Why should you spend time hiring a web developer? The most important role that they play is to provide you with advice. When you are creating a website there will be plenty of ideas that are flowing from the creative team. Unfortunately some of these concepts are not easy to conceptualize. A case in point is where the customer wants to automate the checking in process and yet there are plenty of human testing scripts to be included. A form of compromise has to be struck in order to improve the market viability of the page in question.

The web developer provides training for other members of the group
A good web developer will be part of the skills process in as much as they provide training to the lay people within the organization. Your role is to ensure that you have supervised the specific output of all the individuals that are working on any given project. If you have an IT consultant then you may want to train them up so that they can handle the requirements of web development. In due course, the importance of this cost center will be greatly reduced and you can move on to other priorities.

In summary the web developer is your first point of contact when there is something wrong with the website. They will understand the information architecture as well as the day-to-day operations of the pages which you have in mind. You need a professional that has been accredited in the field and one who has the communication skills required to communicate with people in different departments within the organization.