Developer

Web developers design, build and maintain new websites and upgrade existing ones in line with their clients' needs.

Their skills are needed in most businesses and public sector organisations.

Once designed, they may continue to make changes to ensure the site is working properly and meets the client's needs. Depending on the contract, they may continue to manage and maintain the site once it is up and running.

The developer's role often falls somewhere between that of a designer and a programmer, with different levels of involvement in each depending on individual skills, employer and product. Developers therefore need to have an appreciation of both creative design and technical limitations.

Web developers work for a variety of businesses and public sector organisations. Examples of work include: creating a secure online shopping website; developing a virtual learning environment (VLE) for a college; setting up company intranets for staff use. On a typical project, they: work with the client, using test sites to see which ideas best suit their needs; build the framework – or 'architecture' – of the site and add the command buttons, payment systems and video, sound or animation;

You would also make sure that the new site can be smoothly integrated into the client's existing network, for instance linking with a customer database; work on the site's appearance, often with a web designer; put in measures to deal with user access and security; and test the site under construction to find and fix any problems – or 'bugs' – before it goes 'live'.

Starting salaries are around £20,000 a year. With experience, this can rise to £30,000.

Senior developers/programmers can earn over £35,000 a year.

You do not necessarily need formal qualifications to become a developer, but you will need a good knowledge of 'front end' concepts (how the site looks and functions for the user), and 'back end' systems (how it works).

You will need to be familiar with common operating systems and servers, databases and web programming, networking and security, and graphics, animation and web design software.

Employers will want to see evidence of your experience along with any qualifications you may have.

You should keep a portfolio of work, demonstrating your creative and technical ability. This can be in the form of a CD, DVD or 'live' website.

If you lack commercial experience, developing and designing a site for a local community group or voluntary agency could be used in your portfolio.

Many new entrants now have a foundation degree, BTEC HNC/HND award or degree, which will usually be in an IT-related subject such as web development or web design; multimedia design; digital media development; web content management; business information systems; computer programming.