A web developer is a programmer who specializes in, or is specifically engaged in, the development of World Wide Web applications using a client–server model. The applications typically use HTML, CSS and JavaScript in the client, PHP, ASP.NET (C#) or Java in the server, and http for communications between client and server. A web content management system is often used to develop and maintain web applications.

Tools used for front-end development

There are several tools and platforms (wordpress, magento etc..) available that can be used to develop the front end of a website, and understanding which tools are best fit for specific tasks marks the difference between developing a hacked site and a well designed, scalable site

Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML)

Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) is the backbone of any website development process, without which a web page doesn't exist. Hypertext means that text has links, termed hyperlinks, embedded in it. When a user clicks on a word or a phrase that has a hyperlink, it will bring another web-page. A markup language indicates text can be turned into images, tables, links, and other representations. It is the HTML code that provides an overall framework of how the site will look. HTML was developed by Tim Berners-Lee. The latest version of HTML is called HTML5 and was published on October 28, 2014 by the W3 recommendation. This version contains new and efficient ways of handling elements such as video and audio files.

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) controls the presentation aspect of the site and allows your site to have its own unique look. It does this by maintaining style sheets which sit on top of other style rules and are triggered based on other inputs, such as device screen size and resolution.

JavaScript

JavaScript is an event-based imperative programming language (as opposed to HTML's declarative language model) that is used to transform a static HTML page into a dynamic interface. JavaScript code can use the [Document Object Model] (DOM), provided by the HTML standard, to manipulate a web page in response to events, like user input.

Using a technique called AJAX, JavaScript code can also actively retrieve content from the web (independent of the original HTML page retrieval), and also react to server-side events as well, adding a truly dynamic nature to the web page experience.

WebAssembly

WebAssembly, supported by all the major browsers (i.e. from the major vendors Google, Apple, Mozilla and Microsoft), is the only alternative to JavaScript for running code in web browsers (without the help of plug-ins, such as Flash, Java or Silverlight; all being discontinued, as browsers are dropping plug-in support). Prior to its adoption, there was asm.js (a subset of JavaScript; and thus strictly works in all browsers), that's also used as a compiler target with efficient support in browsers such as Internet Explorer 11; and for such browsers that do not support WebAssembly directly, it can be compiled to asm.js and those browsers supported that way. Generally speaking programmers do not program in WebAssembly (or asm.js) directly, but use languages such as Rust, C or C++ or in theory any language, that compile to it.

Goals for development

The developer of the front end keeps these points in mind, utilizing available tools and techniques to reach this end.

Accessibility

With continuing development for mobile devices, such as smart phones and tablets, designers need to ensure that their site comes up correctly in browsers on all devices. This can be done by creating a responsive web design using stylesheets in CSS.

Performance

Performance goals are chiefly concerned with render time, manipulating the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to ensure that the site opens up quickly.

Nature of employment

Web developers are found working in various types of organizations, including large corporations and governments, small and medium - sized companies, or alone as freelancers. Some web developers work for one organization as a permanent full-time employee, while others may work as independent consultants, or as contractors for an employment agency. Web developers typically handle both server-side and front-end logic. This usually involves implementing all the visual elements that users see and use in the web application, as well as all the web services and APIs that are necessary to power the front-end. Salaries vary depending on the type of development work, location, and level of seniority.

Type of work performed

Modern web applications often contain three or more tiers, and depending on the size of the team a developer works on, he or she may specialize in one or more of these tiers - or may take a more interdisciplinary role. A web developer is usually classified as a Front-end web development or a Back-End Web Developer. For example, in a two-person team, one developer may focus on the technologies sent to the client such as HTML, JavaScript, CSS, ReactJs or AngularJS and on the server-side frameworks (such as Perl, Python, Ruby, PHP, Java, ASP, ASP.NET, Node.js) used to deliver content and scripts to the client. Meanwhile, the other developer might focus on the interaction between server-side frameworks, the web server, and a database system. Further, depending on the size of their organization, the aforementioned developers might work closely with a content creator/copy writer, marketing adviser, user experience designer, web designer, web producer, project manager, software architect, or database administrator - or they may be responsible for such tasks as web design and project management themselves.

Educational and licensure requirements
There are no formal educational or licensure requirements to become a web developer. However, many colleges and trade schools offer coursework in web development. There are also many tutorials and articles, which teach web development, freely available on the web - for example: Basic JavaScript

Even though there are no formal educational requirements, dealing with web developing projects requires those who wish to be referred to as web developers to have advanced knowledge/skills in:

1. HTML/XHTML, CSS, JavaScript and jQuery.
2. Server/client side architecture like all or some of the above mentioned.
3. Programming/Coding/Scripting in one of the many server-side languages or frameworks (e.g., Perl, Python, Ruby, PHP, Go, CFML - ColdFusion, Java, ASP, ASP.NET, Node.js)
4. Ability to utilize a database
5. Creating single-page application with use of front-end tools such as EmberJS, ReactJS or AngularJS