We are living in an era of rapidly developing technology, with the online world following closely behind. If you have a business and would like to put up a website to represent it, you will need to do it in a way that allows you to showcase your talents. It should also help you stand out from the crowd and keep up with the market’s demand. To achieve all this, you will have to hire a competent person to build your site. Here are seven essential skills to look for in a web developer.

  • Communication Skills

Along with their technical knowledge, web developers should have good communication skills. You should be able to explain to them the goals you want to achieve with your online presence, and they should receive it with an open attitude. Whether you work with an individual or a company, they should be easy to collaborate with. Your communication with a developer should begin smoothly from the first interview and continue in the same fashion even after receiving your product.

  • Researching and Planning

When you provide the developer the information about your company and all your requirements, they should begin to analyze this. This way, they will be able to fully understand your overall goals. To achieve this, according to expert web developers, everything from possible project schedules to hardware requirements should be taken into consideration during analysis. After going through all your data, they may come across a problem they have not encountered before. However, an experienced developer will do the necessary research and quickly find a suitable solution.

  • Maintaining Projects

After getting your website up and running, you could experience minor issues that will require immediate attention. For more efficient problem solving, it’s recommended to have your site built by someone who will be able to maintain it later as well. Because most websites are developed in a complex way, countless factors can create issues on them – making maintenance a tedious task. However, finding bugs is crucial to gain customer satisfaction, so you really want to employ someone who can resolve these errors without wasting your time. 

  • HTML and CSS

Without languages like HTML and CSS, you can`t build a website. This means that the developer you hire should have an excellent grasp of them. Generating files from both languages is an essential skill you should absolutely insist on, along with using particular patterns and layouts in them. With HTML, you will ensure that everyone can distinguish your pages from any other text and mark them as unique digital documents. CSS is even more crucial, as it allows creating an attractive design and layout for a web page. This is what helps display your site on different types of devices. If you’re curious about how to become a web developer without a degree, these core skills are the building blocks of your journey.

  • JavaScript

This language is one of the oldest ones in the programming world, so it’s definitely something that each professional developer should have in their skill set. It’s also one of the most sought-after languages, and for a very good reason. It’s a great tool that helps you create an interactive layout for your potential clients – which is essential for building customer relations. Everything from search bars, videos, and audio to any moving object is created in JavaScript. A programmer who possesses knowledge of these complex development systems is definitely worth hiring.

  • Responsive Design

Today people visit websites from a wide variety of devices, so you want to make sure that yours looks good and works properly on all of them. And one of the main requirements for a functional multi-device layout is having a responsive design. You don’t want to hire a programmer who designs for only desktop users because then you won’t be able to reach all those users who would look you up on their mobile devices. As a business owner, you want your customers to have the best user experience with your site possible.

  • SEO and Performance

Website performance essentially means the time it takes for your website to load. As slow loading could make users abandon your pages, you want your developer to focus on speeding up your website. If they know how to compress images, avoid using unnecessary code – they will be able to boost up your site’s performance and keep it at a competitive level. The programmer who runs your site should also optimize its search engine ranking (SEO) and increase the number of visitors you receive.

Professional web developers should have knowledge of the most common programming languages. A basic set of skills is a must in every competent programmer, but if they have a few rare ones, even better. They should also be able to continuously learn new skills and expand their knowledge. By making sure the developer you hire has all these qualities, you will be able to grow your brand online successfully.