Web Development in the "Real World" Part 1

Make no mistake - these are not small-time developers. With years of design and project management experience, our interviewees have extensive portfolios and the confidence to tackle any task thrown their way.

While Web Development has quickly morphed from nothing more than a "card catalog" to a full-blown application infrastructure - Web Developers have had to change too. No question.

But what about customers? Have they changed? Are they expecting MORE - or less - from their Development Shops?

That is precisely what we wanted to find out this month, and spoke with a cross-section of developers from around the country. We were surprised by the results:

Jeremy Domby and Jason Blakeney are from Fort Myers, Florida and work for Synergy Networks (www.snworks.com/).

Heather Rosario is an Independent Contractor just outside New York City, and has most recently done extensive work for IBS Interactive/Digital Fusion.

Joshua Cyr is also from South Florida and works for Intergraphic Group's Development Division.

Here's what they had to say:

MAKOVISION: "First off, what is your job title and description?"

Jeremy Domby: "Manager of Web Strategies- Synergy Networks. I manage all work involving web design, hosting, e-commerce, and web database administration. I work directly with clients to consult about their projects, propose solutions, and oversee the development and implementation from start to finish. "

Jason Blakeney: "Senior Web Designer - I design websites in multiple languages, work with clients and saleman to establish time lines, goals, needs and common grounds. I negotiate pricing as well as do the actual design work. "

Heather Rosario: "Web Developer - Relationship Management. This encompasses a variety of responsabilities which include meeting with clients after the initial sales contact to developing proposals and contracts and then developing the actual design layout and content of a website.

"I am considered the on-going mediator between internal "techies" and our clients to establish clear communication and the smooth work flow internally, this way all goals and deadlines are reasonably mapped out and met accordingly, to keep everyone involved happy."

Joshua Cyr: "Web Designer, Graphic Designer. Most of my job entails coming up with a design, creating it and developing it into a website. This may or may not involve creating graphics, optimizing graphics, editing graphics, creating Flash movies, researching/ finding resources like pictures, sound, or other files, editing and/or creating content, and making sure the website works...in IE, in Netscape (which sometimes isn't pleasant). But the most important part of my job, as I see it, is keeping my creativity in step. I try not be redundant or repetitive when I'm designing, and, at the same time, keeping the needs/wants of the client in mind. "

Other articles in this series:

Web Development in the "Real World" Part 1
Web Development in the "Real World" Part 2
Web Development in the "Real World" Part 3