How to Develop Skills As A Front End Developer? Everything that we use requires a technique. Every smallest technical thing requires software to work, may it be a mobile application, camera, shopping, editing, or gaming. That software is made by a person who is called a developer. Simply put, a developer is an individual who creates, implements, and manages the software.
Generally, software developers are well acquainted and expert in programming. They know how to structure a program code for any software, debug and execute it so that it runs as per the demand of the customer. With the increasing use of technology in every field, there is a huge increase in the demand of developers.
Now, when you come across the term ‘developer,’ you may be confused with the commonly used terms like the full stack, front end, or back end developers. Here is a basic description of these terms.
A front end developer creates client software. He is the one who decides how a web page will look. According to the demand of the client, he designs the page. When you open a website, its looks, the location of various buttons, and the function of every button is programmed by a front end developer.
A back end developer designs the server software. The core programming and logic behind every software is created by a back end developer. The developer creates components and features for the required front end application.
A full-stack developer is a person who has achieved the skills required for both a front end and a back end developer. They can create a database, client software, and server software too. They have to execute both the programs.
In this article, we shall focus on the front-end developers, skills required to become a front-end developer, their salary prospects, and growing demand.
Why Do Companies Need Front-end Developers?
A front end developer designs the web page of the website to which a user directly interacts. All that the user sees while surfing any website is done by a front end developer. The developer ensured that the front end program is completely error-free and eases the level of functions required by the client.
Companies need to work on their websites regularly and make it more and more user-friendly. For this, they require front end developers because “first impression is the last impression;” and that first impression is the work of a front end developer.
Become a Front-end Developer
The challenge of front end development is that the tools and techniques used to create front end design change consistently. So a developer needs to upgrade himself regularly at a very fast pace according to the client’s response. A front end developer needs to attain excellence in JavaScript, CSS, and HTML. There are a lot of tools, frameworks, and technologies to work upon.
Here are some of the skills needed to become a successful front-end developer:
Learn HTML and CSS
HTML or hypertext markup language is used to create web pages. It’s the most basic language you need to learn for designing the pages of a website. You need to develop programs in this language.
Cascading style sheets or CSS is used to describe how the pages designed in HTML will look like. In other words, the pages are created in HTML and CSS makes you render the style, layout, color, fonts, and presentation.
JavaScript/Jquery
With JavaScript, the behavior of web pages is programmed. JS is a tool used to implement features like audio and video, games, animations, etc. on a web page.
JQuery is a collection of plugins and extensions that makes it easier to use JS.
CSS and javascript framework
JS and CSS frameworks are a collection of JS and CSS files that gives you access to common functionality. Deep knowledge of these frameworks is necessary since you will have to use JS and CSS almost all the time while you do web development. Also, many projects start with similar code and style, and you need to dive deep into it.
CSS Preprocessing
By using a CSS Preprocessor like LESS or SaSS, you can convert your code to CSS that will work for your website. When you need to modify something, you just have to make a change in CSS preprocessor instead of changing it everywhere in the CSS program.
Version control/GIT.
When you are done with all the hard work designing the web site, and you feel like something is wrong, you do not need to revise the whole program from the beginning. Version Control software like GIT helps you track the changes you made during web development and find out the mistakes so that you can correct it easily.
Responsive Design
The key to front end development is understanding the responsive design and implementing them. It is due to these responsive designs that we can open any website in any number of devices simultaneously. We use tablets, smartphones, laptops/desktops to open the same website.
Testing/ Debugging
Testing a program, along with its development and debugging, is inevitable. There are different testing methods like functional testing, unit testing. Programs like Mocha and Jasmine are designed to make your testing process easier.
Browser Developer tools
Browser Developer Tools generally comprise of JS console and an inspector; though the tools vary for different browsers. The inspector lets you see the way your runtime HTML page, the CSS association with every element on the page, and also you can make changes and see it instantly.
JS console allows you to check if any error occurs while your code is being executed by the browser.
Building and Automation Tools
Automation tools help you improve the performance of your website so that it works better with the least amount of time needed to load your page. With automation tools, you can carry out the tasks that may lead to better performance of your code.
Wrapping Up
As things are actually going technical drastically in every field, there is also a drastic increase in the demand of a front end developer. If you are an expert in software development, you can be one of the highest-paid professionals across the world. According to Glassdoor, a front end developer earns an average annual salary of $77,908 in the US. This is the reason why software development is still a popular field, and many graduates aim for a successful career in this domain. If you are one such aspirant, then you can take up a Full-Stack web developer course online to master the skills mentioned above. It can help gain expertise in all the important aspects of software development and let you understand what it takes to become a software developer.