Job Descriptions / Web Developer
Web Developer Job Description Template
A ready-to-customize job description for hiring a web developer at an agency. Built from real agency hiring loops. Copy, adapt to your stack, and publish.
What does a web developer do at an agency?
An agency web developer builds and maintains client sites across a range of stacks, from Next.js product marketing sites to WordPress content builds to Shopify storefronts. They translate designs into production code, integrate third-party services, and make sure everything is fast, accessible, and maintainable after launch.
Unlike in-house developers who can spend quarters on one product, agency web developers ship full engagements in weeks. They have to estimate accurately, flag scope drift, and hand off sites with documentation so the client or the next developer can take over cleanly.
Job Description Template
Job title
Web Developer
Summary
We're hiring a Web Developer to ship high-quality client websites across our retainer and project portfolio. You'll work on marketing sites, e-commerce storefronts, and content-heavy platforms, partnering closely with designers, strategists, and project managers. If you want variety, shipped work you can point to, and an engineering team that respects estimates, you'll feel at home here.
Responsibilities
- Build and maintain client websites on Next.js, WordPress, Webflow, or Shopify depending on the engagement stack.
- Translate design files from Figma into production-ready, accessible, performant front-end code.
- Set up CMS structures, content models, and editorial workflows so non-technical clients can update their sites.
- Integrate third-party services (analytics, CRM, marketing automation, payment processors, search) into client sites.
- Optimize Core Web Vitals, SEO technical fundamentals, and accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA) on every build.
- Configure hosting, CI/CD pipelines, preview environments, and monitoring for launched sites.
- Estimate engineering effort for new engagements and flag risk during scoping conversations.
- Maintain existing client sites under retainer, including security updates, bug fixes, and iterative feature work.
- Document code, deployment steps, and editorial processes so teammates and clients can self-serve.
- Mentor junior developers, review pull requests, and contribute to the agency's internal engineering standards.
Required qualifications
- 4+ years of professional web development experience shipping production client or product sites.
- Expert-level HTML, CSS, Tailwind, and modern JavaScript (ES2020+).
- Production experience with at least two of: Next.js / React, WordPress, Webflow, Shopify.
- Solid grasp of accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA), SEO technical fundamentals, and Core Web Vitals.
- Comfortable with Git workflows, code review, and CI/CD pipelines.
- Ability to estimate engineering effort accurately and communicate tradeoffs to non-technical stakeholders.
- Strong written communication for documentation, pull requests, and client-facing notes.
Preferred qualifications
- TypeScript in production and familiarity with headless CMS (Sanity, Contentful, Payload).
- Backend experience with Node.js, serverless functions, or edge runtimes.
- Experience with e-commerce platforms beyond Shopify (BigCommerce, Medusa, Commerce Layer).
- DevOps or SRE exposure including Vercel, Netlify, AWS, or Cloudflare.
- Contributions to open source or a public portfolio of shipped sites.
Salary range (2026)
United States
$90,000 to $175,000 base
Mid: $90k to $130k. Senior: $130k to $175k. Lead and staff engineers exceed $190k in major markets.
Global
$28,000 to $115,000 base
LATAM and Eastern Europe: $28k to $70k. Western Europe: $55k to $95k. UK and Australia: $65k to $115k.
Top skills to look for
- Next.js, React, and modern front-end frameworks
- WordPress, Webflow, or Shopify delivery
- Accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA)
- Core Web Vitals and performance optimization
- SEO technical fundamentals
- CI/CD and modern Git workflows
- Third-party integrations
- Estimation and scope communication
Red flags
- Only shows tutorial-style side projects and no production client work.
- Cannot walk through a Git conflict they resolved or a production bug they shipped a fix for.
- Dismisses accessibility, SEO, or performance as someone else's job.
- No experience working with designers and blames design files for delivery problems.
- Overestimates confidently without asking clarifying questions during a scoping exercise.
Interview process structure
Stage 1
Technical screen (30 min)
Quick call covering their stack, recent projects, and how they've handled client sites. Filters out candidates without real production experience.
Stage 2
Code review and walkthrough (60 min)
Candidate walks through one of their repos or a public commit. Probe on decisions, tradeoffs, and what they would refactor if they started over.
Stage 3
Paid take-home (4–6 hours)
Small realistic task: build a landing page from a Figma file, or add a feature to a starter Next.js app. Evaluate code quality, accessibility, and commit history.
Stage 4
Collaboration interview (45 min)
Conversation with a designer, project manager, and account manager. Tests communication, estimation, and how they push back on scope.
Frequently asked questions
What should a web developer earn at an agency in 2026?
US mid-level web developers earn $90,000 to $130,000 base. Seniors reach $130,000 to $175,000, with leads going higher. Global ranges run $28,000–$70,000 in LATAM and Eastern Europe, and $55,000–$115,000 across Western Europe.
Should I hire a full-stack developer or specialists?
At small agencies, a full-stack developer who can handle front-end, CMS, and light backend is the most flexible hire. Specialize only once you have enough concurrent engagements on a single stack to justify it.
Is WordPress still worth hiring for?
Yes, for agencies serving SMBs, content-heavy brands, or publishers. WordPress still runs a large share of the web, and strong WordPress developers are in short supply. Just make sure they also know modern front-end.
How do I evaluate estimation skills?
Give them a scoping exercise with a real client brief during interview. Watch how they break down work, ask questions, surface assumptions, and communicate risk. That's the behavior you need on every project.
Do I need a DevOps person?
Not usually. Vercel, Netlify, and managed WordPress hosting cover most agency needs. Hire dedicated DevOps only once you have 10+ complex production sites or custom infrastructure requirements.
Hire with capacity in mind
Web developers are one of the easiest roles to over- or under-hire. Capacity planning tells you whether your pipeline really justifies another FTE or whether contractors are a better bet for the next two quarters.