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Content writer vs content developer

The differences between content writers and content developers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a content writer, becoming a content developer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a content developer has an average salary of $72,030, which is higher than the $58,918 average annual salary of a content writer.

The top three skills for a content writer include digital marketing, wordpress and web content. The most important skills for a content developer are content development, digital marketing, and subject matter experts.

Content writer vs content developer overview

Content WriterContent Developer
Yearly salary$58,918$72,030
Hourly rate$28.33$34.63
Growth rate4%13%
Number of jobs19,62182,250
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 77%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age4237
Years of experience24

What does a content writer do?

The job of content writers is to create the best possible written or visual content ranging from blog posts to press releases. They produce the content for various types of websites, including social networks, news aggregators, and e-commerce sites. The job of content writers is not limited to writing, but also ensuring that the content connects or is relevant to the website pages. They are expected to set the tone of the website and revise the content upon customers' or clients' requests. They are also responsible for assisting in the creation of style guides.

What does a content developer do?

A content developer is responsible for creating digital content, designing technical deliverables, and developing content strategies by analyzing current market trends to attract clients, driving more revenues, and increasing the company's profitability. Content developers also manage the distribution of the contents, following the clients' specifications or the business requirements. They also coordinate with other project teams to ensure the effectiveness and accuracy of the contents, focusing on its appeal to the target audience. A content developer must have a keen eye for details, especially on doing quality content checks before publishing.

Content writer vs content developer salary

Content writers and content developers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Content WriterContent Developer
Average salary$58,918$72,030
Salary rangeBetween $40,000 And $84,000Between $51,000 And $101,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyCiscoGoogle
Best paying industryFinanceInternet

Differences between content writer and content developer education

There are a few differences between a content writer and a content developer in terms of educational background:

Content WriterContent Developer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 77%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common majorEnglishEnglish
Most common collegeMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Content writer vs content developer demographics

Here are the differences between content writers' and content developers' demographics:

Content WriterContent Developer
Average age4237
Gender ratioMale, 39.8% Female, 60.2%Male, 51.3% Female, 48.7%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.0% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 5.0% White, 75.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 7.0% Unknown, 6.7% Hispanic or Latino, 13.1% Asian, 12.9% White, 59.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage16%9%

Differences between content writer and content developer duties and responsibilities

Content writer example responsibilities.

  • Implement and manage Salesforce and Marketo for client to establish lead nurturing campaigns.
  • Maintain guest blogging strategy and policies to achieve a consistently diverse authorship and to grow readership.
  • Manage the editorial production of the pamphlets, brochures and graphic material to target worldwide audiences including china.
  • Manage proposal process from RFP (request for proposal) receipt to writing and editing various contributions to final RFP submission.
  • Collaborate with overseas team and manage documents using SharePoint to conceptualize and generate new marketing content.
  • Produce a wide array of literature ranging from poetry to short stories.
  • Show more

Content developer example responsibilities.

  • Develop scripts to automate operations and optimize web performance (jQuery).
  • Manage, design, and create new HTML help look and feel that provide cost-effective ways to reuse content.
  • Analyze, plan, develop, QA, and deliver training courses for instructor lead training and web base training.
  • Manage social media marketing, including Instagram
  • Design a mobile-first responsive layout compliant with HTML5 and CSS3 standards.
  • Develop jQuery plugins, config files, Javascript files and CSS files.
  • Show more

Content writer vs content developer skills

Common content writer skills
  • Digital Marketing, 10%
  • WordPress, 9%
  • Web Content, 6%
  • Blog Posts, 6%
  • Digital Content, 3%
  • Content Marketing, 3%
Common content developer skills
  • Content Development, 10%
  • Digital Marketing, 8%
  • Subject Matter Experts, 5%
  • Digital Content, 5%
  • Project Management, 5%
  • PowerPoint, 4%

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