A web developer plays a larger role than many business owners assume.

In the early stages of running a company, you’ve probably gotten used to DIY-ing a lot of your website and marketing tasks. We are fortunate to live in a time with an infinite number of resources at our fingertips—and learning the basics of web development projects isn’t super difficult.

But there will come a time when turning to a professional is the right move.

It’s important to realize that when you hire a web developer, you’re getting more than just a coding expert.

What is a Web Developer?

A web developer is an expert who designs, builds and maintains websites and web apps.

There are three types of developers: front-end, back-end, and full stack.

Front-end developers manage the client-facing aspects – including the visuals, colors, layout, fonts, etc. Back-end web development deals with the web server and invisible structure that make the web property function properly. A full-stack web developer manages both front and back-end web development jobs.

Web developers collaborate with clients and other stakeholders to understand the requirements of websites and web applications to create functional/appealing user interfaces.

Web developers play a crucial role in shaping online presence and digital interactions. In this post, we want to discuss the OTHER factors that play into the role of a web developer. Let’s get moving.

The Visionary

To the untrained eye, it’s easy to look at a polished website with interactive features and think it’s easy to replicate. Your web developer’s job is to look at this with practicality in mind and help create a vision for you to get there – and add a unique twist.

As a business owner, you’re going to have a close working relationship with the web developer you hire. You will communicate the company’s goals, and the developer will use their technical knowledge to carve out a realistic vision to bring it to life.

When you hire a web developer, they will need to bring their skills and pair them with a rock-solid understanding of your business.

The Bottom Line

All business owners have a vision for their digital presence. A developer will keep that vision in check and make sure it’s achievable. They are the bridge between the company’s vision and the technical details needed to implement the strategies that open new avenues for growth.

The Strategist

Once you and your web developer hammer out a realistic vision for your digital presence, they will be the driving force that brings it into reality.

The web development expert will be the one working with user behavior, online trends, and technological advancements to build a strategy for both the short term and the long term.

For instance, this strategy may involve finding ways to attract more online visitors, improve the user experience, and encourage them to take action – which could be reserving a spot in your online course or booking a consultation.
This could be done by leveraging design trends to make the website more intuitive, adding new features, or improving your online visibility.

Looking internally, a web developer can help you work more efficiently by creating workflows using online systems and website data.

Let’s put it in perspective here.

Say you develop an interactive online course and need data on user behavior to improve the quality. A web developer will create a workflow for where that data gets stored, who has access to it, and how it can be used to inform future decisions.

The Bottom Line

Web developers play a critical role in understanding your vision and creating an implementation plan with strong ties to reality.

The Integrator

When you hire a web developer in a small company, they will do a lot of the heavy lifting in conceptualizing, designing, and implementing solutions within your operations – based on the vision you create.

Growing companies have evolving digital needs. If you’re offering online courses or life coaching services, you will get to a point where you’ll need certain databases and software applications – like a CRM, content management system, and marketing automation. Your web developer will play a key role in properly implementing these systems.
In other words, they will be the person putting the puzzle pieces together to make sure your company achieves “the bigger picture” and can scale without the growing pains.

The Bottom Line

Think of your company with four pillars: sales, marketing, customer service, and IT. Full-stack developers are the glue that holds everything together to work cohesively – and maintain business harmony.

The Data Analyst

Decisions regarding your company’s online presence and other web projects should be backed with data.
If you’re not well-versed in Google Analytics, heat mapping, user behavior, email statistics, etc., the data you gather may not be useful. Keep in mind, this data needs to be interpreted cohesively to drive decision-making.

The most successful digital presences are constantly evolving and re-inventing themselves. Part of being a web developer involves analyzing these trends and applying them to your overarching goals.

In other words, your full-stack developer will help you make sense of the data you collect and use it to inform new ideas. Maybe this would include a smarter way to manage customer interactions, launch new products, and fine-tune your existing services.

The Bottom Line

The Economist once claimed that data is more valuable than oil. When it comes to your digital presence, you simply can’t rely on guesswork and crossing your fingers. Every change, update, or advancement needs to be driven by data insights. Talented web developers know how to interpret datasets and use them to bring your company to the next level.

What’s the Next Step?

The decision to hire a web developer is essential as your company grows. At a certain point, it simply won’t be feasible to manage these web tasks on your own.

The toughest part for many business owners is simply knowing where to start with web design and development.
The talent pool of web developers is extremely large – with a wide range of pricing. Knowing where to look and who to trust is intimidating, we get it. The key is to hire a web developer who understands your vision, motivations, and of course, your customers.

At Tall Poppies Design, we pride ourselves in learning the special nuances of each client we work with to provide excellent web development services. We specialize in helping life coaches and educators take their online platforms to the next level with web design, development, SEO, content marketing, and more.

If you’re looking to hire web developers, schedule a strategy call with us today!

We’re happy to point you in the right direction.