Web developer

This article describes the role of a web developer, the tools a web developer might use and strategies used by a web developer.
What is a web developer? A web developer brings the disciplines of software development to building successful sites & technology on the world wide web.
Typical web developer disciplines include:

Requirements gathering - sometimes using formal methods such as "use case analysis".
Systems analysis - evaluating technical design, approach, infrastructure, change control and deployment methods.
Specification - on a large project this can include functional, design and program specs.
Coding - a web developer has a wide range of choices here from (X)HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Java, PHP, Perl, Python, Ruby & even BASH scripting.
Testing - typically a web developer would consider unit, system and User Acceptance Testing (UAT).
The best web developers have top notch communication skills which means the client knows the art of the possible, & what is going without the techie jargon.

At its simplest a web developer is a programmer who's work enriches the web by adding functionality & interactivity to a website.
A web developer turns the dreams & aspirations of the site owner into a cohesive collection of web assets that meets the owner's objectives, goals and budget.

Tools

CMS, Apache, MySQL, SSH, sFTP, wget, Cron, Javascript library, ant, scp, subversion, GIT, UML, Agile methodologies, XML and related tools.

Strategies

There are 2 basic approaches:

LAMP - Linux Apache Mysql PHP or Perl
Windows - IIS, .net, C#

Apache has roughly two-thirds of the web server market.