The computer age with web development has brought about a sea change in human civilization.. To compute is to reckon or to calculate and come to a conclusion. The web is like the network of the spider – it spreads from one end to another through intricate unending pathways to join one corner of the world with another. Now the question that arises is about the role of the freelancing in web development.

Today web development has become the fastest growing in the world. In 1995 there were fewer than 1,000 such companies in USA alone but in 2005 the number has risen to 30,000 with an anticipated growth of 20% by the year 2010. Simultaneously costs have sharply fallen. Previously what used to cost tens of thousands of dollars is now available for less than a thousand. These statistics raise the issue that would all this has been possible without the pivotal role of freelancing in web development?

Web Development usually refers to all that is done to develop a web site for the World Wide Web. A freelancer is a person who is free and not tied to any one journal or organization. Master of himself or herself the freelancer works at his pleasure. It has its pros and cons but the latter outweighs all arguments. If the web site is the blackboard then the freelancer is the hand that writes on it with the chalk- that is the various tools and instruments. Without the skill of the hand neither the board nor the chalk would have had any impact on the scene. Hence the importance of freelancing in web designing is undeniable.

What would have happened if the role of the freelancer in web development had been minimized and importance given to salaried writers? The salaried are committed and promise bound to assignments. Whereas a freelancer might suddenly shift to more green pastures. That risk is there but history speaks in favor of the freelancer. The computer has freed the individual who is no longer a cog in the wheel either in the capitalistic or the communistic empire. The organizations too have benefited. They are no longer forced to buy substandard goods or services by united gangs. In other words the latent potential of each person is being tapped, by-passing the restrictions of gender, age or location. The computer pinpoints talents and aptitudes.

The computer industry giants quickly understood the dominant role of freelancing in web development. Without web development the whole industry would sag but where would the web be without the composing and creating hand? Quickly for its own interests and expansion it has made freely available a wide range of tools and systems, which are uncomplicated and easy for the non-technical common person. A popular example is LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP). Within minutes a web page can be developed without knowledge of HyperText Markup.

From cave paintings to computers – the whole idea is communication. Knowledge has to be communicated. Herein lies the importance of the pivotal role of freelancing in web development. The freelancer is the thinking human brain. Can the pen be more important than Shakespeare? It is because of the bard that pen and paper have become important. It is not the musical notes or the reeds of the piano that comes first but it is Beethoven and Bach. The freelancers are the driving force. For instance a concern wants to market a certain brand. The freelancer with his or her writing skill will make that brand come alive on the web. With this new-age-technology users are able to interact with applications from many locations instead of being bound to a specific station. This is only possible with freelancers. The idea is to temporary hire anyone from anywhere to get the job done. Hidden talents are coming to the forefront. It is the freelancers, who with their skills have developed such web sites that a whole new market culture (e-Bay, Amazon.com and Buy.com) has come into vogue. The whole shopping mall is available – pictures and rates- at the click of the mouse. Its just order, pay and get.

There are two sides to the coin. The role of freelancing in web development being important the freelancer has a duty to society and to himself or herself. The knife cuts the vegetables for cooking as well as kills and murders. The fault is not with the knife but with what we do with it. So the key factor is Man. The animal in man will use the web to degenerate, pollute and accelerated the slide back of humans to savagery. But in the hands of the right minds the fingers will unfold a world of healthy knowledge conducive to the march of civilization.