Web developers are among the most sought-after IT professionals in the UK, according to the Association of Technology Staffing Companies (Atsco).

Web experts enjoyed a boom period during the dot com era but saw demand for their skills decline after the downturn in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

But Atsco says a drop in IT graduates acquiring web skills after the dot com crash has led to an undersupply of developers on the market, which is likely ensure the upward trend in salaries.

Pay for web developers has jumped 26 per cent over the past 12 months fuelled by the online social networking phenomenon such as MySpace and Facebook and the ongoing e-commerce boom, according to Atsco. The average hourly rate for web developers is £29, up from £23 this time last year.

Recent high-profile Web 2.0 acquisitions have further cemented pay rises for professionals skilled in web technologies. Google bought YouTube for £883m and CBS acquired social music site Last.FM for £140m during the last year.

Atsco chief executive Ann Swain says the proliferation of social networking sites and the increasing time people are spending online has led to a boom in demand for online content from advertisers.

‘Web sites now offer a potentially much more sophisticated user experience than the plain text sites around in the 1990s,’ said Swain.

‘It was relatively easy to publish a decent web site back then, but now it’s difficult without expert programming skills.'

Online companies looking to upgrade services are now in a bidding war for key web skills.

Swain says the lack of skilled IT graduates entering the marketplace means companies are forced to poach staff from rivals.

‘But employees in these companies have seen their share options become hugely valuable and will only move for big money increases,’ she said.