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Web Development, Web Design Career Opportunities When talking about web careers, issues relating to Web
Development and Web Design are often at the fore. But what is Web Development?
Definitions vary widely depending on your perspective. Web Development is all you need to create, design, build and
support websites. Web Development is what makes a website a website –
aesthetics, ease of use, impressive and relevant content, functionality,
appropriate graphics, convenient navigation, search features; visual clues and other features. The essence of Web development therefore is to ensure a
website fulfils its purpose. Web Career Options Popular options / sample titles
in the Web arena include: Web Developer, Webmaster,
Web Designer, Content provider and Web project managers. Web developers develop websites
that provide content, present
data, calculate amounts and provide e-business services. Often implied in Web
Development is Web Design i.e. the convergence of the two skill sets of programming and
design/graphics. On the other hand the Webmaster,
Web Administrator, traditionally focuses on the efficiency and effectiveness of
the site, after the site has been built and is already in use. The Web project manager works
with other members of the web team to bring in Web projects on time, on budget,
and to specifications. Not all websites use Project managers, but they are
essential for business sites and large web projects. The Content developer or writer
ensures content is relevant and up-to-date – good writing and editing skills
are essential. No
career option is better than the other. The choice of which to use on a web
project often depends on the objectives of the project as well as the site
owner’s value judgment. However, it should be obvious that the busiest areas
are Web Development and Design. Accordingly we will focus on these areas. Web Development and Design is
about a high quality experience for the website audience by creating the right
look and feel and usability design while optimizing website interactivity and
functionality. Web Developer or Web Designer The famous question: What is the
difference between a Web designer and a Web developer? According to Kunle Adewunmi, CEO
WebSignature and Web Services Toronto, “Web development is supposed to focus on
developing back end web applications (db integration, jsp, servlets, asp, etc),
while a web designer should focus only on the front end (html coding, flash,
css, java script). However a lot of organizations tend to blend these two
fields and gray out a lot of the differences”. Paul
Olawale, Web Specialist at Cyberspace ISP, Lagos, also had this to say:
“In
a web project cycle, a web designer comes up with the aesthetic design of the
pages, graphics design, page layouts/structures, etc. A web developer collects
what a designer does and put them all together in web pages. He does the
development, uploading, maintenance, programming/scripting, and backend
database design for interactive sites. But the fact is that for many projects a
single person assumes both roles”. Web design and development are
interrelated. Even if you specialize you find that a 'Web developer' with
analytic skills may need to be conversant with design to a certain extent while a
“Web designer” with artistic skills should also have some development know-how.
Interestingly many employers make no distinction at all between a designer and a
developer.
What does a Web Developer do?
What is the work like? As a first step, you will have to
talk to the site owners to know what the objectives of the site owners are. You
can’t just make assumptions. All sites are not the same. The creation of
prototypes helps you communicate how the website will function to the owners. Building Web applications A
website is made up of web pages. Coding of web pages is essential. You will
need to use a variety of software. Based on the content you can code your web
pages using HTML or use popular web development software including
FrontPage and Dreamweaver. Development and design may involve setting up interactive
forms, shopping carts, mailing lists and online programs. To provide some of
these features, other Web programming tools and software at your disposal include: Java,
VBScript, MS-SQL, ACCESS, MySQL CGI, Perl, Visual
C++, C, Cold Fusion, SQL, JSP, ASP, Flash, PHP, XML and DHTML. While programming is essential,
you should make sure it is combined with aesthetics, presentation, design,
layout and navigation features for an effective website. Testing, Problem-solving,
Support Testing is also a critical
function as it is wise to always get a feel of the application before it goes
live. Testing is essential for determining if it meets the website owner’s
objectives. You need to get feedback from owners and users to the website's
effectiveness. After the website becomes
available on the Internet, support and maintenance can be provided by Web
Developers (Administrators) to make corrections, to keep the site current, to
perform site analysis and to update the site with new content and applications
required by the website owners. Which platform? Many Web Developers choose a
preferred OS platform for doing their work. Choosing a platform early in your
career helps you in becoming proficient in that platform. Many usually
choose between Unix/Linux and Microsoft. But to widen your options, you may
learn and master both platforms. For programming depending on your
platform, the choice could either be PHP/MySQL (for Unix) or ASP/Access (for
Microsoft). Note that Open source tools, PHP/MySQL are free. According
to Paul Olawale, “Design and programming language styles and platforms may
vary. But the end result is what is important. There are many ways of
achieving a common design/development with different methods”. Knowledge and Certification To grow the Web development field
you must develop the right skills and knowledge. There is a need for you to
equip yourself in the technology areas mentioned previously. As a start
learning how to design using HTML and Web development software (Frontpage,
Dreamweaver) may suffice as a start. Development software speeds up the
building process but most developers find understanding and coding HTML
empowering by giving you depth in the fundamentals. However, to dig deep into Web development
you need to acquire programming skills. Because of the
way Web development is connects with database systems, it also helps to have
good knowledge of database development and tools such as Oracle and SQL. Just like the programming field, certification doesn’t
seem to hold as much clout as having demonstrable expertise in with these tools
and technologies. What is the use of a certification if you are struggling to
develop effective websites? While certification can give you value lack of a
certification won’t be a stumbling block if you know your stuff and you can
prove it. Popular titles to consider include: Prosoft’s
Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW) Professional, Macromedia Dreamweaver
Developer, Coldfusion Certification, Sun Certified Web Component Developer (SCWCD),
Flash Certifications. Other Issues Is Digital Media part of Web
Development and Design? There is no doubt that digital media (the combination of video,
animation, interactive multimedia, graphic design and IT) have a major impact in
the Web Development and Design environment. But digital media though very
useful, isn’t strictly for Web careers. The
focus is on artistic applications and productions. It is providing enormous
opportunities on the Web as well as in the entertainment (film, music) and advertising industries. The future Trends indicate that Web services will continue to grow.
The demand for new classes of applications that use the Web is bound to
increase. According to Kunle
Adewunmi, “In terms of the future, XML is growing rapidly, PHP is very
popular, Perl is certainly losing ground. CSS seems like it will be here as
long as HTML is here. XML and XML offsprings are growing; Flash/Action script
is being used on most sites now. The current trend is that most apps/services
that used to be available only locally are now being made available online
through the Internet”. The
future also isn’t just about establishing an Internet presence for your
client. It is necessary to have an owner mentality – see yourself as responsible for the success of the
website - what does the site owner want to
achieve? How will the development and design help in attract users (target
audience) to the site in a manner that will add value to their business? Will the target audience
visit the site regularly? Web personality? You must have
the drive, the passion for the web environment. But though passion is great, it
is not
enough. As a specialized form of
programming
you must use your passion to drive creativity and you must be ready to pay attention to detail.
Furthermore, just as in other IT professional roles, soft skills can't be
ignored. This role often requires large doses of communication, organization
and interpersonal skills. Web development
is interesting, but make no mistake you still have to work to create
opportunity for yourself. Soft skills are particularly important for getting
the right opportunity. It’s okay to be armed with the knowledge but where will you
demonstrate value? Also consider your
growth options. Look for
experience and also volunteer. Provide Web assistance for “charitable
organizations, your Old school, religious body (Mosque, Church, associations),
NGO or your community group”. In addition develop your own website and
portfolio for both practice and promotion. Web development and design – are the challenges and
opportunities for you? I wish you all the best
in your IT Career,
Jide Awe
Jide Awe is the Founder of Jidaw.com (http://www.jidaw.com) For More Career Tips, Views
And Advice, head straight to the IT Career Resource Center: http://www.jidaw.com/certarticles/careercert.html
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