What is web development?

Web development is the act of building, creating and maintaining websites. The field encompasses a broad range of tasks including everything from coding to technical design, to the performance of a website or application running on the internet. 

Why web development is important?

It wasn’t too long ago that companies thought their web presence was peripheral to their day-to-day business. Today, they rely on their websites to attract new customers and communicate with existing ones.

Still, business owners want to focus on their actual products and services rather than building and managing their websites. That’s why web development is so important. Professional Web Developers provide an essential service to businesses and organizations for a few reasons.

What Does a Web Developer Do? 

Web developers develop websites, specifically by creating the site’s code, connecting it to a server and maintaining its accessibility to users Web development is responsible for creating the sites and applications we use through a web browser in our day-to-day lives. Web developers, often working in teams or alongside other tech professionals like data scientists, UX designers and product managers, use specialized techniques and a thorough knowledge of one or more programming languages to create a foundation for where the website’s database will live, known as a back-end. 

The back-end is dependent upon the website’s server, which stores web pages and applications to be loaded into the web browser upon request.  The server acts as an intermediary between the web page or application and the data stored within the server, facilitating communication between the database and the client.

Web developers are also responsible for creating the front-end of a website through the use of HTML, CSS and JavaScript, which creates the layout and style that the user sees and interacts with when using the site.

Finally, web developers are responsible for maintaining the site’s functionality and overall performance over time.

Web development resources and tools:

Web Developers use various resources, frameworks, tools, and software packages to make their lives easier throughout the development process. Here are a few of the most common:

Web design:

  • WordPress
  • Photoshop
  • InDesign
  • Sketch
  • Google Web Designer

Web Developers are specialists:

Is it possible for a small business owner or marketing professional to learn about web development? Absolutely. But, building and maintaining a good website today takes a lot of time and skill. As more people realize this, Web Developers are becoming more and more in demand.

Web Developers keep up with the latest tools:

Not only are Web Developers trained in today’s web development tools, but they’re always learning the newest ones because, well, that’s their job. And, with programming and development tools constantly evolving, keeping up with the latest in web development is a full-time job.