Tomas Zielinski Web Developer, front end and accessibility Denver, 80205, United States [email protected] · (303) 555-1510
16 September 2026
Ms. Renata Salas Digital Services Front Range Transit Authority Denver, United States
Application for Senior Web Developer, Front Range Transit Authority
Dear Ms. Salas,
I am applying for the Senior Web Developer post at Front Range Transit Authority. Two sites I built are live and you can open them now: larimeroutdoor.com, where I have been the sole front-end developer since 2022, and alpenglow.studio/work/pearl-street-market, which I built end to end in 2021 and the client still runs unchanged. Both clear all three Core Web Vitals thresholds on mobile.
The work most relevant to a transit agency is the storefront rebuild. I moved the product listing, product detail and checkout templates to React and TypeScript against a headless commerce API, at roughly 180,000 sessions a month. Mobile Largest Contentful Paint went from 4.1 seconds to 1.9 and Cumulative Layout Shift from 0.24 to 0.04 in field data over two quarters. In the same period I took the storefront to WCAG 2.2 Level AA; the independent March 2026 audit closed with no Level A or AA findings outstanding.
Your accessibility statement commits the agency to WCAG 2.1 Level AA, and the ADA Title II compliance date for entities of your size is 26 April 2027. I have taken a site through that process already, including the parts automated tools miss: keyboard order on interactive maps, live region announcements for service alerts, and focus management in the trip planner. I would want to start with the trip planner, since that is where the hardest patterns live.
I hold the IAAP Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies credential and I am available with four weeks of notice. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely, Tomas Zielinski
Summary
A web developer cover letter names two or three live sites the reader can open, says exactly what you built on each, and gives one number they can confirm without contacting you. This guide gives you a full adaptable letter, the openings that work, and how the letter changes between agency, in-house and public-sector work.
Web Developer cover letter examples by experience level
In short, a web developer cover letter is a one-page letter that gives the reader two or three live addresses, says exactly what you built on each, and offers one number they can confirm themselves.
However, almost every other cover letter asks the reader to believe it. Yours does not, because the reader has a browser open and the letter can assume they will use it.
Guide to a web developer cover letter
That is why this guide and the corresponding web developer cover letter example will cover:
- First, how to structure the letter, paragraph by paragraph
- Then, why the URLs belong in the first paragraph
- What counts as evidence when your best work is behind a login
- Also, how the letter changes for agency, in-house and public-sector work
- Finally, the openings that make a reader finish the file
How to write a web developer cover letter
| Paragraph | Its job | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Opening | The post, one or two live URLs, and your role on each | 2 to 3 sentences |
| Evidence | One site, one change, one number, the period it took | 4 sentences |
| Fit | Something specific about their product or obligations, and what you would take on | 3 sentences |
| Close | Certifications, availability, thank you | 2 sentences |
Write the first paragraph for someone with a browser open
Most cover letters are read on a phone, in a batch, by someone deciding whether to open the resume at all. A web developer has an advantage: the reader can verify a claim in ten seconds without replying.
So put the address in the first paragraph with the role attached: "I rebuilt the storefront at larimeroutdoor.com, front end only, and it is live now." That does work adjectives cannot.
Then give one number: field performance, a conformance level with its audit date, or the traffic the site carries. It tells them what to look for.
A web developer cover letter example you can adapt
Dear Ms. Salas,
I am applying for the Senior Web Developer post at Front Range Transit Authority. Two sites I built are live and you can open them now: larimeroutdoor.com, where I have been the sole front-end developer since 2022, and alpenglow.studio/work/pearl-street-market, which I built end to end in 2021 and the client still runs unchanged. Both clear all three Core Web Vitals thresholds on mobile.
The work most relevant to a transit agency is the storefront rebuild. I moved the product listing, product detail and checkout templates to React and TypeScript against a headless commerce API, at roughly 180,000 sessions a month. Mobile Largest Contentful Paint went from 4.1 seconds to 1.9 and Cumulative Layout Shift from 0.24 to 0.04 in field data over two quarters. In the same period I took the storefront to WCAG 2.2 Level AA; the independent March 2026 audit closed with no Level A or AA findings outstanding.
Your accessibility statement commits the agency to WCAG 2.1 Level AA, and the ADA Title II compliance date for entities of your size is 26 April 2027. I have taken a site through that process already, including the parts automated tools miss: keyboard order on interactive maps, live region announcements for service alerts, and focus management in the trip planner. I would want to start with the trip planner, since that is where the hardest patterns live.
I hold the IAAP Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies credential and I am available with four weeks of notice. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely, Tomas Zielinski
Openings that work
| Instead of | Use |
|---|---|
| I am passionate about building beautiful, user-friendly websites | I rebuilt the storefront at larimeroutdoor.com, front end only, and it is live now |
| I am writing to express my interest in your Web Developer position | I am applying for the Senior Web Developer post; two sites I built are linked below, both passing Core Web Vitals on mobile |
| I have a proven track record of delivering high-quality web projects | Mobile LCP went from 4.1 seconds to 1.9 and CLS from 0.24 to 0.04 in field data |
| I would be a great fit for your team | Your accessibility statement commits to WCAG 2.1 Level AA, and I have taken a site through that audit |
In short, the pattern is the same every time: replace a claim about yourself with a claim about a page.
