Top Skills for This Career
BLS identifies these as the three highest-rated skills for this detailed occupation. TrustInEd adds the plain-language explanations so visitors understand what each skill means.
Using computers, software, digital systems, and technology to complete work and solve problems.
Adjusting effectively when priorities, conditions, tools, or expectations change.
Paying close attention to accuracy, quality, instructions, and small but important details.
How Do You Prepare for This Career?
BLS describes the typical preparation for this occupation. Requirements can vary by employer, state, licensing rules and individual circumstances.
How to Become One
How to Become a Web Developer or Digital Designer Developers often have both programming and graphic design knowledge.
Education
al requirements vary for web developers and digital designers, based on work setting and other factors. Education Educational requirements for web developers and digital designers range from a high school diploma to a bachelor’s degree. Some employers prefer to hire web developer candidates who have a bachelor’s degree in a specific field, such as computer science or programming. Web developers need to have a thorough understanding of HTML programming. Many employers also want developers to understand other programming languages, such as JavaScript or SQL, and have knowledge of multimedia publishing tools, such as Flash. Throughout their career, web developers must keep up to date on new tools and computer languages. Employers of digital designers may prefer to hire candidates who have a bachelor’s degree in a field such as web design, digital design, or graphic arts. Web developers and digital designers may not need specific education credentials if they can demonstrate their abilities through prior work experience or projects. Advancement Web developers and digital designers who have a bachelor’s degree may advance to become project managers. For more information, see the profile on computer and information systems managers.
Your Next Step
Compare colleges and education options that can support the typical entry-level education for this career.
Pay
the median annual wage for all workers was $50,980.
Job Outlook
Job Outlook Overall employment of web developers and digital designers is projected to grow 5 percent from 2025 to 2035, faster than the average for all occupations. About 13,600 openings for web developers and digital designers are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire. Employment Employment of web developers and digital designers is projected to grow as e-commerce continues to expand. As retail firms keep increasing their online offerings, demand for these workers is expected to grow to help businesses better compete in the online marketplace. However, improving web development tools and increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) for web development may soften the employment growth of these workers. These tools may make these workers more productive, and it may also allow some workers in other occupations to do basic web development tasks. Web Developers and Digital Designers Percent change in employment, projected 2025–35 Computer occupations 6% Web and digital interface designers 6% Web developers and digital designers 5% Web developers 4% Total, all occupations 3% Note: All Occupations includes all occupations in the U.S. Economy.
What They Do
What Web Developers and Digital Designers Do
Web developers create and maintain websites. They are also responsible for the site’s technical aspects, such as its performance and capacity, which are measures of a website’s speed and how much traffic the site can handle. In addition, web developers may create content for the site. Digital designers develop, create, and test website or interface layout, functions, and navigation for usability. They are responsible for the look and functionality of the website or interface.
Duties
Web developers and digital designers typically do the following:
- Meet with clients or management to discuss the needs, design, and functionality of a website or interface
- Create and test applications, interfaces, and navigation menus for a website
- Write code for the website, using programming languages such as HTML or XML
- Work with other team members to determine what information the site will contain
- Work with graphics and other designers to determine the website’s layout
- Integrate graphics, audio, and video into the website
- Monitor website traffic
- Create prototypes and mockups of websites or applications
- Design and develop graphics
When creating a website, developers and designers have to make their client’s vision a reality. They build particular types of websites, such as ecommerce, news, or gaming sites, to fit clients’ needs. Different types of websites require different applications. For example, a gaming site should be able to handle advanced graphics, whereas an ecommerce site would need a payment-processing application. The developer decides which applications and designs will best fit the site, and the designer focuses on the look and usability of these elements across browsers or devices.
Some developers and designers handle all aspects of a website’s construction, and others specialize in a certain aspect of it. The following are examples of types of specialized web developers or digital designers:
Back-end web developers are responsible for the overall technical construction of the website. They create the basic framework of the site and ensure that it functions as expected. Back-end web developers also establish procedures for allowing others to add new pages to the website and meet with management to discuss major changes to the site.
Front-end web developers create the technical features for a website’s look. They develop the site’s layout and integrate graphics, applications (such as a retail checkout tool), and other content. They also write webdesign programs in a variety of computer languages, such as HTML or JavaScript.
Web and digital interface designers are responsible for creating the look and feel of a website or interface with regard to photos, color, font type and size, graphics, and layout. They also are responsible for the functionality, usability, and compatibility of the website or interface.
Webmasters maintain and update websites. They ensure that websites operate correctly, and they test for errors such as broken links. Many webmasters respond to user comments as well.
Work Environment
Work Environment
Web and digital interface designers held about 132,700 jobs in 2025. The largest employers of web and digital interface designers were as follows:
| Information | 27% |
| Self-employed workers | 13 |
| Computer systems design and related services | 13 |
| Finance and insurance | 6 |
| Wholesale trade | 5 |
Web developers held about 87,400 jobs in 2025. The largest employers of web developers were as follows:
| Computer systems design and related services | 21% |
| Self-employed workers | 18 |
| Information | 11 |
| Educational services; state, local, and private | 10 |
| Management, scientific, and technical consulting services | 6 |
Work Schedules
Most web developers and digital designers work full time.
Important Qualities
The following are examples of qualities that are important for these workers to perform their duties. For more information, visit the Employment Projections (EP) skills data page. Communication skills. Web developers and digital designers need to communicate effectively with coworkers to coordinate work on projects. Creativity. Web developers and digital designers often are involved in creating the appearance of a website and must make sure that it is appealing as well as functional. Customer-service skills. Webmasters have to respond politely to user questions and requests. Detail oriented. Web developers and digital designers must focus for long periods and write code precisely, because a minor error could cause an entire webpage to stop working. Problem-solving skills. Web developers and digital designers must check for coding errors and fix any that they find.
More Information
More Information, Including Links to O*NET
Learn more about web developers and digital designers by visiting additional resources, including O*NET, a source on key characteristics of workers and occupations.
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Start with ED →Career data and occupational profile text are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook and Employment Projections program. Education requirements are typical entry-level requirements and may vary by employer, state, occupation or individual circumstance. View the official BLS profile.