As a follow-up to our previous articles, where we talked about software architecture for a web app and some ideas to make the next successful web app, now we're going to take a look at the basic front-end developer skills you need to learn if you're considering starting a career in front-end development.
A front-end developer is responsible for everything you can see on any website and all the features related to the connection between the user and the website. That's his mission.
In many cases, they work with a back-end or full-stack developer, who focuses on the invisible part of the website, like working with the database and keeping the website online and working well.
In this article, we'll focus much more on the front-end side and the front-end developer skills you need to learn to become a front-end developer.
11 Front-End Developer Skills:
We're going to divide front-end developer skills into two parts: programming skills and soft skills.
8 Front-end developer programming skills
- Basic Front-End Programming Languages: Of course, I'm talking about HTML and CSS, with the power of JavaScript. HTML helps you build the basic structure of a web page, CSS gives it beautiful styling features, and JavaScript adds functionality for interactivity and a better user experience.
- Working with the Database: As mentioned before, database work falls under the backend developer's domain. However, understanding how to interact with databases through queries is still crucial for some tasks, such as storing user profile information. Therefore, basic knowledge of SQL and NoSQL is beneficial for managing website data.
- Using JavaScript Frameworks: In simple terms, these are collections of JavaScript libraries containing pre-written code that saves you time and effort by reducing the amount of code you need to write. Popular examples of JavaScript frameworks include Angular, Vue.js, and React. While React has the largest community, it's crucial to choose the framework most commonly used in your region to simplify your work and find support.
- Testing and Debugging Skills: Programmers are all too familiar with the word "bug." Errors happen, but minimizing them is crucial. One effective way is testing your code. Different types exist, like unit testing for individual code blocks. Useful frameworks like Mocha and Jasmine can assist with testing. Debugging involves finding and solving problems. It's not just about meeting expected features, but also fixing and uncovering errors.
- Version Control Systems: Every developer should learn how to use a version control system. If you make a mistake, this allows you to "rewind" your code to an earlier version. Imagine accidentally deleting something important – version control helps you recover it effortlessly! It also facilitates teamwork by enabling multiple developers to work on the same codebase efficiently. Git is the most popular version control system globally, so learning it will be a valuable addition to your skill set.
- Responsive Design/Mobile & Tablet: The core concept of responsive design is that your website adapts to different devices. If someone visits from a mobile, the layout should adjust for optimal viewing on a smaller screen. Google even considers mobile responsiveness as a ranking factor, so creating a website Google dislikes isn't exactly the goal, right?
- Learn Cross-Browser Compatibility: The idea here is to ensure that your web application functions well in different web browsers. In the previous skill, we discussed the responsive mode, and this is its flip side. This check ensures that the web app or website functions well in various browsers like Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and many others.
- Accessibility: It simply means considering that some users might have disabilities or impairments hindering your website navigation. One famous example is users navigating with screen readers. Remember, some additional effort might be needed to make your website accessible. For example, we write alt text for images so screen reader users can understand the image content. So, keep that in mind!
Now let's talk a little bit about the soft skills you need to have to maximize your chances of becoming a successful front-end web developer.
3 soft front-end developer skills
- Problem-solving skills: As we said in the testing and debugging section, you need to fix the errors that occur in your website, and to do that, you need to have good problem-solving skills.
- Self-taught: You know that the web development world in general and the front end in particular is constantly evolving and improving every single day. So, you need to embrace change and always be ready to learn new concepts and skill sets.
- Communication skills: This is a very obvious one, but we mention it here because it is important to have good communication skills with other developers in your team and with the project manager to bring the best benefit to the company you work for and to yourself.
FAQs:
what are the skills required for front end developer ?
In our opinion, these are the basic front end developer skills you need to learn:
- Basic front-end programming languages: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
- Working with databases: SQL and NoSQL.
- Using JavaScript frameworks: Like React.js.
- Testing and debugging skills: You can learn to use tools like Mocha.
- Responsive design/mobile & tablet: To make your website work well on different devices.
- Version control systems: Like Git.
- Cross-browser compatibility: The idea here is to ensure your web application functions well in different web browsers.
- Accessibility: Some users might have disabilities or impairments hindering their website navigation. One famous example is users navigating with screen readers. Remember, some additional effort might be needed to make your website accessible to them.
What does a front-end developer do?
A front-end developer is responsible for everything you can see in any website, and all the features related to the interaction between the user and the website. This is his mission.
Front-End Developer vs. Back-End Developer: Which is Better?
Front-end development is often seen as having a lower barrier to entry than back-end development. However, back-end development typically has higher demand and offers higher salaries. It's important to remember that these are just generalizations.
This article concludes by thanking you for reading and hoping that you gained a clear understanding of front-end developer skills and soft skills required to succeed as a front-end developer. Feel free to ask any questions you have in the comments section below.