Web Developers and Digital Designers

Web developers create and maintain websites. They are also responsible for the site’s technical aspects, such as its performance and capacity, which are measures of a website’s speed and how much traffic the site can handle. In addition, web developers may create content for the site. Digital designers develop, create, and test website or interface layout, functions, and navigation for usability. They are responsible for the look and functionality of the website or interface.

Duties

Web developers and digital designers typically do the following:

  • Meet with clients or management to discuss the needs, design, and functionality of a website or interface
  • Create and test applications, interfaces, and navigation menus for a website
  • Write code for the website, using programming languages such as HTML or XML
  • Work with other team members to determine what information the site will contain
  • Work with graphics and other designers to determine the website’s layout
  • Integrate graphics, audio, and video into the website
  • Monitor website traffic
  • Create prototypes and mockups of websites or applications
  • Design and develop graphics

When creating a website, developers and designers have to make their client’s vision a reality. They build particular types of websites, such as ecommerce, news, or gaming sites, to fit clients’ needs. Different types of websites require different applications. For example, a gaming site should be able to handle advanced graphics, whereas an ecommerce site would need a payment-processing application. The developer decides which applications and designs will best fit the site, and the designer focuses on the look and usability of these elements across browsers or devices.

Some developers and designers handle all aspects of a website’s construction, and others specialize in a certain aspect of it. The following are examples of types of specialized web developers or digital designers:

Back-end web developers are responsible for the overall technical construction of the website. They create the basic framework of the site and ensure that it functions as expected. Back-end web developers also establish procedures for allowing others to add new pages to the website and meet with management to discuss major changes to the site.

Front-end web developers create the technical features for a website’s look. They develop the site’s layout and integrate graphics, applications (such as a retail checkout tool), and other content. They also write webdesign programs in a variety of computer languages, such as HTML or JavaScript.

Web and digital interface designers are responsible for creating the look and feel of a website or interface with regard to photos, color, font type and size, graphics, and layout. They also are responsible for the functionality, usability, and compatibility of the website or interface.

Webmasters maintain and update websites. They ensure that websites operate correctly, and they test for errors such as broken links. Many webmasters respond to user comments as well.

Work Environment

Web and digital interface designers held about 101,800 jobs in 2021. The largest employers of web and digital interface designers were as follows:

Computer systems design and related services 16%
Software publishers 13
Retail trade 5
Finance and insurance 5
Advertising, public relations, and related services                          4

Web developers held about 95,300 jobs in 2021. The largest employers of web developers were as follows:

Computer systems design and related services 19%
Educational services; state, local, and private 8
Other information services 6
Advertising, public relations, and related services                          6
Self-employed workers 6

Work Schedules

Most web developers and digital designers work full time.

Education and Training

Educational requirements vary for web developers and digital designers, based on work setting and other factors.

Education

Educational requirements for web developers and digital designers range from a high school diploma to a bachelor’s degree.

Some employers prefer to hire web developer candidates who have a bachelor’s degree in a specific field, such as computer science or programming.

Web developers need to have a thorough understanding of HTML programming. Many employers also want developers to understand other programming languages, such as JavaScript or SQL, and have knowledge of multimedia publishing tools, such as Flash. Throughout their career, web developers must keep up to date on new tools and computer languages.

Employers of digital designers may prefer to hire candidates who have a bachelor’s degree in a field such as web design, digital design, or graphic arts.

Web developers and digital designers may not need specific education credentials if they can demonstrate their abilities through prior work experience or projects.

Advancement

Web developers and digital designers who have a bachelor’s degree may advance to become project managers. For more information, see the profile on computer and information systems managers.

Personality and Interests

Web developers typically have an interest in the Building, Thinking and Organizing interest areas, according to the Holland Code framework. The Building interest area indicates a focus on working with tools and machines, and making or fixing practical things. The Thinking interest area indicates a focus on researching, investigating, and increasing the understanding of natural laws. The Organizing interest area indicates a focus on working with information and processes to keep things arranged in orderly systems.

If you are not sure whether you have a Building or Thinking or Organizing interest which might fit with a career as a web developer, you can take a career test to measure your interests.

Web developers should also possess the following specific qualities:

Concentration. Web developers must sit at a computer and write detailed code for long periods.

Creativity. Web developers are often involved in designing the appearance of a website and must make sure that it looks innovative and up to date.

Customer-service skills. Webmasters have to respond politely and correctly to user questions and requests.

Detail oriented. When web developers write in HTML, a minor error could cause an entire webpage to stop working.

Pay

The median annual wage for web and digital interface designers was $79,890 in May 2021. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $38,550, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $168,200.

The median annual wage for web developers was $77,030 in May 2021. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $38,280, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $129,760.

In May 2021, the median annual wages for web and digital interface designers in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:

Software publishers $150,040
Finance and insurance 99,640
Computer systems design and related services 80,110
Advertising, public relations, and related services                     64,720
Retail trade 61,860

In May 2021, the median annual wages for web developers in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:

Computer systems design and related services $77,450
Other information services 77,210
Educational services; state, local, and private 64,380
Advertising, public relations, and related services                       63,240

Most web developers and digital designers work full time.

Job Outlook

Overall employment of web developers and digital designers is projected to grow 23 percent from 2021 to 2031, much faster than the average for all occupations.

About 21,800 openings for web developers and digital designers are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire. 

Employment

Employment of web developers and digital designers is projected to grow as e-commerce continues to expand. As retail firms keep increasing their online offerings, demand for these workers is expected to grow. In addition, the continued use of mobile devices to search the web is expected to generate demand for web developers and digital designers to create websites and interfaces that work on mobile devices with many different screen sizes.

For More Information

For more information about web developers and digital designers, visit

World Organization of Webmasters

For more information about computer careers, visit

Association for Computing Machinery

Computing Research Association

IEEE Computer Society

For information about opportunities for women pursuing information technology careers, visit

National Center for Women & Information Technology

 

 

FAQ

Where does this information come from?

The career information above is taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook. This excellent resource for occupational data is published by the U.S. Department of Labor every two years. Truity periodically updates our site with information from the BLS database.

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I think I have found an error or inaccurate information on this page. Who should I contact?

This information is taken directly from the Occupational Outlook Handbook published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Truity does not editorialize the information, including changing information that our readers believe is inaccurate, because we consider the BLS to be the authority on occupational information. However, if you would like to correct a typo or other technical error, you can reach us at help@truity.com.

I am not sure if this career is right for me. How can I decide?

There are many excellent tools available that will allow you to measure your interests, profile your personality, and match these traits with appropriate careers. On this site, you can take the Career Personality Profiler assessment, the Holland Code assessment, or the Photo Career Quiz.

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