Tech, business and creative · Ohio
Web developer: what the job actually is
Building and maintaining websites and web apps, from how a page looks on a phone to how it saves an order, and fixing them when they break.
By Nick Gonzalez, founder, U.S. Air Force veteranChecked against official Ohio sources Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025
The work
What this job actually is
- Turning a design or a client's idea into pages that work on every phone, laptop and browser, which they never do the first time.
- Writing HTML, CSS and JavaScript, and often connecting the site to a database so it can store orders, accounts or bookings.
- Endless small changes: a new photo, a button moved, a form that stopped sending email.
- Speed, accessibility and security work nobody notices until it is missing.
- Dealing with clients who say "make it pop" and mean something they cannot describe.
A Tuesday
What a normal day looks like
Not a good day or a bad one. The ordinary version, which is what you would actually be living.
- 9:00: Check the overnight error log and the contact form that a client says is broken. It is.
- 9:45: Fix the form, test it on three phones, and tell the client in plain words what happened.
- 10:30: Build a new page from the designer's mock-up. The mock-up did not plan for long headlines.
- 12:30: Lunch.
- 1:15: A call with a small business owner about why their site is slow. You show them the giant photos.
- 2:30: Write the code that sends orders to the shop's inventory system, and test it with fake orders.
- 4:30: Push the changes live, check them on a real phone, and write down what you changed.
Honestly
Who loves this, and who should not do it
- You like seeing your work show up on a screen right away.
- You care whether something looks right and whether it works.
- You can explain technical things to people who do not care about technology.
- You already poke around in how websites are built.
- Tiny details annoy you. One missing character can break a whole page.
- You want to work on one big thing for months. Much web work is many small jobs.
- You do not like dealing with clients' opinions about your work.
- You want a job where the tools stay the same. Web tools change constantly.
The route in
How you actually get there in Ohio
Know there is no license
Ohio does not license web developers. Requirements range from a high school diploma to a bachelor's degree, and employers may skip formal credentials if you can show your abilities through past work or projects.Learn the basics and build real sites
HTML and CSS first, then JavaScript and a database language like SQL. Build sites for real people, such as a club, a relative's business or a nonprofit.Add college if you want the wider door
Some employers prefer a degree in computer science, programming, web design or digital design. College Credit Plus lets you start this in high school, free for public school students at a public Ohio college.Get a first job or first clients
Junior developer roles at agencies and in-house teams, or small freelance jobs. Either way, your portfolio is what gets you the interview.
While you are still in high school
- Look for an Information Technology career-tech program at your school or career center; Ohio's IT career field includes design and development.
- Take a web or programming course through College Credit Plus.
- Compete through Business Professionals of America, listed by the state as a student organization for IT and arts and communication programs.
- Build and publish one site a semester and keep every one of them in a portfolio.
Where this comes from: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Web developers and digital designers, how to become one · Ohio Revised Code 3365.03: College Credit Plus eligibility (grades 9 to 12) · Ohio Department of Education and Workforce: College Credit Plus (cost for public school students) · Ohio Department of Education and Workforce: Information Technology career field · Ohio Department of Education and Workforce: Arts and Communication career field · Business Professionals of America, Ohio Association · Ohio.gov: start, run and grow a business in Ohio. Rules change, so check the official page before you rely on a detail.
The money
What it pays in Ohio
Last on purpose. Pay matters, but it is a bad reason to pick a job you would dislike for thirty years.
- 1,690
- People doing this job in Ohio
- $77,690
- Median pay in the Akron area, a year
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: Ohio and Akron, OH metro area. Median means half earn more and half earn less.
Try it this week
Rebuild one page you use
Pick a simple page you visit often, like a restaurant menu or a school club page.
Using a free online code editor, rebuild it from scratch in plain HTML and CSS.
Make it look right on your phone, not just on a laptop.
Show a friend and ask what is confusing. Fix one thing they mention.
Questions to ask somebody who does it
- What do clients complain about most?
- How much of your week is new building versus fixing and updating?
- Did anyone ever ask about your degree, or only your portfolio?
- How do you decide which new tools are worth learning?
- How did you get your first paying project?
Can you own one?
Yes, and many do. With no license required, you can freelance for local businesses in Ohio or grow a small web agency. The hard parts are finding clients, pricing honestly and handling ongoing maintenance, not the code. Registering the business goes through the state's normal process.
Thinking about it? How to start a business in Ohio and the free Business 101 course are the place to begin.
Questions
Quick answers
- How much does a web developer make in Ohio?
- The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish a statewide Ohio figure for this job. In the Akron area the median is $77,690 a year (May 2025).
- How do you become a web developer in Ohio?
- Know there is no license. Learn the basics and build real sites. Add college if you want the wider door. Get a first job or first clients.
- Can you own your own business as a web developer in Ohio?
- Yes, and many do. With no license required, you can freelance for local businesses in Ohio or grow a small web agency. The hard parts are finding clients, pricing honestly and handling ongoing maintenance, not the code. Registering the business goes through the state's normal process.
Close cousins
Jobs like this one
- Software developerDesigning, writing and fixing the programs a business or its customers run on, and spending far more of the day reading and thinking than typing.$114,090 a year
- Graphic designerMaking logos, layouts, packaging, ads and screens that communicate something clearly, and changing them many times based on other people's feedback.$60,080 a year
- Marketing specialistFiguring out who might buy something, what would make them notice it, and then checking the numbers to see whether it actually worked.$72,790 a year
Still deciding?
Start with you, then look at the work
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