What Education Do I Need To Become a Web Developer?

Every website you've ever visited was designed by someone. Those who design websites and web applications professionally are called web developers.

While a degree isn't a necessity to become a web developer, it can certainly make it easier to land a web development job. Keep reading to learn more about the education needed to become a web developer.

Educational Requirements for Web Developers

There are no formal education requirements for web developers, and plenty of successful web developers are self-taught. However, web development degrees can provide the skills necessary for the job.

Many companies prefer to hire candidates with at least an associate degree, if not a bachelor's degree, in fields like web development, software development, computer science, or a related field. Below, we've broken down some of the educational requirements you might find when pursuing a web development career.

Associate Degrees in Web Development

Associate degrees are two-year undergraduate degrees. An associate degree in web development will teach you the fundamentals of computer science with a focus on web development. Below, we've featured a few online associate degrees in web development.

St. Petersburg College ?Online AS in Web Development

St. Petersburg College is a public college in St. Petersburg, Florida. It offers an online Associate of Science in web development.

This program trains students in the building blocks of the Web like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. In addition to online courses, this program also includes an internship and the completion of a portfolio.

Laurus College ?Online Associate in Web Design

Laurus College is a private, for-profit, nationally accredited college in Santa Monica, California. It offers an Associate of Science in web design online.

This program focuses primarily on front-end development, like user interface and graphic design. Students in this program develop an eye for design and gain an understanding of the theories and technologies required to build and maintain effective web pages and other web-based solutions.

Minnesota State College Southeast ?Online AAS in Software & Web Development

Minnesota State College Southeast is a public technical and community college in southeastern Minnesota. It offers an online Associate of Applied Science in software and web development that covers both software development and web development.

This degree teaches a variety of programming languages including Java, JavaScript, HTML, and SQL. Students also learn to create web content and install, deploy, and support technologies, including computer systems and different types of web applications.

Web Development Certifications

Some web development certifications are meant to showcase your skills, while others are more like bootcamps, meant to teach you the fundamentals. Students may earn certificates in web development to list them on their resumes. We've listed a few common certification programs below.

IBM Full-Stack Software Developer Professional Certificate

Through Coursera, IBM offers a Full Stack Software Developer Professional Certificate. This certificate covers both front-end and back-end development.

This certificate includes 15 courses that teach programming languages, application development, and software development. The program is self-paced, and most students finish all courses within five months.

Professional Certificate in Front-End Web Developer

The online learning platform edX offers a Professional Certificate in Front-End Web Developer. This program focuses specifically on front-end development, teaching concepts like Coding with HTML, CSS best practices, and the fundamentals of JavaScript.

The certificate program has five courses. The program is self-paced, with most students finishing within seven months.

Adobe Certified Expert (ACE)

Adobe offers three certifications to measure your skills and expert-level proficiency with Adobe products. These are the Certified Professional, for entry-level programmers with less than a year of experience, the Certified Expert, for those with one to three years of experience, and the Certified Master for those with over three years of experience.

The Certified Expert is the middle professional certificate. To earn this certificate, you'll need to meet the experience requirements and pass the certification exam.

Bachelor's Degrees in Web Development

Bachelor's degrees are another type of undergraduate degree, and they usually take about four years of full-time study to complete. These can be more in-depth than associate degrees and often also require general education requirements in the humanities. Below, we've featured a few bachelor's degrees in web development.

Full Sail University ?Online BS in Web Development

Full Sail University is a private, for-profit university in Winter Park, Florida. It offers an online Bachelor of Science in web development.

The program teaches students how to integrate and deploy modern websites and web applications. They also learn how to use industry-standard tools, including modern client-side and server-side languages, database systems, and frameworks in modern web stacks.

Bellevue University ?Online BS in Web Development

Bellevue University is a private university in Bellevue, Nebraska. It offers a Bachelor of Science in web development online.

Students learn full-stack web development, including front-end skills (e.g., web design and coding), and back-end skills (e.g., server scripting and database management). The degree concludes with a web development bootcamp course.

Arizona State University ?Online BAS in Internet and Web Development and Online BS in Graphic Information Technology ?Full-Stack Web Development

Arizona State University is a public research university in Tempe, Arizona. It offers a variety of online programs, including a Bachelor of Applied Science in internet and web development and a Bachelor of Science in graphic information technology with a specialization in full-stack web development.

The internet and web development major allows students to develop key principles of effective web design. The graphic information technology major teaches students to build programming competencies, giving them experience in motion graphics, commercial photography, video production, and print design.

FAQs About the Educational Requirements for Web Developers

Below, we've answered some frequently asked questions about the educational requirements of becoming a web developer.

Do You Need a Bachelor's Degree To Be a Web Developer?

A bachelor's degree is not required to become a web developer. Some web developers don't have any formal education above a high school diploma.

However, a degree can help teach you the technical skills necessary for a career path in web development. They can also help you develop necessary soft skills, like project management and problem-solving skills.

Are Web Development Certifications Worth It?

For many web developers, earning a web development certification has several benefits. First, these help hone your skills in web development. But they also show that you've proved your skills, which can help you get hired for web developer jobs or negotiate a higher annual salary.

What Do Web Developers Do?

The specific job of a web developer depends on whether they're a front-end or a back-end developer.

Front-end web developers, sometimes called digital designers, are focused more on the overall user experience, including interface design like fonts and graphics and things like SEO. These developers need to know coding languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Back-end web development is the part of the website or app you don't see. These web developers work more in software engineering and computer programming and need to know programming languages like Java, Python, PHP, and Ruby.

Full-stack developers, meanwhile, cover both front-end development and back-end development. They oversee the whole process of designing a website or web application.