Niches for Web Designers and Coders

Many web designers nowadays are fast becoming web coders while trying to satisfy their niches, as well as adhering to the recent move toward standards-based design. Web designers need to know something about CSS, XHTML, HTML, DHTML, and XML at a minimum.

Many sites now depend on a combination of coding languages and technologies, including, but not limited to:

• Linux
• JavaScript
• PHP
• Perl
• Python
• Ruby
• Apache
• MySQL
• PostgreSQL
• .NET
• Flash ActionScript
• Rails
• Template Toolkit
• Smarty

Also, many site owners maintain their sites with content management systems like Joomla or Drupal, so it makes sense to have some familiarity with at least one of those systems.

Technology Niches for Web Coders

There’s a lot of overlap in the technology skills companies are looking for, but the following broad niches sum up a majority of what seems to be required these days:

• UI Prototype Coder–Take existing UI designs and prototype them in CSS, HTML, DHTML, XHTML, JavaScript, XML, XSL, Flash, and other technologies.
• Front-end Designer/Coder–Design graphics and animation elements using Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, Dreamweaver, and other more graphically-oriented tools, but also using CSS, XHTML, XML, and more.
• Back-end Designer/Coder–Design the interaction and workflow of a site using web servers, MySQL, PHP, Perl, ColdFusion, and other code and database-oriented tools.
• ASP.NET Coder–Write Windows-based web-enabled and desktop applications using technologies like ASP, .NET, C#, JavaScript, HTML, DHTML, CSS, XML, SQL Server or MySQL, web services (SOAP), and ADO.
• E-Commerce/Shopping Cart Specialist–Integrate shopping cart and payment processing systems quickly and effectively into sites.

Industry Niches for Web Designers

I did an exhaustive study of industry or product-type niches (Ok maybe not exhaustive, but I did spend three hours trolling the major city listings on Craigslist.org for web design jobs) and these seem to be the current trends:

Advertising/Marketing–This includes boutique web-design firms looking for more coding talent. In San Francisco, New York, and Chicago, coders and web designers are in high demand in the advertising agency space. Search out some agency sites and follow links to their customers to discover the hottest trends in technologies.

Entertainment–I was amazed to see how many requests exist for web designers and coders in the online entertainment space, mainly online games, but also in video, online magazines, fashion, and travel sites.

Education–If the educational world interests you, this is a good time to take a look at requests for web designers and coders out there. A number of colleges and universities, as well as private online distance learning sites are looking for help.

Social Networking–Not only are there jobs for Facebook developers, but there seems to be no end to the ideas for social networking sites out there. Obviously, you should bone up on how these sites work, as well as database technology, PHP, and CMS usage.

Finance–Many niches are geographically-oriented, of course. In San Francisco and New York, there are a fair number of finance and banking companies looking for designers and coders. Silicon Valley, Seattle, Austin, and Boston would be more likely to be looking for help in the following area of software and network technologies.

Network Technologies/Software–Many companies in the software space are looking for developers of all levels. Some positions require serious programming skills, including C++ development. Some positions are in the IT departments of large software and hardware companies. The IT department is often responsible for creating in-house web-based applications from OpenSource tools for other company departments, such as HR, Finance, and Customer Support. Almost all mainstream networking tools these days, including routers, wireless access points, and firewalls provide web-based administrative and end-user interfaces.

Public Administration–I didn’t confirm this, but my guess is that some of the more traditionally industrial big cities have a preponderance of jobs available in public administration. At least, when I was scanning jobs for designers and coders in Dallas, there were a number of listings in the court system and other public offices. I suspect many of these jobs go unadvertised on sites like Craigslist.org. Instead, if you’re interested in this niche, check out the sites belonging to the municipality nearest you. Pretty much every city has its own site now and they often post jobs or tell you how to get more information.