What is a Web Developer?

A web developer is primarily responsible for programming code that will tell websites and web applications how to operate. There are two specializations that web developers can dabble into: front-end web development (which focuses on the client side) or back-end web development (which focuses on the server side). Some versatile and highly sought-after programmers, such as myself, do both front-end and back-end programming and they are called full-stack developers.

Web developers work on implementing visual designs and layouts, integrating graphics and content, optimizing website performance and capacity, and testing applications to ensure that solid performance is adhered to across any type of computer or mobile device and screen. No matter your exact job, if you want to become a web developer, you would be expected to understand how to write code using web programming languages, such as HTML (HyperText Markup Language), CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), JavaScript, PHP, etc.

It's also likely that any web developer would spend a lot of time collaborating and communicating with others on larger development teams, including software developers, web designers, project managers, and database engineers.

What Is a Web Developer?

A web developer creates, designs, builds, and maintains websites, software, and web applications. Web developers build websites by using programming languages, such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to write code and convert a web design, which would be created by the programmer or a design team, into a professional website, product, or mobile application.

As a web developer, you would make both static and dynamic content. Static content is content on a website that does not update. For example, an "About Us" page that typically has text describing a company or owner of the site would be static content because it would not update through the code but only be altered and changed by manually going into the code itself and changing the text. Dynamic content is updatable content that is used on a website where a user can update or perform specific tasks and the site adheres to what is being requested. For example, if a user is logged into their Facebook account and changes their name from John Doe to James Smith, the name change is classified as dynamic content. Dynamic content mostly utilizes databases but doesn't always need to. Utilizing JavaScript and its libraries, such as React.js, you can have dynamic content without integrating a database to perform the tasks. Other languages, such as PHP, would require a database to perform dynamic content, such as registering for an event at your local church.

If a web developer performs their job correctly, a website should not be so simple that it does not appeal to advanced users, but it also shouldn't be so complex that a beginner user gets lost or frustrated when using the site. A skilled programmer will know how to make a website that contains both static and dynamic content that a child, an elderly person, a teenager, and a young adult all can use, not get lost or confused, and get the most out of the site's functionality.

What Does a Front-End Developer Do?

Front-end web developers typically focus on the visual and design elements of websites and can anticipate and fully appreciate user needs and behaviors. As the name suggests, front-end development, also known as client-side web development, involves the programming of what would be visible to the user. Languages, such as JavaScript, CSS, and HTML are widely used by front-end web developers. Front-end web developers even dabble in JavaScript libraries, such as React.js, to perform additional functionality to the site.

Because front-end development is responsible for what you can see on a website, it is often confused with web design. Although front-end developers don't design websites, they are the link between the design and the technology that can turn an idea into an interactive web page. Front-end web development, much like back-end web development, can utilize databases to perform dynamic tasks, such as utilizing JavaScript with Firebase databases. However, front-end web development doesn't need to use databases when creating a site. With the utilization of React.js, JavaScript can do even more powerful things for the front end, as well as implement cross-platform mobile programming for iOS and Android devices by using React Native.

Front-End Developer Responsibilities

Some basic tasks that a front-end web development may be responsible for, include:

• Working with Graphic Designers, UX Designers, or Web Designers to help ensure design ideas can be made into a website that is easy to use
• Transforming design (sketches or wireframes for a website) into code that a web browser can read and display on your screen
• Structuring a website so that it is easy to find through a search engine (this is part of Search Engine Optimization (SEO))
• Developing websites that work and look good on any screen, from 24-inch computer monitors to five-inch smartphone screens (this is called responsive design)
• Testing websites and fixing bugs or other issues

What Does a Back-End Developer Do?

Back-end web developers work behind the scenes on systems and structures that are not visible to the users, however, allow the applications to perform what is needed to function correctly. Specialists in back-end web development tend to be skilled at problem-solving and logical arithmetics. Back-end web developers who are skilled in their craft can also work with and use a variety of computer programming languages, such as Python, Ruby, and SQL.

Back-end web developers can also choose to specialize in mobile application development by primarily working on iOS and Android applications. With Android mobile applications, a user can use Java, HTML5, C++, and Kotlin to create mobile applications, Swift and C# with iOS mobile applications, or JavaScript and React Native for cross-platform programming across both iOS and Android devices. With mobile application development, a back-end developer would need to take into consideration the different approaches that come with mobile app development, such as swiping functionalities, scrolling dimensions, and other standardized application design elements.

A Day in the Life of a Web Developer

Daily tasks for web development can vary greatly, depending on several different factors. Given the diversity of clients and their web-based products, as well as the range of specializations in front-end and back-end web development, a web developer can play many roles. This is a selling point for the profession and no two days are quite the same. Honing one's skill set into a full-stack developer can also increase job capabilities and opportunities that can lead to career growth and personal growth.

