The Unemployed Web Developer

Matthew Gates 4m 886

The views of this article are the perspective of the author and may not be reflective of Confessions of the Professions.

Web Developer In Search Of Work

This article should not even exist, but it does because you find yourself without a job or a paycheck, and thus, you have given a reason for it to be written. Being a web developer is not the easiest job in the world and it certainly can be tedious. Being a web developer that works for a company is slightly more stable work, while being a freelance web developer is more complicated. Most times, the average web developer is underpaid and doing too much work. The client barely knows how much custom work and code is going into their website to make it function the way they want it to be.

The web design world is one that is filled with competition, but it is a vast world, filled with endless fish in the sea, looking for a website or someone to maintain their website and make changes to it. There is plenty of work all-around for millions to get into the field and still have work left to be done. Many individuals, startups, and small companies are looking for a website or have a website, but it is rarely maintained, out of date, or is just not what a modern website should be.

There is constant international competition between freelancers and companies, all competing to get business from any company that is willing to have them. The competition becomes even more fierce because for every web design company or web designer who charges more, there is always another web design company or web designer willing to go far cheaper and much more affordable, even for work that could be considered very valuable. When this occurs, it tends to undermine the value of a website.

It is very true that anyone and their mother can start a website or a blog within minutes. WordPress and other platforms have made it as simple as click, click, click. Yet for some reason, there still seems to be a demand for web designers. A website becomes more complicated than just clicks when there are custom needs for the website. Custom animations, CSS, JavaScript, and JQuery, and possible access to a custom database with custom data might be the need for a business, and not just anyone can do this, but the talented skills of a web designer or web developer may be necessary.

The job of a web developer is more than just, “can you move this over and make it that color?” Often times, this type of request, albeit a simple one by the client, can take a few minutes, but if left to someone who is not a professional web designer, it might take a few hours to figure it out, or the request may even go unfulfilled. Unfortunately, startups, small business, and even entrepreneurs hardly know how much a website entails, and while it is true that there may be some web developers who overcharge, many do charge within reason, and charge for you to use their expertise.

Imagine your toilet got backed up and the water from the toilet started to overflow. Eventually, it stops, but every flush is backed up. It is highly unlikely that you are going to go into the sewer and pipe systems and fix it yourself. You are going to call a professional to do it for you. That professional is going to show up to your home, evaluate the situation, and give you a price estimate on how much it will cost to do the job. You will either pay for that professional to do the job, or you are going to look for someone else to do the job who may give you a better price. This is how web developers work and it is often misunderstood exactly how much work they do.

For web developers, there is always work, and there will always be people who need websites. How you go about it, whether you wish to build a few of your own websites first, or build a portfolio to display your work and hand out business cards around town, or maybe you just want to market your website online to other companies. With the most established websites, even the bad ones, it takes a lot of convincing to get someone to pay you what you are asking for. This is where the competition comes in with many people asking for less than $100 to build a website, especially countries around the United States.

Regardless of who your competition is or where they are from, know the type of work you do and be confident with the work you do. Do not let anyone undervalue what you do as a web developer. Only you can tell them how much you are worth and let them decide how much they are going to pay you for your work. Be willing to walk away if they try to lowball you, as the price of “dealing with their bullshit” is worth everything you’re asking for. Never let anyone tell you that what you do is not a real job. We are the builders and designers of the Internet. We are the ones who develop the web applications that make lives easier. Know your worth. Demand your worth. Claim your worth. You are a web developer.

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