10 Tips for Becoming a Front End Web Developer

What is Web Development?

Web development is a broad term used for a set of skills required to build a website hosted over the internet or intranet. It includes designing web pages, programming, database management, client side/server side scripting, security configurations, ecommerce development, writing markup and coding.

In the developer ecosystem, Web Development Training in Jaipur is synonymous to the non – design work involved in websites such as coding. Having said that, while coding forms the foundation of web development, a successful front end web developer needs strong knowledge of associated skills such as user interface/ user experience (UI/UX) design, database administration (DBA), client side and server side scripting and search engine optimization (SEO).

7 languages to know to become a successful web developer

Website development has moved from the traditional static websites to dynamic ones that update in real time. Being an expert programmer is no longer sufficient, though it is still necessary. Modern organizations demand custom web development solutions. When a development project kicks off, it is common for clients to not know what they really want as the end product. This is the time where front end developers need to think beyond programming and visualize possible solutions that can solve the problem at hand.

In the following list, we mention background skills as well as tips that a successful front end web developer must have in his web development

1) HTML

HyperText Markup Language (HTML) is the worldwide standard when it comes to creating visually engaging web pages and applications. It is commonly misunderstood to be a programming language, but it actually is a markup language. It forms the building blocks of websites and applications. It is versatile enough to create engaging, interactive applications for all platforms – computers, tablets and mobile phones. All web browsers can read pages designed in HTML and translate them into visible/audible web pages. HTML is capable of embedding code snippets written in external scripting languages (such as JavaScript). It also combines well with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) to standardize the look and feel of websites across pages and platforms.

2) CSS

Cascading Style Sheets is a widely used styling language. Developers often need to maintain a consistent look and feel of websites and web applications. Instead of writing the same code for each and every HTML page, it is convenient to write a master style sheet and then keep referring to it from different pages to achieve desired design. Style sheets isolate the document’s content from its presentation, which comes handy for complex web pages. They allow developers to have more control over layout, fonts, colors and accessibility. Also, it saves bandwidth and your site loads more easily because fewer lines of codes are transferred to the browser every time your websites receives a hit.

3) JavaScript

It is a high level programming language that is one of the three building blocks (HTML and CSS being the other two) for developing web content. It supports a number of programming styles such as object – oriented, imperative and functional programming. It is useful for both client side and server side scripting of web applications. It is also useful for environments that aren’t web based, such as pdf documents, site specific browsers, etc. It is an excellent companion for browsers, as it allows just-in-time compilation.

4) ASP/ ASP.NET

Ever since Microsoft released its first server-side scripting engine ASP (Active Server Pages) for dynamically generated web pages - web development has never been the same. Modern websites have come a long way from the static websites of the 1990s. They have become dynamic, interactive and responsive and ASP has become a popular tool for their development. ASP.NET is the improved version of classic ASP, with a bigger library support and faster processing.

5) PHP

Originally, PHP stood for Personal Home Page but it now stands for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor. It is a server side scripting language suited for web development, though it is also used for general programming. It provides clear design, integration with other platforms and languages and well organized modules which gives developers better control. The biggest advantage of PHP is that it is open source, which means it is available for free. It is similar to the popular programming languages such as C and Java. It has a big developer community across the world and works on all major operating systems such as Linux, UNIX and Windows. It is easy to embed PHP into an existing HTML code, which is a boon when you are looking to convert a static website into a dynamic one.

6) Relational/Object oriented Database language

Database is an integral part of website and application development. Although Database Administration (DBA) has emerged as a specialized position, developers need to know how data is stored and how to retrieve it. Structured Query Language (SQL) is one of the most popular database languages familiar to developers around the world. It can efficiently retrieve data from huge database. SQL databases adhere to a well-established standard (adopted by ANSI and ISO) and it doesn’t require extensive coding skills.

7) Collaborative Version Control tool

Most organizations hire a team of developers spread across geographies to get their development work done. Team members constantly provide updated versions of code and it is important to be familiar with a collaborative, version control tool which helps you keep track of changes. Github is one such open source tool that allows version control functionality for free. It is widely used and has a large user community to resort to for help.