A few examples of what a web developer is responsible for daily, include:

• Translating wireframe designs into working code
• Creating the architecture and content of a site
• Building in functionality and responsiveness
• Making a site go live
• Updating and renovating sites
• Troubleshooting, fixing bugs, and glitches

Collaboration is a major part of a web developer's day-to-day routine, as they tend to participate in team meetings with content creators, graphic designers, UI specialists, marketers, client service managers, web designers, and database engineers. Web developers should also have a proficient understanding of the use of GitHub for collaborating with their team to troubleshoot, review, and/or fix code that may not be quite right and need some tweaking. Senior web developers may also spend a bit of time mentoring junior web developers and managing team projects, as well as making schedules and meeting deadlines.

What Makes a Good Web Developer?

Although different types of web developers do drastically different types of work, there are several characteristics that all successful web developers share and have in common.

First, let's address the technical side of things, which is not just about the coding skills, even though that's also very important. To put it simply, a web developer will spend a lot of time working on the computer and that can't be a chore. To excel in web development, you have to genuinely enjoy learning new programming languages, experimenting with new web development tools, and fiddling with their code until everything is just right. Just because your code works today doesn't mean it'll work tomorrow. With the way technology and technological advances change rapidly over time, code will need to be modified, updated, and changed simply to meet any updates and changes to the programming languages, syntax, structure, and logic the code may have undergone. On top of that, other people within your team micromanaging your code may accidentally break something, which an cause your website to not function the way it initially did. With a team member updating your code, it is super simple for an added semicolon, an extra single quote, or a missing parentheses, curly brace, or square bracket to occur. We all know as programmers how something that simple can entirely break your site and how hard it can be to fix, sometimes taking hours to find!

No matter which programming language you specialize in, the reality is that code can be unpredictable. As a web developer, you must maintain flexibility and patience so you can switch contexts or the scope of a project unexpectedly and go back to where you left off when you were dragged into a different direction out of nowhere to assist on another part of the team's project. You need to adapt and respond to issues when they arise in the most unexpected ways possible as these issues may be time-sensitive and need to be addressed and fixed as soon as possible. Other technical skills useful to web programmers, other than that of being a logical problem-solver and coder, include graphic (and/or web) design, UX design, and the basic (or preferably advanced) understanding of databases, utilizing SQL and the plethora of database systems out there, such as MySQL, Oracle, Microsoft SQL, and Firebase.

Although most outsiders tend to think of a web developer as a strictly technical role. That is not the case as web developers typically fall on the softer side of the skill spectrum. For example, developers need to have not just good, but great critical thinking skills with an analytical mind meant to solve logical and logistical arithmetics. Problem-solving should be a passion for you as it is a crucial part of programming. You also need to be able to balance both the big picture and the small details. Something, such as moving the web page's < h1> tag over 2 more pixels to the left to properly align it, is an example of a small detail that can enhance your site's look and feel. On the other hand, something like allowing the user to upload their profile picture or choose to just use default picture templates could be an example of a bigger picture for your user to have an interactive choice for their user profile on your site.

Good web developers also aren't too proud to ask for help when they need it. Sites like W3Schools and Stack Overflow are two of the "go-to" sites for web programmers who have run into an issue when creating a site or working on a project. As a web developer, when your code works, or when it doesn't work, you need to ask yourself "why" and keep digging until you find the answer. When working on a project, you should also be comfortable asking your team members or supervisors questions to ensure you understand the expectations and requirements so that your work is right on track. One big thing is to be sure, when working for a client, that your work meets their expectation and you don't go "rogue" on the project. What the client wants, the client gets. You can give professional recommendations, but if a client decides against it and wants it the way they envision, you say "yes sir or ma'am" and do it!

Empathy is also an important characteristic of web developers. When developers find themselves in the weeds of programming code, some of which can be hundreds of thousands of lines of code, the programmer must never forget that the software is ultimately about the user. Good web developers must understand their users and constantly keep what they want on the top of their minds. With that being said, their colleagues need to be kept in mind too. Going back to the hundreds of thousands of lines of code, even the best programmer can be lost in the code. This is why commenting throughout your code is vital on any project that you work on, especially in team environments.

Communication skills are also very important to web developers. You must be able to relate to both your client and your team. A great web developer is also a great listener, adept at really understanding what everyone involved, from clients to stakeholders to end-users, really wants. Also, web developers not only work with other web developers, web designers, and software and database engineers but also with other teams across your company. Web developers might find themselves working closely with a marketing, support, or sales team, or working directly with clients. So you must be a team player. Whether you’re working remotely or alongside your team, collaboration and communication with your peers and stakeholders are paramount to success.

Finally, web developers should be lifelong learners. There’s always something new to learn in the rapidly changing and growing technology industry, which is a huge draw for so many in the industry. Technology is also an incredibly dynamic and fluid industry. It’s constantly growing, changing, and evolving. As a member of the industry, you need to stay current and up-to-date with the industry and new technologies that are put forth. This means the changes to current languages, the creation of new languages, the updates and additions/deletions of software and applications, the arithmetics of web analytics, and just the overall change of what we call a massively growing industry that is in, what I like to call, the technological era. BrainStation’s survey showed that 80 percent of web developers feel they would benefit from further digital skills training, even as 64 percent reported already pursuing more digital skills training or online courses. In other words, these are people who never stop learning. In an industry where things can change in the blink of an eye, choosing the career path of a web developer warrants you to continue learning for the rest of your professional career!