Are web developers still needed in 2026? Yes, for different work

Yes. Web developers are still needed in 2026, and the federal government expects slightly more of them in 2035 than it counted in 2025. What has changed is which part of the work is worth paying for.

What the numbers say

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that jobs for web developers will grow 4 percent from 2025 to 2035, from 87,400 to 90,600. All occupations together are projected to grow 3 percent.^[1] That is steady, not a boom.

The bureau also gives a warning. Better tools and more use of artificial intelligence (AI) for web work may soften growth, because they can make developers more productive and let people in other jobs do basic web tasks.^[1] If you buy software, the second half of that sentence matters most. Basic work is getting cheaper. Hard work is not.

Do AI tools make developers faster?

The evidence is mixed, and it moved during the past year. METR, a nonprofit that studies AI, ran a trial in early 2025 with experienced open-source developers working on their own projects. Tasks took 19 percent longer when the developers used AI tools.^[2]

METR then ran a second study with late-2025 tools. This time its raw estimates ran the other way: tasks took 18 percent less time for returning developers and 4 percent less for new ones. But both ranges include zero, and METR calls its own data weak evidence. Many developers refused to work without AI and held back tasks, so the study missed the people who gain most. METR still thinks developers are probably faster now than they were a year earlier.^[2]

Neither study tested a small company's half-finished product. The developers knew their codebases well and had spent years on them. That is a different job from taking over code someone else left behind.

What this means if you own the software

AI tools make it cheaper to produce code. They do not decide how a system should be built, check that it holds together, or fix it when customers hit an error. Code that exists but keeps breaking is a different problem from code that has not been written yet. More code, written faster, is also more code that someone has to read, test and host.

So the work that still needs a skilled developer is the work a founder with stuck software is already short of:

• Choosing a structure that lets the product grow without breaking.
• Reviewing what the tools produce, and rejecting what is wrong.
• Setting up hosting so the monthly bill stays low.
• Leaving a system that a less expensive developer can maintain.

A cheaper developer with AI tools can add features quickly. If nobody senior reviews that work, each feature sits on the same weak base, and the bills keep coming.

What to ask before you hire

Ask any developer or agency four things. Who reviews the code, including code written by AI tools? How is the product deployed, and what does hosting cost each month? What happens if you need to replace the team? How long until something real ships?

A good developer answers these in plain words, with numbers. A vague answer tells you the same thing, only sooner.

Moosara is a software rescue practice. If your project is stuck or keeps breaking, a call with Robert Lara III is the fastest way to learn what fixing it would cost and how long it would take.