A web development team comprises several individual roles, each of which requires a different set of skills and qualifications.
Here's everything you need to think about when assembling a web development team.
If you bear all of the points in this article in mind during the hiring process, you should end up with a great team!
Here are the different roles you'll be hiring for when assembling a web development team, and what you should be looking for from each one.
The Project Manager is a crucial role, so don't take this hiring decision lightly.
Your Project Manager will be responsible for liaising with your client and human resources, putting together a timeline for the project, allocating tasks, and generally ensuring that the team is working well on schedule to complete the project.
Not all of the roles on your web development team will involve a lot of personal interaction, but the Project Manager role is almost entirely composed of these interactions.
Therefore, you'll need to hire someone who is personable and a great communicator in addition to being organized and driven
Basically, your Web Architect will be responsible for figuring out exactly what kind of web app you'll be developing.
This usually involves discussing the finer details with the client to ensure that the completed web app meets all the customer's needs in terms of business and marketing.
It's often the case that a Web Architect will be employed on a part-time basis, but they'll still need to remain contactable so that they can oversee data exchange (both front-end and back-end) as well as web integration at a later stage of the process.
Your Web Architect will need to be knowledgeable about web architecture, of course.
However, they will also need to be a skilled communicator and have good leadership skills because they'll be in charge of overseeing work done by other members of the team.
This is an extremely important part of the process because the needs of the client are only one part of the equation.
If you want your app to be a success, it needs to tick all the boxes the users will expect from it.
Designing an app from the perspective of user experience is a laborious process because it usually involves multiple attempts at remaking interfaces.
Therefore, you will need to hire driven and determined designers for this role who will persevere in the face of frustration.
Other skills your User Experience Designers should have include the ability to see things from other perspectives and an analytical mindset.
Graphic design skills are, of course, a must.
Front-End Developers work closely with the User Experience Designers to turn the designs for the user interface (currently in the form of static images) into a functional app using code.
Your Front-End Developers will need to have solid programming skills, including the ability to work with JavaScript, HTML5 and CSS. Experience with different frameworks and front-end libraries is also important, as is the ability to follow a brief.
Back-End Developers may also take on the Database Developer role since that's included in the server category of web development.
The individuals you hire to be Back-End Developers for your team will need to be proficient in Python, PHP, Java, Ruby on the Rails, or .NET (ideally, a combination of the above).
That includes the frameworks and tools involved in these programming languages.
We recommend prioritizing the following traits in your web development team members:
This includes the Project Manager.
While the Project Manager might not be coding all day like the Front-End Developers, they still need to have a good grasp of the work being done so that they can set realistic deadlines and relate to their team members.
Being able to relay important information such as what progress is being made, and being able to understand one another is crucial in web development.
Additionally, the Project Manager and Web Architect need to be able to communicate well with the client.
Team members must be able to keep track of tasks assigned to them and work to tight deadlines to make sure all the pieces of your app come together in a timely manner.
That applies to the developers as well as the User Experience Designer and Web Architect because creativity in code and programming helps to give an app more flair.
All team members should be able to grasp the client's and the UX Designer's creative vision and carry it forward through their own creative skills.
All team members need to have technical knowledge and experience, creative ability, excellent organizational and time-management skills, and the ability to communicate clearly and effectively.
