Web Developer Interview: These 10 Questions Are Expecting Applicants

Web apps have to work reliably around the clock. The success of entire companies depends on the functionality and user-friendliness of the application. For this reason, employers pay very close attention to many different details when selecting new web developers.

Does the information in the resume correspond to the applicant’s knowledge of online usability, server administration, programming languages, Javascript or content Management systems? The fact that such knowledge is in great demand on the job market opens up attractive opportunities for web developers.

The vacancies are diverse and invite you to start your career in various companies. Before that, however, there is the hurdle of successfully completing the application process with the corresponding interviews.

Preparing for the interview as a web developer

This includes studying the company’s website and others in detail public sources. Information about staff, technologies and customers are valuable. In order to prepare optimally, it is important to mentally run through the crucial job interview.

Here we present 10 questions that could be asked one way or another in a job interview as a web developer.

1. How would you explain your job as a web developer to your grandmother?

The grandmother represents a person who has no technical understanding of the technology of the Internet.

It will be after two different skills of the applicant:

• On the one hand, how well the developer can abstract from his own work and literally knows what he is actually doing.
• On the other hand, it is about the ability as a web developer to empathize with other people and to be able to assess their knowledge and experience horizon.

Those who only speak technical jargon and who have problems understanding becomes unsure, has a communication problem. This is not an option within the company or in customer contact.

2. What questions would you ask a customer if he has developed an idea for a web application and is aiming to implement it?

This scenario does not have to be a real customer. Other departments or employees from your own company should also be treated like customers. The question is aimed at the applicant’s ability to develop his expert knowledge.

Commissions in the field of web development are often not given by IT experts, but from marketing, human resources, PR or Clerks from other departments. They have a goal and a vague idea of ​​how this can be technically achieved. You need advice and action for the implementation.

The job of a web developer is to find out everything about the customer’s motivation through questions. This also involves requirements of a technical or procedural nature. Only those who know what the customer wants can suggest a valid way of achieving this goal, taking into account the cost factor.

3. What are the biggest challenges in website development?

A web developer should take this opportunity to prove his expertise and judgment. Is the coordination between customer goals, technology, design and user perspective the greatest challenge? Or are they technical tasks like the annoying browser compatibility or the scalability of the application? Is it generally the security of such applications against attacks from outside? Or does the constantly changing legal framework such as data protection, accessibility, etc. pose a problem? Multilingualism? Problems with updates of customized standard software, e.g. with reprogrammed WordPress plugins?

Web developers should be able to answer these details easily. When it comes to assessing the costs, the top priority for companies: for programming, liability issues, customer success.

4. What differences do you see when developing for the front end or for the back end?

A budding web developer will emphasize the different priorities between the public part of a website and the non-public technical backbone. Front-end developers have to respond strongly to design and usability requirements. Backend programming is more about stability, server structure, low latency times and the appropriate programming knowledge to meet the requirements.

5. How important do you think the subject of documentation is?

Documentation is undoubtedly an important part of the job when programming web applications. So the question is more about how a web developer addresses this need. Applicants should therefore present their personal experience with tools and processes here.

6. Now for a technical question …

How long does it take to get an item stored in HashMap, a binary tree, and a linked list? How does that change with a growing number of entries? What is the difference between “overriding” and “overloading” or between forking and spawning a thread? How do you ward off hacker attacks? Such questions can come up, depending on the technology in which the applicant and the company have specialized: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, C ++ etc.

Another tip: If you cannot answer a specific technical question can, then one should admit it. At the same time, you can show a way of closing this gap, for example with knowledge databases that provide the relevant information.

7. How do you keep up to date?

The Internet offers many opportunities to follow current events and discussions. Online application developers should be part of a community or at least know where the central nodes of knowledge transfer can be found on the web. New methods, new legal framework, new business models, new trends in user maintenance – these are examples why web developers have to be up to date.

8. Can you describe a difficult web project that you were involved in and that raised major problems during development?

What were the reasons and how did you solve it?

Nobody likes to talk about problems, difficulties, defeats. However, they do happen. The company would like to know how you, as a future web developer, will deal with it. How you analyze the situation, which strategies you use.

Avoid negative assessments of colleagues, customers or companies. It’s a question of loyalty that the new employer expects too. They can be legally relevant trade secrets or affect data protection. It is advisable to describe the problem project in general terms and to refrain from blaming.

Software projects can pose a variety of problems that were not even known when the project was started:

• Incompatibilities between new and old systems
• changing performance requirements
• running costs out of control
• deadlines too tightly calculated
• bumpy feedback processes for the purpose of bug fixing
• etc.

All of these problems are solvable. They boil down to one central question: Will the budget be blown and who will pay for it? Approaches to a solution should focus on the efficient use of resources without having to question the basic goals.

9. Under what circumstances would you advise a customer to program a website instead of a smartphone app?

The rapid spread of smartphones and other mobile devices has changed the world of the Internet. Mobile first is the strategy of many web developers and design engineers. Scrolling instead of clicking, swiping effects, transfer rates – the differences between stationary PC and smartphone are immense.

This gap has been closed by apps that are tailored to the special requirements of mobile devices. Responsive web design, on the other hand, adapts the output of websites to the mobile world. Web applications work independently of operating systems.

When deciding between an app or a website, web developers can provide tips on how the specific requirements can be better served. A developer should be able to provide information about this.

10. How do you imagine your professional development?

For companies, employees who want to develop are valuable. However, this ambition must not have a negative effect on the working atmosphere. Careerists who only work on their own professional success without considering losses are undesirable.

It is advisable for young professionals to recognize their own limits and to keep pushing them further in their job. Anyone who has never led a team has to deal with the tasks involved in this position and the skills required to solve them.

As a web developer, you should refer to these questions in the interview . Show a plausible way in which career advancement could develop organically. Goals are exciting topics, innovative companies, collaboration on trend topics. It is better to ignore monetary interests. That comes naturally.