What Is A Web Developer Intern? How I Got My First Internship In College (Ultimate Guide)

Do you want to get a summer internship? Or are you wondering how to become a web developer intern in college?

If you’re a computer science, business, or marketing major, getting a web developer internship is a great way to blend all these fields together. In fact, my very first internship was as a web developer intern at SBDigitalAgency, a startup which offers digital marketing to a variety of small businesses.

In this article, I’ll be sharing my web developer internship experience at SBDigitalAgency. As a rising senior and Computer Science and Business Administration major at the University of Southern California, this was a great way to jumpstart my professional experience. I hope that this will be helpful to other students that are looking for internships.

What Is A Web Developer Intern?

First and foremost, I’m sure you’re thinking:

• What is a web developer intern?
• What can you be expected to do as a web developer?
• What experience do I need to have to get a web developer internship?

A web developer intern is responsible for editing web pages, making websites more responsive, optimizing the website for search engines, and more. If you code, some companies require that you have knowledge with HTML, CSS, and/or JavaScript. If you don’t code, some companies require that you have experience with WordPress or Squarespace, which are easy and intuitive drag-and-drop website builders.

Here’s an example of web developer intern duties and responsibilities:

• Maintain the website using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP
• Update and edit website content, posts and pages
• Perform regular debugging to optimize web performance

How I Got the Web Developer Internship Using AngelList

In April 2018, I got into direct contact with SBDigitalAgency’s CEO, Paolo Martinoglio, through a startup recruiting platform called AngelList (a cool yet often underutilized recruiting platform for undergrads).

All I had to do was submit my resume and application directly on the platform. Then, after he reviewed it, we did a super informal in-person interview. I just recapped how I had prior SEO and digital marketing experience through running a gaming channel and my first LLC when I was a freshman in high school.

I got the position immediately. I could work remotely in the comfort of my dorm, and all we really had were weekly calls that lasted 30-minutes max to check-in on the progress made.

Project #1: WordPress and SEO Audits, General Maintenance, and Homepage Additions

My first task was to perform an audit on the WordPress website and provide some suggestions on how to improve it. This included cleaning up some plug-ins and working on the search engine optimization (SEO) with Yoast.

Let’s take a look at some of the deliverables I created.

Initial WordPress Audit

Second WordPress Audit Using Yoast 

Third WordPress SEO Audit Using Yoast

Project #2: Email Marketing with MailChimp

Next, I got access to the MailChimp account for email marketing, making suggestions on reducing the email bounce rates, and so on.

The goal was to capture organic website visitors onto their email list. I added an email sign-up box on the website footer:

And adjusted the MailChimp plugin settings:

I also researched why some lists could have high bounce rates:

Project #3: New Landing Page and Sales Funnel

My next major task as a web developer intern was to help create a new landing page for potential restaurant clients.

Here’s the form on the backend:

And on the frontend:

Here’s what the finished result looked like:

And here’s what some of the follow-up emails looked like:

And the sequence:

Project #4: Website for an Airbnb Listing

We turned a luxurious Airbnb listing in Italy into a beautiful website on Squarespace. Basically, the client just wanted a website to showcase his house, and so people can send inquiries to rent/buy via email. We used this theme.

Here’s the finished product:

Project #5: Web Security and Backend Help

This was a personal project I helped Paolo work on. Some issues that needed to be taken care of was setting up Cloudflare for SSL encryption (used for https). I also worked with their web developer contractor and learned more about the technical jargon concerning SSL and Cloudflare server redirects (gotta love debugging). I also added pages like a Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions to the website.

Final Thoughts

The internship was unpaid, but it felt like an apprenticeship more than anything. The sheer amount of projects were incredibly invaluable. I learned so many skills that are integral to the online businesses I have today.

He also gave me my first testimonial I needed for my digital agency, Ocean Maria.

Thank you, Paolo!

Quick Tips for Succeeding at Your Next Web Developer Internship

Whether you’re looking to succeed at your first college internship or at your first web developer internship, here’s a few quick tips to help you:

• Do your research: I had never used WordPress before, but there’s so many amazing articles and guides out there.
• Communicate clearly and concisely: Our main method of communication at my internship was through email. These chains can get super long at times, so don’t be afraid to start new ones if you’re working on a different, unrelated project.
• Go above and beyond: I know it’s hard when you’re just starting out an you may feel imposter syndrome, but your employer is just as willing to learn from you as you are with them!

BONUS: The Winning Resume That Got Me Interviews With JPMorgan Chase, Facebook, Salesforce, Accenture, BlackRock, Cisco, & Redfin

Now that you have seen how I got my first web developer internship and the projects I did, I want to show you my job-winning resume. If you follow my resume template, the odds of your resume opening the door to getting internship interviews with your dream companies will skyrocket.