Back to Home

Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Content Developer

💰 $ - $

ContentMarketingCommunicationsCreative

🎯 Role Definition

A Content Developer is responsible for planning, creating, optimizing, and managing high-quality digital and written content that aligns with brand voice, user needs, and business goals. This role blends creative writing, SEO, CMS management, and cross-functional collaboration to produce content for websites, blogs, email campaigns, product pages, landing pages, social platforms, and multimedia channels. The Content Developer drives content performance through keyword research, editorial rigor, analytics, and continual iteration.


📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Content Writer or Copywriter with 1–3 years of experience in digital content creation.
  • Marketing Coordinator or Communications Specialist transitioning to content-focused work.
  • Junior SEO Specialist or Social Media Content Creator looking to broaden into long-form and product content.

Advancement To:

  • Senior Content Developer / Senior Content Strategist
  • Content Manager or Editorial Manager
  • Head of Content / Content Director
  • Product Content Lead or UX Content Lead

Lateral Moves:

  • UX Writer or Product Copywriter
  • SEO Specialist or Content SEO Strategist
  • Social Media Manager or Email Marketing Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Develop, write, edit, and proofread high-quality content for websites, blogs, landing pages, product descriptions, knowledge bases, email campaigns, and social channels that reflect brand voice, meet accessibility standards, and drive measurable engagement.
  • Plan and execute content calendars in collaboration with marketing, product, and design teams to ensure timely delivery of campaigns, product launches, and evergreen content initiatives.
  • Conduct comprehensive keyword research using tools such as Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, Ahrefs, or Moz to inform topic selection and optimize on-page SEO for organic traffic growth.
  • Create SEO-friendly page copy and meta elements (titles, meta descriptions, header tags) and implement structured data where applicable to improve search visibility and click-through rates.
  • Produce long-form thought leadership articles, case studies, and whitepapers that demonstrate subject-matter expertise and support lead generation and nurturing strategies.
  • Transform technical product specifications, research findings, and stakeholder input into clear, concise, user-focused content and help center articles that reduce support volume and improve user success.
  • Design and maintain content templates and modular components for CMS use (blocks, snippets, components) to ensure consistency across multiple pages and make content scalable.
  • Collaborate closely with designers, product managers, and engineers to align content with UX flows, wireframes, and accessibility (WCAG) requirements for both desktop and mobile experiences.
  • Perform content audits and gap analyses to identify underperforming pages, duplicate content issues, and opportunities for consolidation, refreshes, and internal linking improvements.
  • Measure content performance using analytics tools (Google Analytics, GA4, Adobe Analytics) and present insights, A/B test results, and recommendations to stakeholders to iterate and optimize content strategy.
  • Localize and adapt content for international audiences in partnership with localization teams or vendors, ensuring cultural appropriateness and SEO consistency across languages.
  • Maintain editorial style guides, tone-of-voice documentation, and brand messaging frameworks; train internal teams and freelance writers on brand standards and best practices.
  • Manage freelance writers, content contractors, and subject-matter contributors: write clear briefs, review submissions, provide constructive editorial feedback, and ensure deadlines and quality standards are met.
  • Create compelling UX microcopy (error messages, CTAs, onboarding prompts) that reduces friction and increases conversions while maintaining legal/compliance considerations for product content.
  • Optimize content for performance (page speed, content fragmentation, mobile-first formats) and work with engineering to implement lazy loading, responsive images, and efficient content delivery when needed.
  • Develop multimedia content scripts and storyboards for video, podcast, and webinar production; collaborate with multimedia producers to ensure messaging integrity and SEO-rich descriptions/transcripts.
  • Implement content governance processes, including version control, archival policies, and publishing workflows to maintain content accuracy and regulatory compliance.
  • Support paid search and social campaigns with ad copy, landing page copy, and asset messaging that aligns with paid targeting and conversion goals.
  • Stay current with industry trends, algorithm updates, and content marketing best practices; propose pilot initiatives such as topical authority clusters, pillar pages, or AI-assisted content workflows to accelerate growth.
  • Lead content migration projects during website redesigns or CMS changes: map URLs, establish redirects, update canonical tags, and validate migrated content quality and SEO signals.
  • Draft internal communications, training materials, and knowledge base articles to onboard sales and support teams on product messaging and campaign collateral.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc content requests from cross-functional teams (sales enablement, customer success, PR) and prioritize deliverables based on business impact.
  • Contribute to the editorial planning process by providing monthly performance summaries, content ideas aligned to business initiatives, and competitive content gap analysis.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies with marketing and product teams to align on priorities, dependencies, and delivery timelines.
  • Assist with basic front-end content updates within the CMS (creating pages, uploading images, applying formatting) and escalate complex technical tasks to developers.
  • Facilitate user research and content usability testing sessions; collect qualitative feedback and translate findings into content improvements.
  • Maintain a repository of approved brand assets, photography, and approved imagery tags for consistent use across content channels.
  • Coordinate reviews with legal and compliance teams to ensure regulated content meets industry and regional requirements before publishing.
  • Help standardize content performance dashboards and tagging taxonomies to improve reporting accuracy and decision-making.
  • Mentor junior writers and interns by providing editorial guidance, content planning templates, and career development feedback.
  • Evaluate and recommend content tools, plugins, and automation solutions (editorial calendar tools, SEO plugins, CMS extensions) to improve team productivity.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Advanced copywriting and editing skills with demonstrated experience producing long-form and short-form content for digital channels.
  • Proficiency with Content Management Systems (CMS) such as WordPress, Drupal, Contentful, or similar headless CMS platforms.
  • Strong SEO knowledge: on-page optimization, keyword research, search intent mapping, metadata, canonicalization, and basic technical SEO awareness.
  • Familiarity with analytics platforms (Google Analytics / GA4, Google Search Console, Adobe Analytics) and the ability to translate data into content decisions.
  • Experience with keyword and competitive research tools (SEMrush, Ahrefs, Moz) and topic cluster planning.
  • Basic HTML and CSS literacy to handle formatting, content markup, and troubleshooting in WYSIWYG editors.
  • Experience creating and optimizing content for mobile-first and responsive design, including knowledge of page speed and Core Web Vitals implications.
  • Competence with editorial workflows and collaboration tools: Google Workspace, Microsoft Office, Slack, Trello, Asana, Jira, or Airtable.
  • Ability to produce accessible content that meets WCAG guidelines, including alt text, descriptive links, and semantic structure.
  • Familiarity with content design systems, component-based content, and reusable content blocks for consistent cross-channel experiences.
  • Experience with localization and international SEO best practices (hreflang, translated metadata, content adaptation).
  • Basic multimedia skills — writing video scripts, producing show notes, and working with assets in Adobe Creative Cloud, Figma, or basic video editing tools.
  • Knowledge of conversion rate optimization (CRO) principles and A/B testing frameworks for copy and page variations.
  • Experience managing content migrations and implementing redirect maps, canonical tags, and URL structure audits.

