Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Software developer to web developer

A software developer already meets 69% of what the web developer role asks for. The move turns on 12 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From software developer
69 % overlap
Strong match
To web developer
78 You already bring
12 Still to learn
103 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Real move, short list to learn

47.1/ 100

1 How much of what a web developer is expected to do is already part of a software developer’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the web developer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A web developer role treats 14 of its required skills as things a software developer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • ICT debugging tools
  • World Wide Web Consortium standards
  • analyse software specifications
  • collect customer feedback on applications
  • computer programming
  • create flowchart diagram

What stands in the way is 12 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 78 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A web developer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a software developer background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held web services information and communication technologies (icts)
  • already held IBM WebSphere information and communication technologies (icts)
  • already held WordPress information and communication technologies (icts)
  • already held JavaScript Framework information and communication technologies (icts)
  • already held SPARK information and communication technologies (icts)
  • already held Xcode information and communication technologies (icts)

All 78 carried skills, including the 14 the web developer role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 25 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 information and communication technologies (icts) 5 required, 8 supplementary
  • still to learn Joomla required
  • still to learn domain name service required
  • still to learn web based collaborative platforms required
  • still to learn web programming required
  • still to learn style sheet languages required
  • optional, not held CSS optional
  • optional, not held JSSS optional
  • optional, not held LESS optional
  • optional, not held Sass optional
  • optional, not held WebCMS optional
  • optional, not held WildFly optional
  • optional, not held web application security threats optional
  • optional, not held augmented reality optional
02 working with computers 4 required, 4 supplementary
  • still to learn implement front-end website design required
  • still to learn use markup languages required
  • still to learn develop digital content required
  • still to learn use e-services required
  • optional, not held implement anti-virus software optional
  • optional, not held conduct content quality assurance optional
  • optional, not held use presentation software optional
  • optional, not held use word processing software optional
03 communication, collaboration and creativity 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn translate requirements into visual design required
  • optional, not held compose description for web elements optional
04 arts and humanities 1 required
  • still to learn content development processes required
05 information skills 1 required
  • still to learn interpret technical texts required
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a web developer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 78 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held ICT debugging tools knowledge
  • already held World Wide Web Consortium standards knowledge
  • already held analyse software specifications skill
  • already held collect customer feedback on applications skill
  • already held computer programming knowledge
  • already held create flowchart diagram skill
  • already held debug software skill
  • already held develop software prototype skill
  • already held integrated development environment software knowledge
  • already held tools for software configuration management knowledge
  • already held use an application-specific interface skill
  • already held use software design patterns skill
  • already held use software libraries skill
  • already held web services knowledge
  • already held ABAP knowledge
  • already held AJAX knowledge
  • already held APL knowledge
  • already held ASP.NET knowledge
  • already held Ansible knowledge
  • already held Apache Maven knowledge
  • already held Assembly (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held C# knowledge
  • already held C++ knowledge
  • already held COBOL knowledge
  • already held CoffeeScript knowledge
  • already held Common Lisp knowledge
  • already held Eclipse (integrated development environment software) knowledge
  • already held Erlang knowledge
  • already held Groovy knowledge
  • already held Haskell knowledge
  • already held IBM WebSphere knowledge
  • already held ICT security legislation knowledge
  • already held Java (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held JavaScript knowledge
  • already held JavaScript Framework knowledge
  • already held Jenkins (tools for software configuration management) knowledge
  • already held KDevelop knowledge
  • already held Lisp knowledge
  • already held MATLAB knowledge
  • already held ML (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held Microsoft Visual C++ knowledge
  • already held Objective-C knowledge
  • already held OpenEdge Advanced Business Language knowledge
  • already held PHP knowledge
  • already held Pascal (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held Perl knowledge
  • already held Prolog (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held Puppet (tools for software configuration management) knowledge
  • already held Python (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held R knowledge
  • already held Ruby (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held SAP R3 knowledge
  • already held SAS language knowledge
  • already held SPARK knowledge
  • already held STAF knowledge
  • already held Salt (tools for software configuration management) knowledge
  • already held Scala knowledge
  • already held Scratch (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held Smalltalk (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held Swift (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held TypeScript knowledge
  • already held VBScript knowledge
  • already held Visual Basic knowledge
  • already held WordPress knowledge
  • already held Xcode knowledge
  • already held adapt to changes in technological development plans skill
  • already held design user interface skill
  • already held develop creative ideas skill
  • already held migrate existing data skill
  • already held object-oriented modelling knowledge
  • already held software anomalies knowledge
  • already held use automatic programming skill
  • already held use concurrent programming skill
  • already held use functional programming skill
  • already held use logic programming skill
  • already held use object-oriented programming skill
  • already held use query languages skill
  • already held utilise computer-aided software engineering tools skill
13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held compose description for web elements optional
  • optional, not held CSS optional
  • optional, not held JSSS optional
  • optional, not held LESS optional
  • optional, not held Sass optional
  • optional, not held WebCMS optional
  • optional, not held WildFly optional
  • optional, not held implement anti-virus software optional
  • optional, not held web application security threats optional
  • optional, not held augmented reality optional
  • optional, not held conduct content quality assurance optional
  • optional, not held use presentation software optional
  • optional, not held use word processing software optional
30 held skills the web developer role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role Ajax Framework knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Apache Tomcat knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Drupal knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Internet of Things knowledge
  • not needed by the target role NoSQL knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Oracle Application Development Framework knowledge
  • not needed by the target role SQL knowledge
  • not needed by the target role blockchain openness knowledge
  • not needed by the target role blockchain platforms knowledge
  • not needed by the target role cyber attack counter-measures knowledge
  • not needed by the target role data visualisation software knowledge
  • not needed by the target role defence standard procedures knowledge
  • not needed by the target role define technical requirements skill
  • not needed by the target role develop automated migration methods skill
  • not needed by the target role do cloud refactoring skill
  • not needed by the target role engineering principles knowledge
  • not needed by the target role engineering processes knowledge
  • not needed by the target role identify customer requirements skill
  • not needed by the target role integrate system components skill
  • not needed by the target role interpret technical requirements skill
  • not needed by the target role manage engineering project skill
  • not needed by the target role perform scientific research skill
  • not needed by the target role project management knowledge
  • not needed by the target role screen reader knowledge
  • not needed by the target role smart contract knowledge
  • not needed by the target role software frameworks knowledge
  • not needed by the target role technical drawings knowledge
  • not needed by the target role trading software knowledge
  • not needed by the target role use technical drawing software skill
  • not needed by the target role utilise machine learning skill
14 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn Joomla required
  • still to learn domain name service required
  • still to learn web based collaborative platforms required
  • still to learn web programming required
  • still to learn content development processes required
  • still to learn style sheet languages required
  • optional, not held CSS optional
  • optional, not held JSSS optional
  • optional, not held LESS optional
  • optional, not held Sass optional
  • optional, not held WebCMS optional
  • optional, not held WildFly optional
  • optional, not held web application security threats optional
  • optional, not held augmented reality optional
Index

Other moves recorded from software developer

Full index of moves from software developer

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a software developer become a web developer?

Yes, and it is a moderate move. A software developer already covers 69% of what a web developer is expected to do: 78 skills carry over, 14 of which the web developer role treats as required.

What skills does a software developer need to become a web developer?

12 required skills are missing, plus 13 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information and communication technologies (icts). The single most important is Joomla.

How hard is the move from software developer to web developer?

Its learning distance is 47.1 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.