Web designers and developers plan, organize and produce digital content, create internet and intranet sites and/or applications for client websites. There are many roles and job titles that are a part of web design, including user experience (UX) designers, user interface (UI) designers, interaction designers, writers and content strategists, user researchers, and front-end developers. For many in this job, the work is about the user’s experience on the website (UX), the look of the design (UI), or the building of the back end of the site (coding).
Watch the videos below to learn what a day in the life of a web developer is like.
Source: Estimated median employment income based on 2021 Job Bank median hourly wage rate (median annual salary = hourly wage rate x 40 (hours per week) x 52.14 (weeks per year))
Note:Estimated median employment income based on 2021 Job Bank median hourly wage rate (median annual salary = hourly wage rate x 40 (hours per week) x 52.14 (weeks per year))
Source: 2021 Job Bank Wage Report
Source: B.C. Labour Market Outlook
10 year expected job openings: 4,320
N/A - Data not available
Web designers and developers perform some or all of the following:
Web designers and developers typically work in an office with computers. Those that are self-employed may have a home-based office or work remotely.
This work tends to be done within a typical 40-hour week; however, in order to meet project deadlines, web designers and developers sometimes need to work longer hours – including evenings, weekends and holidays.
Web designers and developers might work for computer software development firms, digital agencies, consulting firms or in a company’s marketing or communication department. They may work in the private and public sectors, which includes government and school boards. They may also be self-employed with their own web design and development firm, or work as a contractor at different companies.
Working in this career generally means long periods using a keyboard and monitor, so web designers and developers may be at risk of eye strain, backaches and hand and wrist problems (ranging from simple strains to longer-term problems, such as carpal tunnel syndrome).
Source: 2016 Census
Web designers and developers may need a bachelor's degree, or to have successfully completed a college program or earned a diploma from a private post-secondary school. Typical areas of training are in the visual arts, visual communications, graphic design, digital media, interaction design, human-computer interaction, computer science, or information technology (IT).
Developers often have a background in coding.
Many designers have hands-on experience in visual arts, communications, marketing or digital media.
Project management skills are an advantage.
In addition, experience as a computer programmer or graphic designer is helpful for those with this job. It’s also good to have a digital portfolio, which is a visual or interactive resume that showcases the web designer and developer’s work.
People in this job must have solid technical, design, programming and communication skills so that they can understand the needs of the website user to create an easy-to-use and attractive website. They may use a variety of software programs including graphics, databases, and web authoring.
It’s important to keep up with new technical features and products as well as learning new skills to keep current with changing trends.
For more information about programs offered specifically for this career, visit EducationPlannerBC.
Every job calls for a certain set of skills. Knowing those skills is the first step in finding a good career fit.
Here, you will find the 35 most relevant workplace skills. Some are more important to achieving success in a certain career than others. These skills may come naturally to you or you may need to gain them through education, training and experience.
See the list of work-related skills below, ranked in order of importance for this career. You’ll also find the skill strength needed, letting you know how capable you must be in that skill.
Check out the list and see if this career matches your skills—take that first step!
Websites are now seen as an important part of a company’s communication with customers, clients, suppliers, and potential employees. Technology continues to change and improve, and it’s important for web designers and developers to stay on top of this.
The growing use of information technologies (IT) means that there will be a need for more workers in this career. Many new jobs are being created, while others become available because of retirements. The demand for web designers and developers is expected to increase in the coming years.
There is strong demand for those that have a high level of technical knowledge, and can work on large, complex systems. There are enough new graduates that are willing to do basic web design; however, employers often require web designers and developers with a great deal of experience in information architecture (IA). IA is the design of clear and understandable information through the organization of content. This includes the ability to set up the website to allow the user to easily and quickly find what they are looking for.
Bigger cities in the province, such as Vancouver or Victoria, offer more opportunities for full-time work and the chance to work on larger or more complicated web development and design projects.
The web design and development field focuses greatly on user experience, information architecture and usability design. Web designers and developers must think about how people will visit the website, including through their mobile devices. There is also a move towards understanding and using social media platforms when included in websites.
Career paths
This career is exciting, challenging, and may also pay well for those with experience. There may be opportunities to work on interesting projects. Those that move up in this career are workers who are open to learning new things, that work well in a team or on their own, that have good communication skills and that are looking for ongoing long- or short-term contracts.
Recent graduates can expect to find jobs in user interface (UI) design, design production, animation, game design and basic web programming. Workers with additional experience and/or education may move into leadership roles such as team leads, art directors, creative directors, producers, project managers, information technology (IT) managers and senior programmers.
Additional resources