Web Developers: Salary, career path, job outlook, education and more

Education Required
Educational requirements for web developers vary with the setting they work in and the type of work they do. Requirements range from a high school diploma to a bachelors degree. An associates degree in web design or related field is the most common requirement.
Job Outlook
The projected percent change in employment from 2016 to 2026: 13% (Faster than average)
(The average growth rate for all occupations is 7 percent.)
Advancement
Web developers who have a bachelors degree can advance to become project managers. For more information, see the profile on computer and information systems managers.
Median pay: How much do Web Developers make?
$66,130 Annual Salary
$31.79 per hour

Web developers design and create websites. They are responsible for the look of the site. They are also responsible for the sites technical aspects, such as its performance and capacity, which are measures of a websites speed and how much traffic the site can handle. In addition, web developers may create content for the site.

What do Web Developers do?

Web developers typically do the following:

  • Meet with clients or management to discuss the needs and design of a website
  • Create and test applications 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 websites layout
  • Integrate graphics, audio, and video into the website
  • Monitor website traffic

When creating a website, developers have to make their clients 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.

Some developers handle all aspects of a websites construction, and others specialize in a certain aspect of it. The following are examples of types of specialized web developers:

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