As we move deeper into the digital age, certain tech domains continue creating new and varied jobs. Web development is one such field. From 2016 to 2026, the employment of web developers is projected to grow 15 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is much faster than the average for other occupations, which sits at around 11%. E-commerce and mobile devices drive this demand for web developers. Whether your aesthetics sensibilities are well developed or you’re an analytical person, there’s certain to be a web development career that suits your personality and talents perfectly. Here’s a list of the types of web development jobs out there.
Web Designer
What you’ll do:
As expected, the emphasis here is on design. This job entails deciding how the website looks and works.
What you need to know:
Even though the job is about design, you might need to do some implementation, which could require some coding skills. Ideally, you should know the following:
- Design theory
- Photoshop or Sketch
- HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)
- CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)
- Basic JavaScript knowledge
- Frameworks like Bootstrap or Foundation, libraries like jQuery, CSS “extensions” like SASS or Less
UX Designer / UI Designer (User Experience Designer / User Interface Designer)
What you’ll do:
The UX or UI designer incorporates a lot of psychology into their design to try to understand how users think and what motivates them. The job really focuses on getting to grips with users’ “habits, needs, behaviours, motivations and emotions”. In this job, you’ll focus on research, information architecture, interaction design, usability testing and content strategy. You’ll analyse the user’s experience and behaviour, iterate (i.e. make adjustments) and then traction test your modifications.
What you need to know:
- HTML
- CSS
- JavaScript
- Wireframing tools
- Version control tools – Git + GitHub
- Data analysis
Front-End Developer
What you’ll do:
As a front-end developer you’ll be responsible for converting mockups into web pages, as well as creating and optimising graphics for the web. You’re basically the bridge between the designer and the back-end developer, and you’ll need to write clean and efficient code.
What you need to know:
- HTML
- CSS
- JavaScript
- Frameworks like Bootstrap or Foundation
- JavaScript frameworks like ReactJS, AngularJS
Back-End Developer
What you’ll do:
You’re the person dealing with what’s under the hood. Basically, the back-end developer ensures the site can “deliver information quickly and reliably while scaling under load”. You’re essentially dealing with the server-side of the website and the information that needs to be pulled from there.
What you need to know:
- Scripting languages (Python, Ruby, JavaScript)
- General programming languages (Java, C#, etc.)
- Databases (SQL)
- Frameworks – Ruby on Rails, Django, Node,js
- Web services
SEO Copywriter
What you’ll do:
Your job is to increase traffic to the website by building up inbound links, optimising copy and metadata for SEO, and writing attention-grabbing stories and headlines.
What you need to know:
- A/B Testing
- Google Analytics
- Growth / data analysis
- Copywriting skills
Digital Marketer
What you’ll do:
The digital marketer needs a good understanding of the website’s customers. Advertising happens on digital platforms, including social networking sites, emails, blogs – and so you’ll need to understand the demographics and functions of all these platforms. Hard data will have to be analysed to measure campaigns and their relative success.
What you need to know:
- Email marketing
- A/B testing – i.e. experimenting with two variations of data
- SEO and web analytics
- Branding
- Basic HTML & CSS knowledge will assist when working with developers and building digital campaigns
Dev Ops
What you’ll do:
These people are the bridge between the developers and the IT staff. They oversee code releases. They could sit on either side of the bridge – i.e. they are developers interested in deployment and network operations or sysadmins who are keen on coding.
What you need to know:
- Server software
- Version control
- Deployment
- Build processes
- Security
- Testing, integration and deployment
In conclusion, this article has outlined many types of web development jobs. Whether you’re interested in marketing, writing, design or coding, there’s sure to be something on offer in the field of web development. HyperionDev offers both an online and a face-to-face Full Stack Web Development Bootcamp.
