Web Developer
Career information and advice on being a Web Developer

Web Developers design and build new web and intranet sites that are then posted on the World Wide Web. A Web Developer would also be expected to maintain and upgrade existing sites to meet new requirements or to take advantage of new technologies.

A Web Developer is in high demand within most business and public organisations where they could work on secure online shopping environments (e-commerce), virtual learning environments, web portals and company intranets for use within an organisation.

They may work on an entire project, consisting of several phases, or work on a particular area of expertise within a project, such as designing and developing a secure online payment gateway or a login function for registered, restricted access to a particular site or part of a site.

A Web Developer could work with a Web Designer to generate and design the look and feel (or front-end) of the site.

Web Developer functions include

Web Developers need to work closely with their client to ensure that the design and functionality of the website meet the requirements of the client and the organisation it is representing.

Web Developers may develop several test sites to see which ideas work the best and then implement them by developing the architecture of the site. This could include links, command buttons, payment systems, video, sound, animation and back-end functions for sites that employ Content Management Systems (CMS).

When upgrading an existing site they would need to ensure that the new functionality works with the existing network. This could include databases such as user information or product catalogues.

The Web Developer will design security measures for the site such as password access or limited access to certain areas of the site.

Once this has been designed a Web Developer would then test the site for bugs before it is made live At this point there may still be the need to tweak certain elements of the site to make them more efficient, as well as providing maintenance once the site is running.

Websites are not static and as such consumer experience and feedback may require additional changes to the site on an ongoing basis. The beauty of the web is that the designs and structure are continually evolving, along with changes in content. A good website is never complete, it’s  a continuing evolution based on current technology versus what is ultimately required.

For example multimedia such as video and sound are relatively new developments, meaning older sites need to be adapted or redesigned to take advantage of the new technology.

As such, it is critical for a Web Developer to continually learn new techniques and to keep up with current and future technology.