Role design and job descriptions for Website development companies: who owns design, build, testing and the client
When a site slips, nobody can say which stage lost the time. Clear roles for designer, developer, tester and coordinator make delays visible and handovers safer.
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Share your requirementsWhy role design and job descriptions matters in website development companies
Small web companies grow by adding hands, and roles blur. A developer talks to the client, a designer fixes code and a coordinator tests. It works with six people. With fifteen, nobody knows who approves a design, who tells the client about a delay or who decides that a page is finished.
Role pages let a company hire, review and hand over work with fewer arguments. They set out what each role owns, what it passes on and what a good week looks like. They also show how a person moves from junior developer to lead.
How to set it up
1. Trace one project end to end
Follow a recent site from enquiry to launch and note who did what, where handovers happened and where time was lost.
2. Name an owner for each stage
Design, build, testing, content, client contact and launch each get a named role and a deputy.
3. Write short role pages
Purpose, tasks, decisions the person can make, skills needed and the next step up. One page each.
4. Set the handover points
Define what the earlier role must pass on, such as approved files, notes and open questions, to the next.
5. Use the pages in hiring and reviews
Share them with candidates and use them in reviews. The performance process can draw on them.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. These take an afternoon and use your own records.
- Ask a designer, a developer and a coordinator who approves a finished page.
- List the last delays and the stage each began in.
- Check whether juniors know what a lead developer does differently.
- Compare your job adverts with what people actually do.
GullyHR can do this with you. Read how we approach role design and job descriptions in general, or share your requirements and we will tell you where to start.
Questions owners ask
Yes, even if people overlap. Naming an owner for each stage prevents dropped tasks, and one person can hold several roles while the pages stay clear.
Describe the core purpose, the tasks that stay constant and the decisions the person owns. Variable parts can be listed as examples, not rules.
The team lead drafts them from observed work, the people in the roles comment and the owner approves. A draft from outside often misses real tasks.