A product or brand’s website is its digital footprint in the cloud, and the staggering rise in e-commerce means that companies aren’t willing to take their web presence lightly. That’s where web developers come in. Offering a range of abilities that can improve the consumer experience and the company’s conversion rate, web developers can be viewed as a golden asset for businesses and individuals alike.
It’s no surprise that the ever-expanding internet is in constant need of web developers. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics anticipates that the field is growing “much faster” than most occupations, with an increase of 8 percent in the number of jobs between 2019-2029. The median pay is $77,200, making it a solid career choice.
While there are numerous positions opening up for web developers, the relatively small amount of formal education that’s expected (with an associate’s degree being the standard) means there is significant competition for quality roles. This guide will help you understand what hiring managers are looking for, and give you an idea of what template your web developer resume should be based on.
To start with, keep in mind that the web developer category is fairly broad. A company looking for a web developer may need someone skilled in front-end work (such as user interfaces), back-end work (such as server optimization), or specific technologies (such as mobile app development). Ideally, your resume should be tailored to the position you’re applying for, with appropriate skills and experiences highlighted to match the role you’re applying for. The job description itself should provide hints as to what the position requires most.
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As a Web Developer, you are responsible for designing, coding, and modifying websites according to a client's specifications. Your resume plays a critical role in showcasing your technical expertise and relevant experience in this dynamic field. With the rise of advanced frameworks, responsive design, and the growing demand for applications that work seamlessly on different devices, companies are getting more selective in their hiring processes. Showcasing a well-structured resume can help you stand out from the competition and prove you have the specific skills needed for the job.
In a highly competitive industry like web development, your resume is crucial to not only demonstrate your knowledge of the latest technologies, but also showcase your ability to adapt to new trends. Companies are looking for Web Developers who can deliver high-quality solutions, understand client needs, and work collaboratively in fast-paced environments. A well-crafted resume can make a significant impact on your candidacy and help you land that dream role.
In the "Skills" section, list the programming languages, frameworks, libraries, and tools you're proficient in. Focus on those most relevant to the job you're applying for and make sure to mention any recent industry trends you're familiar with, such as JavaScript frameworks (e.g. React, Angular, or Vue) or server-side languages (e.g. Node.js, Ruby on Rails, or Django).
Include links to your online portfolio, GitHub profile, or selected projects to give employers concrete examples of your work. Be sure to provide context for each project, such as a brief description, technologies used, and your contributions. This will help showcase your skills and demonstrate your ability to solve real-world problems as a Web Developer.
Progressive experience is the key theme in this resume template, which is best suited to web developers who have grounded experience in the field backed by a roster of skills and relevant education. If you have a similar background that involves increasing responsibilities and accomplishments, you can highlight it with this direct, succinct format.
This web developer does well at focusing the reader on accomplishments that are relevant to their field. Each of their key performance indicators (such as increasing customer purchases, site visits, and customer satisfaction rate) stands out quickly through the use of bullet points that start with appropriate action verbs.
With five years of experience in the field ranging from security improvement to increasing site visits to information architecture, the skills list contains technical hard skills that are an appropriate bedrock worth including.
As a Front End Web Developer, you play a crucial role in creating visually appealing and user-friendly websites. With recent trends focusing on responsive design, user experience, and mobile compatibility, companies are looking for skilled developers who can bring their ideas to life. Your resume is your ticket to showcasing your expertise in this competitive field, making it vital to create a strong impression by highlighting your relevant skills and experience.
In the tech industry, your resume must stand out from the crowd. Employers are very selective when it comes to hiring front-end developers since the quality of their work directly impacts the company's online presence. To make a lasting impression, emphasize your unique coding abilities and your understanding of the latest industry trends.
Since practical experience is highly valued in this field, make sure you prominently display your most impressive projects in your resume. Include a brief description of your role, technologies used, and the outcomes achieved. Ideally, you should provide links to your GitHub or portfolio for easy access to your work samples.
