Will Website Builders Replace Web Developers in 2023?
We are living in an age where jobs and even simple, everyday tasks are becoming more and more automated by our technological advances. Web development is no exception. With the increasing popularity of web builders like Squarespace, Wix, WordPress, and more that allow non-developers to create their own websites without writing code, it might seem that web developers will or already have become obsolete.
Although the creation of web builders has made building websites easier and more affordable, developers are still very much needed in all layers of web development.
What Do Web Developers Do?
Web developers specialize in building websites and internet applications. Developers are different than designers, who decide how sites look and function; rather developers handle the coding and programming that powers websites’ functionality.
Web developers can work on anything from simple, static web pages to entire platforms and apps, from e-commerce websites to content management systems. Basically, any online tool that you can think of (Asana, Honeybook, MailChimp, Instagram, etc.) was built and is being maintained by developers.
Types of Web Development
Web development has three layers: client-side coding (frontend), server-side coding (backend), and full stack coding (both frontend and backend).
Let’s look a little closer at each of these layers.
Client-side (Frontend)
Client-side scripting, otherwise known as frontend development, deals with everything that the interface user experiences and interacts with. Client-side code, which includes HTML, CSS, and JS, executes in a web browser and controls things like fonts, colors, menus, forms, images, text blocks, headers and footers, and more.
Think of client-side development as a car’s physical body - the exterior, the door handles, and the exterior controls that the driver will interact with
Server-side (Backend)
Server-side backend, otherwise known as backend development, is all about what goes on behind the scenes.
The backend is all of the tools the user doesn’t see that control how the web page functions. It uses different coding languages to store and organize data in databases and communicates with the frontend to make applications work seamlessly.
Think of server-side development as the car’s mechanics - the engine and everything else under the hood that makes the car actually work when the driver is driving.
Full Stack (Frontend and Backend)
Full stack developers are experts in both the frontend and the backend.
How Do Website Builders Make Web Development Easier?
In terms of building websites, website builders do the heavy work of handling the data storage and frontend development that developers would typically handle.
Take Squarespace as an example. Squarespace is a very popular website building and hosting company. Squarespace uses is an online application that allows users to create web pages using a drag n’ drop editor. Once you create the web pages, Squarespace handles storing the web page data (the code and the text and image content) without the user having to write any code at all. Most web builders even offer functions like email marketing, eCommerce solutions, customer management, promotional popups, blogging tools, and much more, all of which don’t require any knowledge of coding for the user.
Decades ago, you would’ve had to hire one or more web developer(s) that would build the website code from the ground-up, and also maintain and update websites; as you can imagine, the creation of website builders has drastically decreased the amount of time, work, and money that goes into creating a website from scratch.
Web applications are different than websites, and therefore still greatly require both frontend and backend web developers, because there are few to no application builders that will handle the programming for a specific application. For example, let’s say you had an idea for an internet application that aids in project management where you can create and categorize tasks, set due dates, add specific people to tasks, and change the status of tasks (like Asana); there is not an application builder that will create such an application for you, so web developers are still very much needed in instances like these.
Are Web Developers Still in Demand Right Now?
Despite the increasing popularity of website builders, web developers are still relevant in the workforce. Most everything we do online relies on some sort of technology, and behind this technology is a plethora of web builders that have built, and continue to maintain and update the applications we know and love.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of web developers is projected to grow a whopping 23% and 25% for software developers from 2021 to 2031—much faster than the average.
Web developer was ranked as the 4th best job title in tech based on salary and employment rates, with software developer finishing 2nd.
At the time this article was published/updated (January 2023), the average base salary for a web developer in the United States is $77,598 per year. Of course, salary varies depending on location, years of experience and the specific skills you bring to the table.
