, and features placement are included in the whole web design. Web design and web development work hand-in-hand. You cannot develop a website with just a web design, just as you cannot make your design work with just the web design.

How to Select the Right LMS Vendor for your Business?

Learning Management Systems have gained popularity with technological advancements.  The curiosity to learn NEW made the information available with just a few clicks away. That’s how e-learning was born! Now, it has become inevitable for every business to adapt to the trend. When it involves developing a course from scratch, you need LMS.  Well, by what norms do we identify LMS vendors for my business? Here are five checkpoints you should know when choosing an LMS vendor.

• The background

It is quite common when you are choosing an LMS vendor; you look for the price. Beyond the quote they are offering, you need to verify their track record. Ask the following questions to acquire the vendor’s level of the business.

1. How long has the LMS dealer been in the industry?
2. How many customers does the vendor have dealt with so far?
3. What are the evolving trends in LMS?
4. What are the common priorities of customers?
5. Which features of LMS are used most in recent times?

You can infer the quality of the LMS vendor in the business from his answers.

• The knowledge on e-learning

E-learning is the prime motive of the Learning Management System (LMS). If your LMS vendor doesn’t have enough knowledge about it, he is out of the game.  His leadership skills will show whether they (the company) have a stagnant product or have a room for innovation.  For example, Artificial Intelligence and Game-full thinking are the desirable features most learners and employees are looking forward to in their training modules and online courses.  The LMS you are purchasing must have at least the introductory version of these features so that you can up-level your course in years down the lane. [caption id="attachment_161291" align="aligncenter" width="300"] online education concept - e-learning word cloud on a vintage slate blackboard[/caption] Moreover, the publication of high-quality content will prove the vendor’s expertise in offering valuable information to prospects and clients.  Also, check for the technical aspects like Flash and SCORM in the LMS.

• Customer Relationship Management

Who they are is essential but how they treat the customers is significant.  The response timing, language, and patience to solve the issues are the qualities that will impact you as a customer from LMS vendors. Check for information about the team members and multiple customer support from their website. It will reveal their identity. Consider how they value customer satisfaction and deal with multiple test ticket numbers simultaneously. This little follow-up communication clarifies their persona to you.

• A Live Demo -Free trial

Although verbal information gives you an overview, a test drive will reflect the working of LMS. It is good to ask for a free trial or a live demo.  You can gain first-hand experience; thus, comprehending whether the product meets your needs or not. For example, if you intend to offer multi-lingual support to your global employees in online training, you need to ensure the LMS is enabled with it. Plus, enquire the LMS vendor on the scalability functions to fulfil your future needs. 

• Look for Client views

Testimonials, reviews, and case studies will give you the user experiences straight from the previous clients.  It would be best to get references from other companies who use LMS and consider their insights.  These existing customers will tell you information on how LMS vendors respond to the issues. Besides, it is essential you team up with an LMS provider who has solid financial health.  This is because vendors with constant cash flow can perform research and development to upgrade their product, thus offering you a better version. 

The Bottom line

The initial point to all your training and management needs starts with choosing the right LMS vendor. We hope all these details will narrow down your search for the appropriate LMS provider.

LM317 Calculator

[LM317TEP] Hello friends, I hope you all are doing great. Today, I am going to share our new online tool which is named as LM317 Calculator. I am quite excited while posting this LM317 Calculator, as I was trying for a long time to post it but couldn't done it because of few problems. Anyways, its here now and is ready to be utilized. Its nothing but a simple LM317 Calculator. I have included two LM317 calculators posted above, one will be used to calculate the Vout while the other will be used to calculate the resistance (R1). You should have a look at Introduction to LM317, if you don't know much about it. LM317 is an IC regulator which is used to regulate the output voltage and its output voltage is regulated depending on the values of both the resistances attached at its output. Here's our first simple but awesome tool. :)

LM317 Calculator

• First of all, let me give you some basic information of its circuit design.
• You can check the basic circuit of LM317 in below figure:

• You can see that we have Vin which is input voltage and then we have R1 = 510 ohm which is normally a fixed resistance and finally we have R2 which is a variable resistance.
• Now, by changing the value of this variable resistance, you can change its output, this calculator will be used to calculate those values depending on the values of other two variables:
• So here are these LM317 Calculators:

•  The simple formula used for calculating the output voltage of LM317 is shown below:

• Normally it is not required to use very specific output voltage and normally a predefined combination of resistors is used. Here's a list of normally available resistors, the output voltages for these resistor combination is shown in below table:

• I have also designed a Proteus Simulation of LM317 which you can download from LM317 Voltage Regulator in Proteus.
• Here's a screenshot of its working and you can see that the output voltage is quite less than input voltage:

So, that's all about LM317 Calculator. I hope you are gonna enjoy those tools. If you have any questions then you can ask in comments. Have a good day. Take care !!! :)