Professional Development

Multimedia career choices for web developers

Multimedia-Career-Choices-for-Web-Developers
Written by Guest Contributor

Web developers have a unique opportunity when it comes to their career choices. Although they’re severely underpaid, their skills are transferable to nearly any position. Their unique and specialized abilities can be utilized in any industry.

The UAB Collat School of Business states that “Web developers are responsible for how a website or web application looks and functions, from its user interface and page layout to back-end systems for gathering data. They work with organization leaders to design unique and engaging websites for businesses, nonprofits, government agencies, and anyone else looking to communicate more effectively online.”

Whether you’re a back-end, front-end, or full-stack web developer, your day-to-day duties surround creating a functional, aesthetic, and easy-to-use web experience for users. But nowadays, you’ll have to differentiate yourself in order to reach high career goals.

As you look to expand your web development skillset, it’s beneficial to think outside the box. Implementing creativity in web development can lead you to different disciplines within the industry. And that, in turn, helps you become a more experienced, well-rounded developer. Read on for four ways to implement creativity as you expand your web development skillset.

Study videography

Video content is becoming more and more popular. Market research trends are showing that people opt to watch a video about using a product before they read a blog post on it. Consumers are also more inclined to watch a short video about a company’s story than visit their website’s “about” page. 

So, if you’re looking for a creative skill to accompany your web development talent, try videography. Integrating videography into your career ensures that you’re able to accommodate any unique requests for video content. For example, many businesses are taking advantage of the vertical video trend. Therefore, they’ll need someone well-versed in creating videos with the vertical aspect ratio that enables quality video content to be viewed on mobile devices. These skills are hard to find, and in turn, make those proficient at them in high demand.

Also, because there’s such a demand for video content, knowing how to create quality videos and seamlessly embed them onto a website can help boost your marketability. Employers get a web developer, a videographer, and a brand strategist in one. You can enroll in a degree program for videography, study it independently, or assist an already experienced videographer to learn in real-time.

Learn about written content

As a web developer, you understand the use of written content and how to make it navigable online. You use a programming language to communicate how you want the content to show up on a website, highlight important links within it, and so forth.

But it would be highly beneficial to learn more about how to create this written content. So often, website developers work with marketers to produce digital content that aids the functionality of a website. Unfortunately, this collaboration can be unproductive and disruptive at times.

If you master written content, it can help you eliminate any delays in the development process related to going back and forth between departments. Essentially, you’d be able to write engaging content that aligns with any usability and functionality requirements. You would then be able to get the content up on the website without any errors. 

Discover animation

The use of animation on websites is increasing. It can be fun and innovative, including scrolling text animation, pictures jumping across the screen, decorative forms popping up, or a mouse hovering transition effect. Animation often makes a website look more sophisticated and well established as it can be an expensive add-on.

But it can be challenging to implement animation on your website if you aren’t familiar with best practices and basic concepts. So learning animation is another way to enforce creativity in the expansion of your web development career.

Although animation can help you enhance your creativity, you’ll want to be extra careful about where and how much you include it on any website. Too much animation could be harmful to users with disabilities. Additionally, it can disrupt the way a website functions and feels in general. So, if you discover a love for animation, just ensure you’re learning how to use it productively.

Dive into design

Lastly, you’re already responsible for the way a website feels and functions. So, educating yourself on web design would be an excellent avenue for moving your web development career forward in a creative direction. Graphic design skills are often the only thing separating back-end and full-stack developers.

There are many multimedia elements you can incorporate into the design of a website. These elements include high-quality images, creative CTA buttons, voice and image search, and animation. In addition, expanding knowledge in website design aids your ability to develop a functional website.

Dive into learning about website design. Acquire skills that help you develop a website that functions seamlessly and looks just as fantastic.

Conclusion

Multimedia career choices for web developers don’t stop at design, animation, written content, or videography. There are many other career choices to choose from that make web development more creative and exciting for you. Take advantage of formal educations, self-taught ways of learning, or shorter courses that open up your skills and set you free in the vast web development world. 

About the Author:
Jori Hamilton is an experienced writer residing in the Northwestern U.S. She covers a wide range of topics but takes a particular interest in covering topics related to business productivity and marketing strategies.

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