Dissecting Frontend Development- Roles and Responsibilities, Skills, and Much More

As famously said, “Developers are builders of tomorrow, they always need to pace with the ever-changing IT market loaded with emerging technologies, APIs, and libraries.”

Each and every online application has a user- interface. It is this part that the target audience interacts with. When you and I log onto a website or open an application on our phones, we are greeted by the welcome page, site map, menu, and other elements that facilitate utility and navigation. Collectively, all these elements make up the frontend. Considering this is an extremely vital part of any project, frontend web development becomes a much sought-after skill to acquire. The frontend encompasses the user interface, which is a constituent of the app or web designed for the consumer’s use.

Without further ado, let us deep-dive into various aspects of Frontend Web Development and see what does it essentially take to become a successful frontend developer.

Who is a Frontend Developer?

A frontend developer, also referred to as a frontend web developer, is an executive who takes on the responsibility for the design and implementation of the interface. The user requires an interface so that they can access and navigate through the application. And so, it is a frontend developer who makes sure that the design online works properly by adopting coding languages such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

It is important that we take a pause here to understand that the skills for frontend web developers are different than those of back-end and full-stack developers. To put it simply, a frontend web developer, as we discussed, takes care of the part of an app that users engage and interact with. A back-end developer, on the other hand, is responsible for the “behind the scenes” matters like databases and infrastructure. And lastly, a full-stack developer is a combination of both, who handles the whole design from the very beginning till the culmination of the website or app development.

The Roles and Responsibilities of a Frontend Developer

Here’s what a frontend web development course should be able to educate you about:

· Research and come up with variety of designs and structures for a web page

· Construct features to enhance users’ experience

· Balancing the functional and structural design in an effortless fashion

· Assure that the design constructed is smartphone-friendly

· Build durable codes for future use

· Make sure web pages are optimized to best scalability and speed

· Employ a varied selection of markup languages to design web pages

· Keep the brand unified and consistent throughout the design

Technical Skills for Frontend Web Developers

1. HTML, CSS, JavaScript

A frontend web development aspirant must be fluent in these three languages. HTML is the key structural component of a website, and CSS, basically, functions as a styling part. Knowing these tools can help you develop some basic websites and applications. However, in order to make them interactive, you require at least a basic level of knowledge of JavaScript.

HTML and CSS identify the presentation on the page, while JavaScript determines the functionality of the elements. JavaScript is required if you need interactive features such as scrolling abilities, games, or animations.

2. Know-how of CSS and JavaScript Frameworks

Yes, I know this point is already mentioned above. However, since CSS and JavaScript are such a significant part of frontend development, it is not only the languages that you should know. Both CSS and JavaScript come with an assemblage of frameworks. Basically, these are CSS and JavaScript tools that can do a lot of work for you.

Frameworks come with their particular strengths and weaknesses. Thus, it is important to understand and know which framework is the appropriate choice for the kind of application you are building. For example, while some JavaScript frameworks work effectively for building complex user interfaces, others will be beneficial if you only want to display highly optimized, simple website content like images or paragraphs of texts.

3. Version Control and other Developer Tools

It is imperative for a frontend developer to know how to use software tools because let us not forget that they are a part of a development team.

Version control is the process of tracking and controlling changes in your source code. This comes to the rescue in situations when a number of revisions happen in your development process. Imagine if something goes wrong, surely you wouldn’t want to be forced to begin right from scratch. Right?

Developers make use of different version control software. Git is a popular, open-source tool that helps track the changes for you so that you can go back to the previous rendition of your work and examine what went wrong, without damaging the entire codebase apart.

4. Responsive Design

When it comes to frontend web development, developers should be aware of the basics of responsive designs. When designing a website, you must make sure that its pages will adjust themselves in accordance with the device of the users.

It is essential to comprehend the principles of responsive design and the ways to implement them in your code. For what it is worth, responsive design is not the most intrinsic element of CSS frameworks like Bootstrap but what is stopping you from writing your own responsive CSS rules?

5. Testing

It is highly unlikely for a software development process to be bug-free. In order to keep things going in the right direction, you will have to repeatedly test your codebase for bugs as you move forward. Thus, the ability to test and debug is yet another vital skill a frontend developer should inculcate.

What does the Future Look like for Frontend Web Development?

A report by Statista interprets that the number of mobile users is on an alarming increase. Following the rise in the number of mobile browsing, the websites have a remarkable decrease in accommodation. The mobile-first is no longer expected to be just a desktop version but more about the size that will shrink in the devices. Additionally, the frontend developers will be responsible for rendering the users the comfort of sliding, tapping, and ticking on mobile devices.

Therefore, frontend web development enthusiasts must be capable of building applications by leveraging the benefits of frontend development like:

· Secured codebase

· Highly reliable and robust

· High-speed development accompanied by user-driven results

· Hugely responsive and reactive apps and features

· Great scalability

Final Thoughts

The frontend development scenario is evolving with each passing day. Several libraries and frameworks are introduced and consequently, a plethora of frontend web development courses are also easily available.

Businesses are trying their very best to keep up with the cut-throat competition in the market. Frontend development companies are finding it exhilarating to keep themselves renovated with the trends of IT and come up with top-notch solutions tailoring to the business requirements satisfying the design principles.

Lastly, everything boils down to consistency and dedication to get the success that you think you deserve, and most importantly, keep learning and stay updated with the latest trends in the field of frontend development to help yourself excel in the tech world.

Know the difference between Frontend Development & Backend Development