In your skills section, highlight the programming languages, frameworks, and tools you're proficient in. Be specific and focus on the technologies most relevant to the job you're applying for. For example, showcase your expertise in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, or Angular, as well as tools like Git, Webpack, or Gulp.
Front end web developers should aim to encompass each aspect of familiarity that experts in front end experiences are expected to have, from increasing user time on page, designing landing pages, improving conversion rates, and reducing customer complaints. This can be a lot to cover, but breaking it up into digestible bullet points is a good way to tackle it.
This resume portrays a front end web developer with a well-rounded background in technical skills; beyond that, however, it emphasizes the developer is capable of channeling their technical understanding into added value through a strong relationship with data science and junior team members. Furthermore, their contribution to the in-house UI library is an above-and-beyond example of commitment to company growth.
With a host of potential experiences that front end web developers can showcase, it’s helpful to know what hiring managers are looking for and how to put them front-and-center. This resume does it well by breaking up numerous past positions into a list of essential accomplishments, many of which are relevant to front end work.
Even without significant experience working for companies as a web developer, you can convey your capacity for the job by highlighting your skills and demonstrating how well you can put those skills to use. This can be done by including the relevant, skills-associated experience you have, either with companies, during your time in college, or with personal ventures.
While lacking in long term experience, this resume still shines by indicating the web developer's practical familiarity with relevant technical skills. Not only are these skills listed (at their proficiency level) at the bottom of the resume, but the work experience suitably highlights how these skills were used.
Not having significant work experience isn’t a dealbreaker for hiring managers looking to take on new web developers, particularly when the educational background involved includes relevant, winning projects that earned substantial recognition. Don’t be shy about highlighting your web development and technical project successes as a student.
Being a Freelance Web Developer is like being an artist; crafting a masterpiece requires nuanced skills, creativity, and a lot of commitment to stay current in a swiftly evolving world. Recently, recruiters have been keener on freelancers who display a blend of programming expertise and a deep understanding of user experience design. When writing your resume, remember that this document is your biggest show window. It needs to reflect not just technologically sound knowledge, but also your proactive endeavors to keep yourself updated and versatile in a rapidly morphing digital landscape.
Be purposeful when showcasing your project portfolio. Hiring managers are keen on seeing real-life results, so be explicit about what you've accomplished. Include visuals if possible, and emphasize successful projects you’ve concluded.
Freelancers will want their web developer resumes to reflect their commitment to client satisfaction. Being able to recognize, meet, and exceed a client's needs with consistency is a solid method of demonstrating your prowess to new clients. This resume doesn't simply impart their client's satisfaction with fluff; instead, quantifiable improvements are included to illustrate measurable gains.
Each portion of this resume is broken down into bulleted lists beginning with an action word. In fact, most of them begin with one word: "Developed". While this may seem simplistic, keeping your hiring manager focused on your ability to develop websites will help them understand that, even as a freelancer, your role as a web developer is well-established.
Hiring managers will want to know what technical skills and technologies you are familiar with, and, if you have a diverse background working with a range of software, you can showcase your application of these skills in a similar fashion as this web developer did in the "Selected Project Experience" section.
As a Senior Web Developer, you're an expert in coding, creating, and maintaining websites and web applications, playing a vital role in driving a company's online presence and performance. In recent years, there's been a surge in demand for skilled developers who can work with various frameworks and programming languages. A strong resume is crucial in showcasing your expertise, versatility, and breadth of knowledge, helping you stand out in this competitive industry.
Companies looking for Senior Web Developers want not only technical proficiency but also a proven ability to manage projects and lead teams. Your resume should effectively communicate your capacity for leadership in addition to your technical skills, making it clear that you're the right fit for their needs.
In your resume, emphasize your proficiency in key programming languages, frameworks, and tools specific to web development (e.g., JavaScript, HTML, CSS, React, Angular). Providing examples of projects where you've used these skills will demonstrate your expertise and experience as a Senior Web Developer.
