How To Become A Web Architect: What It Is and Career Path

What is a web architect and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Craig Tidwell Ph.D.,

Kevin Treu Ph.D.

The Web Architect is responsible for planning, designing, testing, implementing, and administering interactive technologies and applications. He/She creates, maintains, and updates websites, mobile, and social media apps. He/She also oversees the overall web architecture and guides the development teams. A web architect serves as a liaison between the project manager and the development team. You must have experience working with web development tools like PHP, JavaScript MySQL, git, CSS, C#, XML, etc. You must also be familiar with CMS tools such as WordPress or Drupal.

Web architects need to have a bachelor's degree in computer science or a related field to gain employment. However, some employers prefer a master's degree or certifications. You need at least two years of experience in website or application development. Also, you must be conversant with frameworks like Symfony, CodeIgniter, MS .Net, or Laravel. Web Architect makes an average salary of $92,899 per year. It ranges from $48,000 to $220,000.

What general advice would you give to a web architect?

Craig Tidwell Ph.D.

Professor/Program Manager, Seminole State College of Florida

Students who are graduating with a degree in computer and information systems should focus on being lifelong learners. The most challenging, and sometimes frustrating, aspect of a career in information technology is that it is always changing. Employers are also looking for employees that can work well with others, especially in teams. Having a good understanding of the development and design process, and project management (DevOps) is a plus. Currently, there is a high demand for graduates with cloud and information security knowledge and skills.

ScoreWeb ArchitectUS Average

Salary

7.9

Avg. Salary $112,335

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.2

Growth rate 13%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

1.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.42%

Asian 16.08%

Black or African American 6.47%

Hispanic or Latino 12.06%

Unknown 6.52%

White 58.44%

Gender

female 11.13%

male 88.87%

Age - 36

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 36

Stress level

5.2

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.3

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.8

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a web architect

Explore web architect education requirements

Most common web architect degrees

Bachelor's

72.0 %

Master's

15.3 %

Associate

9.3 %

Start to develop specific web architect skills

Skills	Percentages
User Interface	8.82%
WebSphere	7.20%
Java	6.65%
Architecture	6.33%
Web Application	5.04%

Complete relevant web architect training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New web architects learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a web architect based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real web architect resumes.

Research web architect duties and responsibilities

Manage several active critical projects at once and lead a team of Java/J2EE developers, consultants and testers.
Manage UI designer; help to develop look-and-feel.
Manage a team of 4 backend and UI developers.
Manage high transaction databases including all database objects, triggers, procedures, user rights and functions.

Get web architect experience

Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become a web architect. The most common roles before becoming a web architect include web developer, senior software engineer team lead and consultant.

Prepare your web architect resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your web architect resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a web architect resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable web architect resume templates

Build a professional web architect resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your web architect resume.