About Front End Web DevelopmentLearn More

Front end development (also called client-side development) builds the website's visual layout, including all the elements users need to access the Internet. Front end developers turn wireframe prototypes into fully functional, graphical user interfaces that include all the familiar parts of a webpage, such as images, text, links, or buttons. To do this, front end developers need to know the essential languages of the web, such as Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), JavaScript, and the basics of responsive and accessible web design. They usually work with a web development team to make a website functional, visually appealing, and user-friendly.

Front end web developers use technical and design skills to create a satisfying user experience accessible to everyone, employing essential technical skills in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, command-line editing, and browser developer tools. Developers should know the basics of graphic design applications and the principles of user experience (UX) and responsive design so that pages will display and perform correctly on different devices. Other critical skills include some knowledge of server-side applications and languages and a general understanding of SEO strategies. To solve problems during development, developers should be familiar with testing and debugging processes. Employers in particular industries and niches, such as e-commerce, might expect applicants to have additional niche-specific skills.

Front end web designers and front end web developers both work to create the best possible user experience, but these two professions approach that goal very differently. In general, front end web design focuses on developing the look and style of the pages that users visit. That includes making decisions about layout, colors, fonts, and other elements that contribute to a user’s positive experience on the site. Designing the front end of a website may or may not involve working extensively with code. While web designers specialize in the graphic side of things, front end web developers create the code that makes that design a reality and ensures that all the elements on the site function correctly. Lately, though, the term front end web designer is emerging as a way to describe someone who can execute both the graphics and the code that creates the entire interface that website visitors see and use.

The goal of front end web development is to create an appealing, easy-to-use interface that makes the Internet accessible to everyone. That means front end developers who are building web pages for the best user experience also need to consider the unique requirements of people with disabilities or other kinds of impairments such as problems with coordination, vision, or hearing. Accessibility designing may include resizing buttons, adding audio options, or changing a website color or fonts for easier reading. Over half the global population uses the Internet, so designing sites and pages for accessibility is a vital part of a front end developer job.

A front end web developer's job includes designing, updating, and managing all the elements that users need to interact with the Internet. Typical front end tasks involve working with a User Interface (UI)/User Experience (UX) team to turn prototypes into usable webpages and collaborating with back end developers to ensure problem-free usability. Front end web developers might also work with those teams to create new features to improve user experience. Once a website is up and running, front end developers may also be responsible for keeping all a website's workable elements up to date, working properly, and troubleshooting problems whenever they appear.

HTTP stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol, the universal application protocol that allows computer users to connect with the Internet via remote servers. HTTP was created along with HTML in the early days of the World Wide Web as the first text-based, interactive web browsing tool; it remains the primary means of retrieving resources and returning them to a user computer. Because HTTP is a core protocol for running and managing server requests, front end developers need to understand how it works to get the best performance from their websites and pages. Front end developers might also need to work with the back end development team to resolve problems with data flow between user devices and remote servers.

Clients are the devices used to access websites. Servers are the computers that host the websites. For example, the device you are using to view this site is the client, and the remote device where the code is stored is the server. It's important to be aware of the challenges each domain presents. Frontend code focuses on the interface and is concerned with the user's experience. It can run on phones, computers, different browsers, all of which may be slightly different in subtle ways. Developers who write frontend code should be aware of these differences and know how to handle potential issues. Backend development can present a different set of challenges. This might involve the website's business logic, like publishing a social post so that it shows up in a friend's feed. Or maybe you want to automate the process of gathering information, like posting the latest price of BitCoin to your website. A well-rounded developer will be familiar with solutions for both clients and servers.