As a Senior Web Developer, you're expected to lead and mentor junior developers and oversee projects. Showcase your experience in project management, team collaboration, and mentorship by including specific accomplishments and results that demonstrate your ability to guide a team and deliver successful projects.
Senior web developers will want to impart their ability to lead. In the case of this web developer, they incorporate their work leading internal teams, as well as their capacity to work with external partners, both of which speak to strong personal skills. Pairing leadership with a background rooted in technical skills illustrates that you have the understanding and the willingness to encourage company growth.
With a long career in web development, it's possible to have accrued a similarly broad list of accomplishments. Rather than emphasizing a few portions of those accomplishments (such as increasing click rate), this resume touches on a variety of accomplishments, such as improving efficiency, increasing revenue, and reducing turnaround time.
As a senior web developer, hiring managers will want to know your field experience first and foremost. This resume appropriately focuses on job experience, leaving small windows to emphasize their significant educational background and then their skills. If you've been working as a web developer long enough, after all, your skills should be well illustrated by your accomplishments.
A junior web developer works under more senior developers and performs tasks in all stages of the website development cycle. You may assist in coding, testing, and review of websites. Your technical toolset will be very important to recruiters, as will your educational background. A strong IT background and tools list that includes all industry-standard software will be essential. Take a look at this well-structured resume sample.
Most applicants will have the same industry-standard qualifications listed in their skills section. To stand out from the crowd, get web developer certification. It will show recruiters your dedication to the profession and give them confidence that you are highly skilled in web development.
Having an expansive tools list can be a strong positive for recruiters. So as you apply for positions, take time to learn a new software language or tool. It will increase your value to your eventual employer.
Put simply, a full-stack developer can develop both the front-end and back-end of a website. You must be especially skilled and agile to switch between the two. Recruiters need to see a strong educational background and an even stronger skills list that shows your capability to excel at both front-end and back-end development. Beyond your qualifications. Recruiters will want to see your range of experience and how successful you have been in previous positions. Here is an example of a strong full-stack web developer.
Web development is a highly technical job with very specific language used. Using web development keywords shows recruiters that you are knowledgeable and experienced in the area. It may also benefit you if recruiters are using any ATS filters.
While full stack developers are a true jack of all trades for software development, a full stack web developer primarily focuses on website development and design rather than mobile apps. You’ll want to show how you excel in developing websites that boost companies’ traffic, how you saved the company money by continuously reviewing your code, and how much revenue your new web designs brought in.
An online presence is necessary for companies to survive, and a professional website helps to capture customers’ attention. If your website development contributed to a boost in sales or revenue, make sure to detail specific numbers. If you saved the company money through your development (e.g. by driving efficiencies), mention it too.
A PHP developer is someone who develops scripts to build webpages, programs, and applications. A PHP developer is someone who is well-versed in using PHP, a common scripting language, to code web based applications and websites. These developers are responsible for implementing, monitoring, and testing and troubleshooting their code to ensure it all works as it should.
An ideal candidate for this role will have strong technical skills. A four-year degree in computer science or data entry is preferable, but any four-year degree could be considered if you have taken follow-up education and certifications in web development. Hiring managers will be looking for a candidate who has experience in software development and/or coding, is fluent in common coding languages, and has superb attention to detail.
Previous work experience as a junior software developer or web UI developer will show hiring managers you have hands-on experience with concepts of web development and coding. You can also use PHP code on your own time to create examples of your work. You can also use freelancing platforms to pick up jobs for clients needing PHP programming. These projects can be put into a portfolio and given to hiring managers alongside your resume.
A PHP developer is a subset of the software development profession. They are responsible for developing interactive websites with the scripting programming language PHP. These developers also maintain, update, and troubleshoot the website when necessary. This is a profession that requires resilience and logical thinking to resolve issues along the way. That’s why you should highlight your problem-solving skills in your resume.
Of course, the most important programming language to highlight in your resume is PHP. However, PHP developers also work with other coding languages and tools, especially if they are full-stack developers. You can boost your resume by adding all the skills and tools that could make your PHP development process better.
