The world of web design and development is ... different today than it was in the mid-1990s, when the Internet was in its infancy and anything was possible. Going on 30 years later, the first generation of designers and developers probably wouldn't recognize a fair amount of what been rolled up into the profession since the days of flannel as a fashion statement.

The work has been either simplified or complicated by an array of powerful tools — it probably depends on who you ask — and both the number and complexity of the skills required to land a position in web design or web development have expanded. People expect the web to do and be different things, and those expectations are constantly evolving.

Some questions are as baffling as they used to be: Close to (or more than) three decades along, people still haven't really figured out how to monetize the web's gargantuan repository of video, audio, and written content, other than to essentially use it as prime billboard real estate. There are other questions that have long since been laid to rest, and new ones that crop up all the time.

For the upcoming spring edition of Certification Magazine, we're venturing into the realm of web design and development certifications. We've defined "certification" somewhat broadly for the purposes of this survey, included both established certification programs and (generally web-based) programs that teach the skills without necessarily attaching your name to a fancy credential.

If you are an experience web design or development professional, then feel free to be a bit "expansive" in responding to the first question that we typically ask on our surveys: the one that wants you to verify whether or not you have a certification. And please, pull up a chair.

We want to find out all about your certification experience. Has certification helped you thrive? Are existing certification programs meeting your needs? We also want to infiltrate the information security world just a bit and get a snapshot of what the men and women on the inside see there each day. All aboard! The Certification Magazine survey train is boarding at the station.

As we always do, we've added a dash of incentive to participate. If you take the Web Design and Development Certification Survey all the way to the end, we'll thank you with either (or both!) of two rewards. You can get a free digital copy of the next issue of Certification Magazine. Or get a one-year print subscription at 40 percent off the normal cost. (Hate making decisions? Get 'em both! We don't mind.)

BIG THANKS to everyone who participated in our Web Design and Development Certification Survey! Watch for the results to appear the forthcoming 2020 Spring Edition of Certification Magazine.