Web Developer CV Example & Writing Guide

The UK’s critical IT skills shortage is enabling qualified web developers to pretty much write their own employment ticket. But this takes nothing away from the fact that an exceptional web developer CV is always essential when vying for any dream job.

Whether yours needs to be created or updated, Resume.io can help now with either task. For inspiration, check out our growing library of occupation-specific writing guides with corresponding CV examples. 

Alternatively, jump right in using this step-by-step guide designed for web developers. It’s backed by sample wording from a web developer CV you can adapt to your situation. This is what we’ll discuss:

• What does a web developer do?
• How to write a web developer CV (tips and tricks)
• The best format for a web developer CV
• Advice on each section of your CV (summary, work history, education, skills)
• Professional CV layout and design hints.

What does a web developer do?

Behind every screen of information we read, every social media post and Amazon order we charge to our credit card, there’s a web developer we can thank for making it possible. Not only that, but we can remain happily oblivious to how and why it’s possible. 

Web developers build and maintain websites and web applications that ensure all of our online activities can be carried out in a seamlessly user-friendly manner. They achieve this through programming codes that tell a website how to function.

How to write a web developer CV

Like any project that develops in stages, CVs across all occupations should be structured to include these components: 

• The CV header
• The CV summary (aka profile or personal statement)
• The employment history section
• The CV skills section
• The education section

No codes need to be cracked for staying focused on the objective for each section, which we’ll be going through shortly, one at a time. But first, some general guidelines.

• Precise and concise language is essential to contain your CV to one page.
• No two versions of your web developer CV should be exactly the same. With every new job you pursue, the focus should shift to fit the hiring situation. It’s all about what this specific employer or client needs and wants. Analyse the posted job description carefully to make these expectations perfectly clear.
• Custom-tailoring your CV to fit the job requirements will also equip you to incorporate the right keywords. This will optimise its chances of passing through the applicant tracking systems (ATS) that most larger hiring organisations use to screen online submissions.

Choosing the best CV format for a web developer

The most commonly used chronological CV format should be suitable for most web developers. It’s a straightforward way to organise your work history under employer headings dated in reverse chronological order. Recruiters prefer it because they can easily review your job highlights as an employee gaining experience over time. 

But there’s another option that may lend itself to self-employed web developers seeking contract or consulting positions. The functional CV approach enables you to emphasise specialised skills or perhaps even projects or clients.

For those with a mixed background of employee positions and freelance work, a hybrid CV format gives you even more flexibility.

CV header

Don’t underestimate what a distinctive CV header design can achieve as the first and lasting impression you want to make. Off the top, it visually puts your job application in a class of its own. For a doubly dynamic impact, apply the same header design and other graphic elements to both your CV and cover letter so they look like a matching pair.

Setting your name and contact information apart from the text-dense body text in your CV adds eye appeal and makes the page look inviting to read. Most importantly, the header’s prominence on the page makes it easy for recruiters to revisit your CV, reaffirm who you are and get in touch with an interview invitation. 

CV profile example

Your profile — otherwise known as the summary or personal statement — arguably has more persuasive power in its own right than any other CV section. 

As a tersely telling synopsis of your web development proficiency and successes, it should speak directly to what recruiters are seeking. By positioning yourself as the best solution on offer to address the hiring organisation’s specific needs, there’s little chance any employers would cast your CV aside without being intrigued to learn more. Instead, they might actually start envisioning their IT team’s future with you in it.

Take advantage here of the only free-form leeway you have when composing otherwise tightly structured CV content. Besides selectively highlighting your most directly relevant career accomplishments, infuse some personality into the narrative. Give a sense of the “why” behind your purpose and passions as a web developer. Use confident, conversational language to demonstrate interpersonal ease and poise.

Below is a web developer CV profile example you can customise.

Employment history sample

In this CV section again, your IT savvy can come across without sounding robotic. Use dynamic action verbs, in the simple past or present tense, to bring each work experience highlight to life in an engaging manner. 

Be highly-selective and specific in pinpointing relatable success stories that you know hiring managers are keenly interested in. Help them picture the potential benefits of hiring you in the web developer role they need to fill.

This CV section may be more challenging to write than you expect and take longer to fine-tune. It’s crucial to frame your work history as accomplishments, not a dry laundry list of job duties. Tell recruiters what you actually did, not what you were responsible for. Emphasise beneficial results, using facts and figures to substantiate measurable outcomes. 

Below is a web developer employment history CV sample you can modify.

Web developer CV education example

Regardless of how much postsecondary education and training you’ve completed, and in what fields, make sure everything relevant is listed here in reverse chronological order, from highest to lowest level. 

Secondary school information should only be included in the absence of university graduation beyond a bachelor’s degree.

Be sure not to overlook diplomas and certificates from vocational institutions, as well as internships, apprenticeships, and other types of on-the-job training. Include specialised certifications, and other forms of continuing education, and membership in professional development organisations.

Below is the education section from a web developer CV example.

CV skills example

At minimum, the specific technical skills listed on your web developer CV will correspond to the employer’s job posting. Double-check to make sure you’ve covered everything required. Also take care that any applicable keywords replicate the posted job requirements exactly. Besides being an ATS-proofing safeguard, it shows you are aware of employer priorities. 

Mention any additional hard skills that might give you an edge, as long as you haven’t addressed them elsewhere in your CV profile or employment history sections.

It’s also vitally important to include some, the soft skills on your CV list, giving recruiters an idea of how well you work with others and independently.

Check out a web development CV sample for the skills section below.

CV layout and design

Flashy, frivolous or funky is never a good look for anyone’s CV. But flawless always is. Geek stereotypes aside, the bar is set high for IT professionals to attain visual perfection in their CV layout and design choices. 

From font style and size to line spacing and margin widths, keeping it simple is the straightest path to a user-friendly end product.To showcase your web developer talents in the best light, the overall appearance should be sleek, streamlined, uncomplicated and polished. 

By no means must that be synonymous with bland and boring. Eye-appeal need not be sacrificed for simplicity, as long as your CV is easy to read.

Still on the subject of perfection, it should go without saying that the final version of your CV is character perfect and bug-free in every other sense. So subject it to scrutiny by at least one other pair of eyes. Two proofreaders is even better, at each stage of tweaking and rebooting. Other than typos and misspelling corrections, watch for inconsistencies too: capitalisation, full-stops at the end of bullet points, date formats and the like.  

Key takeaways for a web developer CV

1. Explosive demand for IT professionals is giving web developers an unusually wide range of job opportunities to choose from. In no way does this diminish the value of a superior CV to pursue the best ones.
2. Even as the stakes are high for employers to attract the IT expertise they need, web developers must still be mindful of what each hiring organisation is seeking, and tailor their CV accordingly.
3. The job requirements outlined in recruiter postings are the best source for customising your CV and optimising it with the right keywords to avoid ATS rejection..
4. Your CV should look the part of the professional you want to portray in the best light through appropriate layout and design elements.