What are your responsibilities as a web developer?

Should we stop using the terms web developer and web designer?

• In 2007 Roger Johansson was wondering if people who build websites should call themselves either web developers or web designers. http://www.456bereastreet.com/archive/200708/are_we_designers_or_developers/ A List Apart's tag line, "for people who make websites," is an interesting, pragmatic approach. There's a blurry line between what a web developer or a web designer does and many applications are running now in smartphones, bypassing the browsers that many consider are the "real" Web, and we could probably start using more generic terms. After all, a web developer usually does more than backend coding and a web designer does more than Photoshop mockups. What about going back to programmer and designer?

• Answer:

  Titles in the area of fast moving industries and disciplines are often not that useful. And so long as people generally understand what is meant by the title there is little harm. But given your point about how many who have this title are doing more than "web" and most aren't working on back-end at all anyway, the semi-common modifier of "front-end" in front of "developer" seems to work in many cases, or just developer/programmer. As for the distinction between developer vs. designer, that is a whole other matter. I have found most web designers aren't designers at all, but developers tasked with the look & feel even though they have no education in how to do design itself. The lucky few who do have that real and tangible skillset and can also do front-end development well can call themselves whatever they like. They earned that priviledge ... I'd go w/ magician, or "he who has nor wants a life" and work from there, b/c to do one takes a lot of time and discipline to get right. To do both, is pretty impressive, time consuming, and quite honestly miraculous. (stress "get right"). ;-) -- dave