The main kinds of web developer
- Front-end developers build what you see in the browser: layout, menus, animations, forms. They work in HTML, CSS and JavaScript and frameworks such as React.
- Back-end developers build what you do not see: databases, user accounts, payment processing, the logic behind a booking system or a customer portal.
- Full-stack developers do both, which is typical in small studios where one person or a small team builds the whole site.
- Platform specialists work mainly in one system: WordPress developers, Shopify developers, Webflow developers. For most business sites this is who you hire.
What a developer does on a typical business website
Plans the site structure with you, sets up hosting and the domain, installs and configures the platform, builds the design into working templates, creates the pages, connects forms to your inbox or CRM, adds analytics and the structured data search engines read, tests on phones and browsers, launches, and then keeps the software updated and fixes problems. Many also write or edit content and handle basic SEO because the two are hard to separate from the build.
What a developer is not
A developer is not automatically a designer, a copywriter, a photographer or a marketer, though small studios often cover several of these. Ask which are included. And a developer is not a 'webmaster' you hire once: a live site needs ongoing updates, which is why website maintenance exists as a separate service.