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

What is a web site developer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Brian Glas

Any business that doesn't have a website is sorely missing out. Almost everything is digital nowadays, and that's why web site developers are essential.

Web site developers are responsible for creating and managing the digital storefronts you visit every day. Aside from being skilled in HTML, CSS, C++, and other coding languages, web site developers are also creatives. They have to have an eye for aesthetics, design, and branding to make a beautiful and functional website. They also make sure site visitors have the most pleasant experience by streamlining the website's front-end interface by working their coding magic in the back-end.

Web site developers are composed of a relatively young workforce, with the average employee being only 35 years old; not surprising, as most jobs in technology tend to skew young. What's more surprising is that one out of every ten web site developers identifies as Latino or Hispanic. The average web site developer in America earns $67,000 yearly, although this can go as high as $91,000, especially in states like California, Washington, and Massachusetts.

What general advice would you give to a web site developer?

Brian Glas

Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Union University

Build relationships: Different technologies will interest and challenge you, but throughout your career, you'll find that it's the relationships that are the most important. This is harder to grasp earlier in your career, but much easier to understand after 15-20 years.
Gain different perspectives: Spend time with people in other roles that your job interacts with, and gain a solid understanding of how they view things; this is most valuable for career progression and understanding of how your work fits into the big picture.

ScoreWeb Site DeveloperUS Average

Salary

7.2

Avg. Salary $91,554

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.2

Growth rate 13%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.42%

Asian 12.38%

Black or African American 7.01%

Hispanic or Latino 13.03%

Unknown 6.67%

White 60.48%

Gender

female 26.94%

male 73.06%

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 site developer

Explore web site developer education requirements

Most common web site developer degrees

Bachelor's

63.9 %

Associate

13.0 %

Master's

11.7 %

Start to develop specific web site developer skills

Skills	Percentages
Java	39.69%
C++	21.17%
Linux	19.17%
Perl	14.73%
Object Oriented Programming	1.57%

Complete relevant web site developer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New web site developers 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 site developer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real web site developer resumes.

Research web site developer duties and responsibilities

Manage high transaction databases including all database objects, triggers, procedures, user rights and functions.
Develop front-end applications in HTML / HTML5 / CSS / CSS3
Use of HTML, JavaScript, DHTML, XML and databases, along with specific authoring programs in development.
Utilize .ashx and Ajax to serve dynamic web pages store in database.

Get web site developer experience

Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become a web site developer. The most common roles before becoming a web site developer include web developer, project manager team lead and technical writer.

Prepare your web site developer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your web site developer 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 site developer 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 site developer resume templates

Build a professional web site developer 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 site developer resume.