As a hiring manager who has recruited web developers at top companies like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, I've reviewed hundreds of resumes. In this article, I'll share insider tips on how to make your web developer resume stand out. These tips come from my firsthand experience and will help you showcase your skills and experience in the most effective way.
Employers want to see the specific technologies and programming languages you've worked with. Instead of simply listing them, provide examples of how you used each one.
Avoid being too generic or vague about your technical abilities. For instance:
To recap on what we’ve covered thus far, you’ll want to start planning your position-specific resume by first identifying what type of web developer the position is looking for (by reviewing the job posting). Once you’ve done that, you can match your background to it by selecting a template similar to the ones we reviewed above.
As a web developer, your resume summary is a chance to showcase your key skills, experience, and career highlights that are most relevant to the role you're targeting. While a summary is optional, it can be a useful way to provide context about your background, especially if you're a career changer or have a lot of experience. Remember, your resume is already a summary of your qualifications, so avoid repeating information that's already covered in other sections.
When writing your web developer resume summary, focus on your technical skills, programming languages, and key accomplishments. Avoid using generic soft skills or buzzwords like "hardworking" or "team player." Instead, let your experience and achievements speak for themselves. Keep your summary concise, no more than a few sentences or a short paragraph.
The work experience section is critical to show hiring managers how you've applied your technical skills to real-world projects and made an impact. It's also the best place to show your career progression and promotions you've earned.
In this section, we'll cover exactly what you should include and how to write about your experiences in a compelling way.
Action verbs are critical for making your resume feel relevant and keeping it flowing. On the left, we’ve compiled a list of action verbs that should be included in web developer resumes based on our research.
These action verbs can be integrated throughout the text, such as in a short summary like the one present on the first web developer resume we reviewed. In that example, they have experience “managing” and “developing” projects to “maintain” cohesive websites, all of which speak favorably to their capabilities.
Every bullet point should begin with an action verb, as we discussed above. “Designed”, “developed”, and “created” are all important fundamentals for the web developer trade, while “revamped”, “brainstormed”, and “collaborated” indicate your ability to go above and beyond.
For more related action verbs, visit Software Engineering Action Verbs.
For a full list of effective resume action verbs, visit Resume Action Verbs.
Perhaps more than most occupations, web development is a skills-based field. Having familiarity with particular software platforms and hardware setups can be a real asset for web developers applying to new positions, and your resume should reflect that.
On the left, we’ve provided a list of the top skills that hiring managers are looking for on web developer resumes. You can incorporate these in two primary ways: by adding a succinct section on your resume that lists the skills that are most relevant to the type of web developer role you’re applying for, and by including your accomplishments related to these skills under each position you’ve held.
Remember to keep the focus on web development in terms of hard skills, but don’t be shy about including relevant soft skills, either. A well-rounded web developer may exceed most at critical thinking, as in the first resume template we looked at above.
You can include the above skills in a dedicated Skills section on your resume, or weave them in your experience. Here's how you might create your dedicated skills section:
This word cloud highlights the important keywords that appear on Web Developer job descriptions and resumes. The bigger the word, the more frequently it appears on job postings, and the more 'important' it is.
You should use bullet points to describe your achievements in your Web Developer resume. Here are sample bullet points to help you get started:
Accelerated goal to increase digital sales by improving e-commerce experience on existing website and adding new storefronts on Amazon and eBay; analyzed consumer data to ensure accurate targeting by segment; resulting in 300% increase in online orders in the following year.
Conducted evaluative testing with 10+ participants using InVision and UserTesting.com; synthesized and designed against findings which reduced bounce rate for primary user flow by 30%
Developed an iPhone app to help medical professionals measure the insulin needs of patients with diabetes
Revamped website flows and navigation menus, reducing the frequency of misdirected customer service queries by 30% and increasing traffic to previously neglected pages
Conducted 25+ user-testing focus groups leading to 3 new product features in 6 months
For more sample bullet points and details on how to write effective bullet points, see our articles on resume bullet points, how to quantify your resume and resume accomplishments.
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