Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Web Intern

🎯 Role Definition

The Web Intern is an entry-level web development role designed for students, bootcamp graduates, or early-career technologists looking to gain hands-on experience building and maintaining websites and web applications. Reporting to a Senior Web Developer, Frontend Lead, or Product Manager, the Web Intern supports cross-functional teams by implementing frontend components, updating content in CMS platforms, optimizing site performance and accessibility, and contributing to small backend or integration tasks under mentorship. This role emphasizes learning, collaboration, and measurable contributions to live product experiences.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

University student studying Computer Science, Web Development, or Interactive Design.
Coding bootcamp graduate with front-end or full-stack coursework.
Junior web designer or marketing assistant with hands-on site editing experience.

Advancement To:

Junior Web Developer / Frontend Developer
Frontend Engineer (React/Angular/Vue)
Full-Stack Developer (Node.js/Express + React)
Web Content Manager or CMS Specialist

Lateral Moves:

UX / UI Designer (with portfolio emphasis)
QA / Automation Tester
Digital Marketing Specialist (SEO/Analytics focus)

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Assist in the development and maintenance of responsive web pages using HTML5, semantic markup, CSS3 and modern JavaScript, ensuring consistency with design mockups and brand guidelines.
Implement interactive UI components using libraries and frameworks such as React, Vue, or lightweight jQuery modules under senior developer guidance.
Convert Figma, Sketch, or Adobe XD designs into production-ready frontend code that is accessible, responsive, and pixel-accurate across devices and screen sizes.
Build, test, and optimize landing pages and marketing microsites in collaboration with product managers and marketing teams to support campaigns and conversion goals.
Perform cross-browser testing and troubleshooting to resolve rendering, layout, and behavior inconsistencies between Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and mobile browsers.
Implement and maintain site content in CMS platforms (WordPress, Drupal, Contentful, Netlify CMS), including creating page templates, updating content blocks, and applying SEO metadata.
Write clean, modular, and well-documented code following team style guides; create and maintain concise developer documentation and README entries for tasks and components.
Use Git and GitHub/GitLab for version control: create branches, submit pull requests, resolve merge conflicts, and participate in code reviews with constructive feedback.
Integrate front-end code with RESTful APIs or GraphQL endpoints, fetch and render dynamic data, and handle asynchronous states (loading, error, empty) gracefully.
Assist with basic backend tasks such as creating simple API endpoints, debugging server-side issues, or running local development servers when required.
Optimize web performance by reducing asset sizes, implementing lazy loading for images, leveraging modern image formats (WebP/AVIF), and measuring improvements with Lighthouse/PageSpeed.
Conduct accessibility checks and remediation (WCAG 2.1 AA basics), including semantic HTML, proper ARIA attributes, keyboard navigation, and color contrast adjustments.
Implement analytics and tracking snippets (Google Analytics, GA4, Google Tag Manager) to capture page views, events, and campaign performance; validate events in staging environments.
Support A/B and multivariate test setups by implementing variants, tracking goals, and coordinating with CRO teams to measure impact.
Create lightweight prototypes or proof-of-concept features to validate technical approaches or UI interactions before full implementation.
Assist in deployment processes using CI/CD pipelines, Netlify, Vercel, AWS Amplify, or similar hosting services and participate in basic release verification procedures.
Monitor site health and uptime alerts, triage front-end incidents, and escalate to senior engineers while providing clear incident notes and reproduction steps.
Perform image and asset optimization workflows, maintain a consistent component library or design system, and contribute reusable UI patterns to increase development velocity.
Collaborate with content, SEO, and marketing teams to implement on-page SEO best practices such as meta tags, structured data snippets, canonical links, and semantic headings.
Participate in sprint planning, stand-ups, and retrospective meetings; estimate tasks, communicate progress, and proactively ask for mentorship and feedback to accelerate learning.
Write and execute unit/visual tests where applicable (Jest, React Testing Library, Cypress basics) and contribute to automated test suites.
Maintain a local development environment, manage dependencies with npm/yarn, and follow secure coding best practices for safe user input handling and dependency hygiene.
Research and document new front-end tools, frameworks, and performance techniques, presenting findings to the engineering team to influence project improvements.