Put the URLs in the letter, not just the resume
In practice, three links maximum, each carrying your role and one fact. The resume already has a full selected work block; the letter is not a duplicate of it, but picks the entries relevant to this employer and says why.
Also, write the addresses as plain text, not as hyperlinks buried in a word like "here". After all, some systems strip formatting, and "here" with no address is gone the moment someone pastes the letter into a plain text field.
What counts as evidence on a web developer cover letter
| Kind of evidence | What it looks like in a sentence |
|---|---|
| Field performance | Mobile LCP from 4.1 seconds to 1.9 and CLS from 0.24 to 0.04 over two quarters |
| Accessibility conformance | WCAG 2.2 Level AA on 240 templates, independently audited March 2026, no AA findings outstanding |
| Scale | Storefront front end at roughly 180,000 sessions a month |
| Volume | 9 client sites shipped in 12 months, 4 of them full rebuilds |
| Payload | Render-blocking requests cut from 31 to 6 per template |
Two published bars, and both are checkable from your letter
Google's Core Web Vitals thresholds define a good page as one with a Largest Contentful Paint within 2.5 seconds, an Interaction to Next Paint of 200 milliseconds or less and a Cumulative Layout Shift of 0.1 or less, each measured at the 75th percentile of real page loads (web.dev, Core Web Vitals, last updated 31 October 2024). WCAG 2.2 reached W3C Recommendation status on 12 December 2024, with conformance levels A, AA and AAA (W3C, 12 December 2024).
For public-sector work the second bar is a deadline. The Department of Justice's ADA Title II web accessibility rule adopts WCAG 2.1 Level AA, and an interim final rule published on 20 April 2026 set compliance at 26 April 2027 for entities serving 50,000 or more people and 26 April 2028 for smaller entities and special district governments (Federal Register, 20 April 2026).
The occupation itself is growing: 220,100 web developer and digital designer jobs in 2025, a projected 5% increase through 2035, and about 13,600 openings a year (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025-35 projections).
Agency, in-house and public-sector letters
For an agency, lead with volume and range: how many sites in twelve months, how many platforms, how fast from brief to live. For an in-house team, lead with one system you owned for years and what changed while you had it. For public-sector work, lead with conformance: the level, the audit, the date, and the parts automated scans miss. Name one real thing from the employer's own site.
Do not send the same three URLs to every employer. Do not describe yourself as creative or detail-oriented, since the sites either show it or they do not. Do not attach a PDF portfolio when a live address will do. Do not claim conformance you have not verified, because the reader can run a scan while reading your second paragraph.
Length, format and sending it
One page, four paragraphs, 250 to 400 words. PDF unless the portal says otherwise, named for yourself and the role: tomas-zielinski-web-developer-cover-letter.pdf.
Above all, check that the URLs survive the export: a link that works in your editor and dies in the PDF is the worst failure mode for this letter.
Address a person. Digital leadership is public on most company sites, and "Dear Hiring Manager" on an otherwise specific letter reads as one of forty. Use the same numbers as your resume so the two agree: our web developer resume example is built on the figures used here.
Key takeaways
- First, put one or two live addresses in the first paragraph, with your exact role on each.
- Then give one number the reader can confirm: field performance, conformance level, or traffic.
- In addition, pick the URLs for this employer, not the same three every time.
- Write addresses as plain text so they survive a portal field.
- Also, name one real thing from the employer's own site or accessibility statement.
- For public-sector work, in particular, name the conformance level and the audit date.
- Finally, address a person and check the links in the exported PDF.
Write your web developer cover letter in 10 minutes with our AI cover letter builder.
Web developer cover letter questions, answered
How long should a web developer cover letter be?
One page, four paragraphs, 250 to 400 words. Its job is to get two URLs opened and the resume read.
Should I include links in a cover letter or leave them for the resume?
Include them, and pick different ones. The resume carries the full work block; the letter carries the two or three entries that matter to this employer, with a sentence on why.
What if my strongest work is behind a login or under an NDA?
Describe it with numbers instead of a link: traffic, stack, performance change, conformance level, team size. Then link one public thing you control completely, even a small one. A documented component or an audit script reads as evidence.
Do I need a cover letter if I am applying through a portal?
Attach one wherever there is a field for it. The portal collects the same structured data from everyone; the letter is the only place you can say which two sites to open and what to look at.
How do I write to a company whose site I think is badly built?
Carefully, and usually not in the letter. Naming a fault reads as a pitch for work they did not ask for, and you rarely know the constraints. Name something they are visibly trying to do, then say what you have shipped that is relevant. Save the audit for the interview.