Soft Skills

  • Exceptional attention to detail and a strong editorial mindset — grammar, consistency, and voice control.
  • Strategic thinker with the ability to align content with business goals and user needs.
  • Strong project management skills, able to manage multiple initiatives and deadlines concurrently.
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills for stakeholder collaboration and cross-functional influence.
  • Adaptability and curiosity to learn new tools, platforms, and content formats quickly.
  • Problem-solving orientation and data-driven decision-making when evaluating content performance.
  • Empathy for users and the ability to write clear, helpful content tailored to audience segments.
  • Coaching and mentorship capability to develop junior writers and content contributors.
  • Resilience under pressure and capability to prioritize in fast-paced environments.
  • Ethical judgment and discretion when handling sensitive product or customer information.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in English, Journalism, Communications, Marketing, Technical Writing, or a related field.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor's plus relevant certifications (SEO, Content Strategy, UX Writing), or a Master's in Communications, Marketing, or Digital Media.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • English, Journalism, Communications
  • Marketing, Digital Media, Content Strategy
  • Technical Writing, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)
  • Information Architecture, Linguistics

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 2–5 years of professional experience in content production, digital copywriting, or content marketing.

Preferred: 3–7 years with demonstrated experience owning content projects end-to-end, working with CMS platforms, delivering SEO-driven results, and collaborating with product/design/tech teams. Experience in B2B SaaS, e-commerce, or enterprise product content is a strong plus.