What are front-end developers? What do they do? In this article, we explore the basics of being a front-end developer along with some helpful tips for becoming one.
This article will help you detect what kind of software is out there for various skills and provide an overview of development tools that you might use.
Learn how to become a front-end developer with this comprehensive guide to using the latest web technologies for building gorgeous, responsive websites that your audience loves.
This step-by-step guide is intended for a casual front-end development beginner who wants to learn the fundamentals of professional front-end technology from scratch.
What is a Front End Developer?
A front-end developer focuses on developing web-based applications with a single goal in mind: the user's experience. That means the developer is primarily responsible for properly laying out interactive content and providing the best possible user experience by delivering effective design solutions.
This generally encompasses creating visual design assets such as HTML, CSS, images, JavaScript, and assets associated with them.
What do they do?
A front-end developer builds websites and entire user interfaces for their clients. Front-end developers are tasked with the creation of rich Internet applications – essentially, websites.
They come up with the layout and style for these applications, creating mobile and responsive designs that can run on all devices, including app phones and laptops.
A front-end developer is a special type of developer. They are the ones who create interface with visual elements that people use to access online content like Search Engines, social websites, or user interfaces for programs.
Technology Stack for Front-end Developers
1. HTML
HTML is a set of codes that tells the web browser how to draw text, images, and links on a web page. These codes are composed of tags separated by angle brackets (e.g. <title>).
HTML includes details about all the different tags with their attributes such as title, color, size, etc., and all types of elements such as headings, paragraphs, links, and more- making it easy for beginners to understand in only a few minutes.
2. CSS
CSS is one of the most important technologies in web development because it allows you to define styling with a few lines without having to edit HTML.
This means that your content is translated into how it looks instead of how it should look, which makes editing possible later. In steps, CSS objectives, are based on what browsers can see and how they render them.
3. JavaScript
JavaScript is an immensely popular programming language that can be used to build web pages. It's mainly used for adding interactive features seen on a webpage such as drag-and-drop, sliding panels, drop-down menus, or DHTML effects.
JavaScript is an efficient and suitable language for developing web pages. CSS is great for styling your designs, but it is not powerful enough to create compelling animations. You'll need the power of JavaScript and the DOM.
Learning how to use this programming language can take time (even hundreds of hours), so don't worry about learning too many things at first. You can follow @new_javascript and @richwebdeveloper on Instagram to learn about JavaScript.
Learn Single Page Application (SPA) technology
SPA or Single Page Application is a way of applying one large and advanced program to the browser with different web pages that the user can navigate through.
A SPA allows for smoother application navigation and loading time. Also, it often results in quicker generation times because single-page applications tend to be smaller than their cross-page counterparts.
To experience the amazing front-end development world, users need to give themselves the chance to experience it. There are so many opportunities available right now that professionals and amateurs alike need to take advantage of these technologies to get a good job.
Top SAP Frameworks and Libraries:
Git
Git is one of the most widely used version control systems. It offers functionality like staging, commits, and comparison between branches. For this reason, you should understand how it functions so you can use it effectively in your development project.
Git is most commonly used to manage workflow between programmers. There are many popular managers of git and without it, coders will not be properly able to track progress in projects because they cannot communicate with each other.
Postman
Postman is an awesome tool for front-end developers that can run tests, create requests, and explore the content of APIs on their own. It's simple to install and configure, but it's a huge time saver.
Figma
Figma is a graphic design tool that’s used instead of Illustrator for creating web apps, images, illustrations, and icons. It has all the same versatility as Adobe’s CS5 software and many believe it will replace Illustrator as the preferred graphics software for designers in the future.
Dragging an element into the scene makes it easier to place objects accurately, streamlines the process of exporting your code and previewing HTML.
Bonus Tip
Read Don't Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability Book
Since Don't Make Me Think was first published in 2000, hundreds of thousands have relied on usability guru Steve Krug’s guide to help them understand the principles of intuitive navigation and information design. Witty, commonsensical, and eminently practical, it’s one of the best-loved and most recommended books on the subject.
The author of Designing with Web Standards says:
“After reading it over a couple of hours and putting its ideas to work for the past five years, I can say it has done more to improve my abilities as a Web designer than any other book.”