Secondary Functions

Support content authors and non-technical stakeholders with CMS training sessions and how-to documentation for updating site content and publishing workflows.
Assist the UX team with lightweight user testing, prototype feedback capture, and preparation of user research artifacts.
Contribute to SEO audits by running technical crawls, identifying broken links, analyzing page speed bottlenecks, and recommending fixes.
Help maintain and expand the component library or pattern library with Storybook or similar tools, ensuring consistent UI behavior and accessibility.
Aid the operations team with routine site backups, basic configuration of staging environments, and verifying restoration procedures.
Support customer-facing teams by investigating reported web issues, reproducing bugs, and communicating status updates to stakeholders.
Participate in continuous learning activities such as pair programming sessions, code katas, and internal brown-bag presentations to build practical skills.
Create short technical how-to videos or step-by-step guides to support onboarding of future interns and junior engineers.
Assist in integrating third-party marketing and CRM tools (Mailchimp, HubSpot, Stripe) on the website and help validate events and form submissions.
Document recurring tasks and contribute to the knowledge base to reduce onboarding time for subsequent hires or contractors.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

HTML5 and semantic markup for structured, accessible content.
CSS3, responsive layout techniques (Flexbox, Grid), and mobile-first design approaches.
JavaScript (ES6+), DOM manipulation, and asynchronous programming (Promises, async/await).
Experience or coursework with frontend frameworks/libraries such as React, Vue, or Angular.
Familiarity with version control using Git, branching strategies, and pull request workflows.
Basic knowledge of RESTful APIs and how to consume JSON endpoints; familiarity with GraphQL is a plus.
Experience editing and managing content in CMS platforms (WordPress, Contentful, Drupal, or headless CMS).
Web performance optimization techniques (image optimization, code splitting, lazy loading) and basic Lighthouse audits.
Foundational understanding of SEO best practices, meta tags, structured data, and site indexing basics.
Accessibility fundamentals (WCAG 2.1), semantic elements, ARIA basics and keyboard navigation support.
Familiarity with frontend build tools and package managers (npm, yarn, webpack, Vite).
Basic testing concepts and tools for frontend (unit, integration, end-to-end; Jest, Cypress, React Testing Library).
Exposure to analytics and tagging tools (Google Analytics, GA4, Google Tag Manager) and event tracking.
Basic command-line skills and local development environment setup (Git, Node.js, running dev servers).

Soft Skills

Strong written and verbal communication for collaborating with designers, marketers, and engineers.
Eagerness to learn, ask questions, accept feedback and iterate quickly on work products.
Attention to detail and pride in producing polished, user-centric web experiences.
Time management and ability to prioritize tasks in a sprint-driven or deadline-oriented environment.
Problem-solving mindset: debugging issues, proposing solutions, and escalating appropriately.
Team player attitude: openness to pair programming, code reviews, and cross-functional collaboration.
Empathy for end users and a practical focus on usability and accessibility.
Adaptability to changing requirements and comfort working with ambiguity in early-stage projects.
Curiosity about web standards, new frameworks, and ongoing professional growth.
Professionalism when interacting with stakeholders and documenting work for future reference.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

High school diploma or equivalent; currently enrolled in or recently completed a Bachelor’s program (Computer Science, Web Development, Interactive Design) OR relevant coding bootcamp completion.

Preferred Education:

Associate or Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Web Design, Digital Media, or related technical discipline.
Relevant certificate programs in frontend development, UX design, or web accessibility.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Computer Science / Software Engineering
Web Development / Frontend Engineering
Interactive Design / Human-Computer Interaction
Digital Media / Multimedia Design
Marketing with a focus on Digital Channels

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

0 to 1 year of professional experience; 0 is acceptable for current students or recent bootcamp graduates with demonstrable project work.

Preferred:

Internship experience, freelance projects, or academic projects that include building responsive websites or single-page applications.
A portfolio or GitHub repository showing 2–5 example projects with clear demonstrations of HTML/CSS/JS skills, CMS use, or small React/Vue apps.
Familiarity with basic dev tooling, version control, and deployment workflows for web projects.