The professionals who make up a web project development team have varied profiles, but each one is important. Let us explain them to you!
Many different skills are needed to create an excellent website. You have to deal with code, design, marketing, and other areas. Each one works best if there is an expert in charge, which is why web design agencies have a variety of web professionals.
Working with a team of web professionals ensures that your website will have the highest possible quality. However, as a client, you will benefit from being involved throughout the web design and development process.
Understanding what each web professional does will allow you to ask more informed questions, avoid misunderstandings, and better communicate your requirements. This is how a web development team works and what each of its members does.
First, analyze the requirements of your web project
Every web project starts with a plan. If you don’t have a clear vision and objectives for your business, take the time to make a list of what you want for your website.
However, for web professionals to work with that, it will be necessary to turn that vision and objectives into a practical and detailed strategic plan.
At the center of the plan are your website’s requirements, the concrete and specific details that will guide the team in creating your website. Since these are derived from your business vision, it is crucial that you understand exactly what your website needs.
The requirements of a website vary depending on its type, whether it’s an online store or a corporate information site. But it’s not enough to list generic requirements for any web project: these should help you reach your specific goals, and they can be different for each project and each company. That’s why it’s necessary to consider your audience, your product, your budget, and your brand’s personality.
Determining your website’s requirements and expressing them clearly and concisely to the web design and development professionals can be difficult. That’s why, in many cases, a prior professional profile comes in: the requirements analyst.
This analyst will create precise requirements and include them within a general plan for the creation of your website. They are the ones who lay the foundation for the rest of the web development team.
Web development team professionals
Web project manager
The web project manager is the bridge between the web design company and the client. They are the person you go to if you have a question about the project, want to discuss delivery dates, or would like to add a feature that wasn’t in the original plan, for example. Instead of having to turn to many different professionals to solve a problem, you only have to talk to one person.
The web project manager is the bridge between the web development team and the client, being their point of contact for any questions.
The web project manager oversees the progress of your project on the Internet from start to finish. They manage the team members, set expectations, and give unity to the project. They assign tasks to the different professionals on the web development team and make sure everyone works in sync.
They are also the one who creates a detailed plan with all the steps that must be followed for your website to be completed. Unlike the general plan from the analyst, the manager determines the specific tasks each professional must do to achieve a goal.
They are also responsible for ensuring that deadlines are met. To achieve this, they must distribute tasks efficiently and supervise the rest of the team.
Web structure architect
Web structure architects work closely with web project managers to create diagrams that organize the website’s architecture. The rest of the professionals will then work based on this map.
This web architecture diagram allows the client and the rest of the team to interpret the website planning. It includes the usability of the pages, how they are linked to each other, and user preferences that will be relevant when navigating your site. It also contains indications of specific functionalities, such as a payment gateway or a product catalog.
The web structure architect plans the website, for both the client and the rest of the development team.
The diagram created by this web consultant is crucial for the work of other web professionals, such as backend developers. These professionals are responsible for creating the website’s code and ensuring it works, and they could not proceed with their work without a prior plan.
Since the architect must have a deep understanding of the website’s requirements and planning, they usually work very closely with the web project manager and are present in the initial phases of the project.
Web designer (UI/UX)
Most users who leave a website for a competitor do so because they had a poor user experience, especially when it comes to the design of an online store. For a website to retain its audience, it is crucial that it is attractive and users can navigate it easily.
Web designers are responsible for creating an appearance that is attractive to your audience and helps them understand and use the website. This custom web design must also match your brand; that is, it must be aligned with your project’s vision and message.
The web designer is responsible for creating an appearance that is attractive to your audience and helps them understand and use the website.
Good design not only retains users but helps guide them through the purchase flow and generates more sales. There are many small decisions, from the type of font to choosing the web colors of a button and the organization of information, that contribute to users taking certain actions.
The web designer will have to create designs that developers will later implement, and that’s why they must have a certain level of technical knowledge and be able to propose applicable ideas.
Web developers
A web developer is a web page programmer who makes your website usable. They deal with all the code that makes a website work without errors.
For example, developers are largely responsible for improving a website’s loading speed.
