What is a Front-End Developer?
A front-end developer is someone who implements the elements of a website that an individual can see and interact with. They are the ones to practically put in place web designs, so they are usable and responsive to visitors. Front-end developers are the link between client, design and tech. They really are magic, aren’t they?
We are sure you will have heard many creative agencies or people who have an interest in the online world continuously speak about how websites need to be fast, responsive, attractive and create a good user experience as a whole. Well, these brilliant front-enders are responsible for these attributes that websites require for the best engagement. This then links to the digital marketing side of our company, because we need the best website possible to be able to optimise it for search engines and drive the most traffic.
Roles and Responsibilities of a Front-Ender
Front-end developers have the responsibility of creating a balance between the design of a website and functionality, which can sometimes be a lot of pressure and they are required to work closely with design teams, clients and back-end developers too. A front-end dev will often create website buttons, navigation menus, forms and more elements to improve a website. On top of this, they also have to dive into the coding world of JavaScript, HTML, CSS and jQuery to turn briefs and plans into code that functions correctly.
Regular maintenance and website updates are a common part of their job alongside resolving any problems that occur. Making sure that any updates or changes to a website don’t affect any other features is important for a front-end dev, they are there to ensure processes run smoothly without causing issues that could potentially ruin a website’s features or reputation. Smoother than butter.
Skills of a Front-End Developer
When we speak about the skills that a front-end developer should have, we are being more specific to ones that they require more so than generalised ones to actually do their job and make them good at it. So, this doesn’t mean we say you have to be good at communicating with multiple sources and forget to include you should be punctual. Chances are if you’re continuously late to any job you aren’t going to be there for long. Sorry to break it to you!
We figured we would break the skills down old style for you, with some lovely bullet points…
- Prioritisation - If you’re a front-end developer working with multiple clients, the most obvious skill you require is the ability to multitask and prioritise the most urgent tasks first. One client’s website issue may be more important than the one you are currently working on, so being able to pivot quickly and resolve the issue then return to your previous client is a skill that front-end devs require.
- Code Efficient - Being efficient and experienced in using code such as CSS, JavaScript, HTML and jQuery is an absolute MUST for developers.
- Communication – Every job requires you to have a good standard of communication, front-end development is no different, but you need to be able to speak to multiple teams of people from designers to clients in order to stay updated and in the loop with the progress of tasks.
- Traffic/User Concentrated – Everything a front-end developer does is catered towards user experience and making their time on a website seamless and enjoyable. From this, they need to be able to put the user in the centre of their work and constantly be aware of how what they do will affect the visitor’s experience.
- Understanding of design and digital marketing processes – This one is often overlooked. As front-enders usually work with other professionals such as digital marketers and designers, they need to be aware of how they work. Knowing basic digital marketing principles such as SEO and what it is as well as the marketing funnel allows them to be aware of if what they are doing will positively or negatively affect these.
There are many more skills required to be a dev working on the front-end, but we feel these are the most important from our experience.
Designing an exceptional front-end requires a deep-seated understanding of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
However, with the right tools to assist you, the job gets a whole lot easier.
Take note of these 12 top front-end development tools, frameworks, and libraries in 2021 for simplified, efficient, and future-proof development.
MY TOP FRONT-END CHOICES FRAMEWORKS LIBRARIESDEVELOPMENT TOOLS Angular Vue JS Ember Backbone Svelte Typescript React jQuery IonicAnime Bideo Semantic UI Chrome Development Tools GitHub SassCodePen Grunt Sublime Text 12 Top Front-end Development Tools That Developers Must Consider 1.
CodePen Read more about the amazing blog in detail and get cleared with all your doubts.
If you have queries outside of the scope of this article, for instance, how to hire dedicated full-stack programmers for your chosen technology stack, reach out to me in the comments.
