Ever wondered how much a web developer earns? I’ve created an in-depth guide to the average web developer salary in the world, based on data from Salary, PayScale, Glassdoor, ZipRecruiter, and Indeed. This outline will help you ‌negotiate a competitive salary ‌when planning to get hired as a web developer. This would also apply to those planning on becoming Remote Web Developers. Take a look!
In this article, I’m going to cover the following topics:
- Who is a Web Developer and What does a Web Developer do?
- Average Web Developer Salary
- Web Developer Starting Salary
- Entry-level Web Developer Salary
- Junior Web Developer Salary
- Senior Web Developer Salary
- Freelance Web Developer Salary
- Other Factors Increasing Pay
- Popular Additional Skills
- Useful Additional Skills
- Conclusion
Who is a Web Developer and What does a Web Developer do?
How about we begin with the most unambiguous definition possible – a web developer creates web-based applications. Most web developers are focused on either the Back-end of a web app (databases, applications, servers) or on the Front-end (interfaces, the visual side).
Some web developers cover all of these aspects. These are known as full-stack developers. This variety makes web development a quite broad field.
A developer may be responsible for the backbone of a web application, its user-facing side, or both of them. Moreover, web developers are often confused with web designers.
There is a fundamental difference between these two: a designer is only responsible for creating the concept of a website, while a developer is the one who makes it functional through coding. On the other hand, it’s not uncommon for web developers (especially front-end ones) to have design skills, too.
Web development is all about joint effort, and I’m going to talk more about that below, together with describing the most important web developer skills.
Average Web Developer Salary
For now, though, let’s focus on the average salary for all web developers. To give you an example, Glassdoor reports that it’s around $70,863 per year. Note however, that it’s regularly updated.
Source: Glassdoor
Indeed suggests a close number – $67,311 annually.
The same goes for ZipRecruiter. The salary aggregator claims that the average web developer salary in the US is $75,073 per year.
On the other hand, PayScale reports a significantly different number – $60,457 per year. It’s probably because this is the median salary, not an average one.
As seen in the image above, there are some differences in average web developer salaries reported by various sources. These differences stem from many factors, including the experience of the candidates. How exactly does it affect the average web developer salary?
Experience: Entry-level, Junior, and Senior Web Developer Salary
As reported by PayScale, the web developer starting salary is quite low, compared to a web developer with a lot of experience, as the average entry-level web developer salary only comes to $50,081. The average junior web developer salary, on the other hand, amounts to $56,249. Web development professionals with 5-9 years of experience can expect a total compensation of $66,003, while the average senior web developer salary could surpass $70,000.
According to Glassdoor, though, the average junior web developer salary in the US is $50,123 per year.
As always, the numbers vary depending on the source. ZipRecruiter claims that the average entry-level salary is around $50,392 annually.
On the contrary, average salaries for senior web developers are closer to the 100k mark as stated by sources other than PayScale. For example, according to Indeed, the average annual salary of a senior web developer is $98,001.
It is not too different in the case of Glassdoor, which reports $103,069 per year.
Finally, ZipRecruiter claims that the average salary of a senior web developer is $104,827 annually.
Source: ZipRecruiter
Freelance Web Developer Salary
The data mentioned above is focused on web developers employed by a company. How about freelancers? Is it more profitable to work as a freelance web developer?
It’s not that easy to decide, as freelance web developers usually charge their clients per hour. According to Codementor, the average hourly rate for a web developer in the US falls between $61 and $80. In general, the rates range from $40 to $160 per hour, depending on the freelancer’s level of experience.
Other Factors Increasing Pay
As you already know, not all web developers are specialized in the same field. Back-end and front-end developers have different areas of expertise, which means when you compare two web developers, they may not necessarily share the same skills.
Popular Additional Skills
According to PayScale, the most popular skills among web developers are mostly associated with front-end development.
The report suggests that JavaScript is the most popular programming language among web developers. What’s more, it is also associated with higher salaries than the average salaries. Other popular skills include Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), ‌HTML5 typical of front-end development, and PHP, which is mostly associated with the back-end.
What else could come in handy? USA TODAY claims that other popular skills for web developers include Adobe Photoshop, WordPress, and SEO-related knowledge. Artisan also mentions object-oriented programming (OOP), cross-browser compatibility, internet security standards, and analytical skills.
Useful Additional Skills
It is also important for a web developer to be a team player. Instead of only focusing on lines of code, they need to cooperate with graphic designers, UX professionals, and content writers. It’s crucial for them to learn how to express ideas clearly and work together with people specialized in different areas to achieve the goal.
Conclusion
Web programming is meaningful work for more than just monetary incentives. As software plays an increasingly vital role in how our society functions, web developers are key stakeholders in building a digital world from the ground up. But it is no secret that web developers can earn big paychecks, making it an attractive field for those in search of a reliable income.
If you decide to pursue a career in web development, let these average salaries be your guide. Clinging to a single figure would be unwise, as the field is highly specialized and region-specific. The average salary for a web developer depends greatly on the nature of your programming work, your level of expertise, and your location. Nothing about web development is static, which means you’re not stuck with your salary, either. Web developer positions are projected to increase more than twice as fast as other occupations ( 15% from 2016-2026). As you continue to improve and the field expands, your salary will grow, too.