Website programming has two parts: frontend and backend. Depending on which of these they focus on, we can classify web developers as follows:
Frontend Developer
These Frontend developers are responsible for programming all the elements that users see and those they interact with. Their main tools are HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Frontend developers take the wireframes and drafts from web designers and recreate them in a functional web page.
They must also ensure that the design remains consistent on any screen. Most users will visit your site from mobile devices, and a site that is not responsive on these devices can harm SEO and user retention.
Backend Developer
Backend developers are responsible for everything that does not involve the visual aspect and animations of the website. Their work on the server side is what allows the elements of a website to function and the pages to be properly connected.
Backend developers mainly deal with code. Their main tools are programming languages such as Java, PHP, Ruby, Python, and SQL.
Full-stack Developer
Generally, projects have a frontend developer and a backend developer. However, there are also developers capable of doing both jobs, known as Full-stack developers.
What sets them apart is the ability to connect what the client sees with what happens on the servers.
DevOps Engineer
DevOps engineers are responsible for refining the website’s infrastructure.
They work with code, automated processes, and cloud storage services to make your website as fast, secure, and accessible as possible.
Testers and quality assurance specialists
Creating a website is a somewhat repetitive process.
Errors will always appear, and versions must be refined again and again until the best possible product is achieved. Testers and quality assurance specialists are responsible for finding those problems and communicating them to the rest of the team.
Testers and quality assurance specialists continuously test and analyze the website to detect any errors.
Based on your website’s requirements, testers create a plan to review it. Then they make a report with all the errors they found and send it to the developers. The process can be repeated many times and even after the website is already published. Testers track specific errors throughout this website creation process.
Quality assurance specialists also ensure that your website meets readability and usability requirements.
Web marketing team professionals
Marketing strategy designer
Now that your website is on its way, you need a plan to attract users. The marketing designer is in charge of that and is present in the project from the beginning and long after the website is finished.
This professional creates a marketing strategy that attracts the audience your website needs. These guidelines will influence web design, site structure, content creation, and especially SEO.
The marketing strategy designer creates a plan to attract the target audience to the website.
The marketing strategy will depend on your website’s goals and needs. This web professional analyzes the audience, determines the effectiveness of different marketing channels, and creates storytelling and user experience proposals for your brand.
The marketing strategy designer does this work with business objectives in mind. They often recruit a marketing team to carry it out.
SEO expert
The SEO expert is probably the first professional the marketing strategy designer will want to hire. Today, SEO is a crucial part of the success of any website, as it is the most effective way to attract organic visitors.
This SEO consultant is responsible for optimizing the SEO so that it appears in search engine results pages like Google. This gives your website a lot of visibility and helps attract specific audiences.
The SEO expert optimizes the website to improve its ranking in Internet search engines, such as Google.
An SEO expert creates a strategy and carries out tasks such as:
- Keyword research. It’s not enough to select popular keywords. The SEO expert researches the most relevant keywords for your niches and considers how competitive they are.
- Metrics analysis. The SEO expert must constantly review the performance of the keywords. SEO involves constant reviews to find the keywords that work best with the desired audience.
- Competitor research. SEO experts research competitor practices to find valuable information that is useful for your own campaign. This will also allow you to stay ahead of your competition.
An SEO campaign can start as soon as the website is online, but it may take several months to take effect. Its results are long-term, and for that reason, it is a job that is not limited to the construction of a website.
Content writer
Content writers create relevant and useful information for your audience. The Internet is full of content, and if you want your website to stand out, you will need a professional capable of offering something valuable to your website users.
Content creation is a fundamental part of SEO. It is the main way to compete across various keywords. Well-researched content improves your credibility with Google and users, which brings other benefits to your brand and the rest of your marketing channels.
Choose an experienced team of professionals!
Now that you know how a team of web professionals works, it’s time to approach one.
Hiring the web designer yourself along with the other professionals can be difficult if you are not an expert. That’s why most entrepreneurs and business owners turn to a web agency they trust.
Here, experience is key. You’ll want to look for a web agency that has worked with businesses similar to yours and has a compelling portfolio.
