Rather than look for a unicorn (i.e., a web developer who can do it all!), you should select your development team based on the type of site you are building and your requirements. We’ve outlined the three most common projects that come our way and recommend the web developer you would need for each below.

 How to Find the Right Web Developer for Your Project

Implement your project as static HTML

Most websites today will need more than just static HTML. You can think of HTML and CSS as the paint on a car — it makes it look pretty but it doesn’t actually do anything. With static HTML and CSS you can use an FTP client to upload your HTML code to a server, giving you the ability to access it from the internet, but there will be limited interaction and functionality.

This requires a front-end development team to turn your designs into code.

Implement your project as a WordPress site or other Content Management System (“CMS”)

Most sites, like those for a business, portfolio, or a personal website, can be implemented into a WordPress site. These sites are great if you are looking to develop your web presence, need contact form functionality, and dynamic content management. Perfect for content (SEO friendly), WordPress sites make it easy for non-technical people to maintain, update, and configure their own site.

This requires a front-end web developer for HTML and a WordPress (or other CMS) developer.

Implement your project as a Web Application

Web applications give you the most flexibility and are the most complex of the implementations.  Building a web application allows for complex user functionality, highly scaleable sites, payment processing, dynamic business logic and much more. Web applications consist of tiers, typically 3, written in different programming languages that perform various functions for the application.

The first tier is HTML / CSS (and sometimes JavaScript) and consists of what you see on the screen (presentation).  The middle tier utilizes dynamic programming languages, such as Ruby, ASP, .NET, PHP, Python, Java, etc., to provide the business or application logic for your web application.  The third tier acts as a data storage tier that holds your application data.

Web Applications requires a front-end developer to turn your designs into code, a Web Developer for business logic and interaction, and a back-end developer for data management and storage.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking one type of web developer has all the skills you need. A front-end developer, application developer, and back-end developer possess vastly different skill-sets. Unless you are lucky enough to have a unicorn of your own, you will need to consider all of the implementation possibilities when you are starting your next project and select the right combination of web developers for your needs.

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Great job by Nick Spiller of uThinkTank and all of the UT student entrepreneurs.  I’m very jealous of all the opportunity and resources coming together to make UT and Austin the place for entrepreneurs – keep your eyes on them, big things are happening.  With Bob Metcalfe and crew pushing student entrepreneurs towards a tipping point, the University will be able to encourage the growth of innovative technology startups and incubate student entrepreneurs on an unprecedented scale.

Stanford total enrollment: 20k

The University of Texas at Austin: 50k

Plus, you’re in Austin and not Palo Alto.

The paramount goal of Longhorn Startup Camp is to establish a space in which students with startups can congregate, creating a critical mass of startup activity, a breeding ground for ideas, learning, exchanges of best practices, team formation and general celebration of startup progress.

- Bob Metcalfe

There are a lot of components to a successful startup ecosystem and one of the biggest is education.  The University of Texas at Austin worked with ATI to put Longhorn Startup Camp into place, a student incubator located in the new College of Information building in downtown Austin.  There are a ton of great startups that now have access to mentors, resources and most importantly a community that cares about their success. Please go out and support them by attending UTEweek, going on the week before SXSW.  Every entrepreneur and mentor that participates is helping to grow the startup community’s lifeblood, the willing and able student entrepreneurs in Austin!

Longhorn Startup Camp Showcases 27 New Companies During Startup Crawl March 8