The Roadmap to becoming a Front-End Developer
Note: This post was originally published in 2019 and has been updated as of Mar. 7, 2022.
As of January 2022, there were 4.95 billion internet users in the world and over 1.7 billion websites, with the number increasing every second.
Every business, brand, and idea has a website. As a result, building websites, called front-end development, is one of the simplest and most profitable ways to enter the world of software development.
Today, we will introduce you to front-end development and tell you how to get started.
We will cover:
- Front end vs. Back end
- Step 1: Start with the basics
- Step 2: Go beyond the language
- Step 3: Trial and error
- Step 4: Keep learning
- What to read next
Start your frontend journey today.
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Front-end vs. Back-end
There are two paths towards becoming a web developer: the back-end or the front-end. Back-end developers build server-side software. They’re responsible for all the performance, stability, security and speed of your site or app, all of which power the front-end or user-facing side.
Front-end developers, on the other hand, get to build everything a user touches and interacts with on the screen, such as layouts, information, engagement, etc. Front-end developers are both creative and tech-savvy, and act as the bridge between designers and back-end programmers.
So, how do you go about becoming a front-end developer? It’s a simple, three-step process:
- Understand the basics
- Go beyond the language
- Trial and error
Step one: Understand the basics
In order to build a website, you first need to have a fundamental understanding of the web, how it is structured, and how your application fits within it.
What is the web, what is a server, what is a client, how do various devices communicate with each other, how does the website you build on your computer in San Jose end up on someone’s phone in Shanghai.
Once you have a complete understanding of networks (i.e. IP addresses, internet protocol, packets), databases (i.e. SQL, NoSQL, caching), clients, and servers, you can then move on to the actual basics of web development: coding.
Front-end developers work with the user (or client) facing side of the website. Their code runs on the client’s browser and determines how the website looks (i.e., the user interface, layouts, navigation, etc.), how it requests data from the server, and how it interacts with the client’s machine.
The coding languages used to develop the client-facing source code are HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
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HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) is the foundation of any website. It is the code that describes the content of your page, which is then rendered by the browser. You can use HTML to add text, images, audio, video, and more to your website. HTML is easy to learn and the best part is, you can write it in any text editor.
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CSS, like HTML, is not a programming language either, but a styling language for HTML. To put it simply, HTML describes the content while CSS describes how the content should be formatted – basically, anything that controls the look and feel of the page. This allows HTML to go back to its original job as a structural language.
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JavaScript is where programming gets fun! HTML structures our content, and CSS stylizes it. These are great to create static websites. JavaScript allows us to implement dynamic elements into your website, such as interactive maps, animations, updates, and more.
Step two: Go beyond the language
Now you know the concepts for how to write basic front-end code to create structured, stylized, and dynamic websites. Let’s see how we can push this knowledge even further. We will discuss the following: frameworks, command line, and version control.
Web Frameworks make the development and integration of front- and back-end programming easier. A web framework is basically a package of files and folders of standardized code which can be used as a basis to start building a site. In other words, it’s a starter pack that allows you to build on it.
The most common frameworks available to front-end developers are:
Each framework has its own pros and cons. Some are strict and fixed, while others are very loose and only give guidelines. Do your research to find the framework that works for you and use them to take your skills to the next level.
Command Line basics are essential to becoming a developer. The Command Line Interface (CLI) is a tool into which you can type commands to make the computer performs tasks.
Commands can be combined to achieve a variety of outcomes, and since you’re able to communicate with the computer directly, this is the more powerful and efficient way to control your tasks. The most common CLI is the Bash Shell, which is the default on Linux and Mac systems.
Every developer has their own ideas about the best ways to code/program a website, but they all agree that Version Control is the most essential part of building a website. Version Control manages all your project’s files so that you can keep track of all your builds and changes.
Git is the world’s most popular version control system due to its flexibility. It remembers any change ever made to a project, making it easy to revert to earlier versions; it allows for multiple people to work on a project simultaneously.
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Step three: Trial and error
You know that thing they say about needing 10,000 hours of doing something in order to become an expert at it? They’re right.
Once you’ve learned how to code and how to build powerful applications that do exactly what you need them to do, the only way you can get better is to practice.
Build sample websites. That neighbor of yours who wants to be a poet? Help her create an interactive page with a twitter scroll and links to her published works. Your cousin that sells terracotta jewelry on Etsy? Build her website with photos, reviews, testimonials, links to her social media, and more.
The more you practice and the more you build, the more intuitive the entire process will become for you. Before you know it, building websites and applications will become second nature.
Step four: Keep learning
The internet keeps changing and new and more advanced methods of programming launch every day. It is essential that you keep up-to-date with new technologies and keep learning.
This is not to say that what you have learned so far will not matter. Your basics will always give you an advantage. But in order to grow, you must keep track of what is cutting-edge, and update your skills accordingly.
Now that you know the steps you need to take, check out Educative’s Become a Front-End Developer Learning Path to put what you’ve learned in this post to practice. In this Path, you’ll find curated modules designed to teach you everything you need to know, from the basics to a comprehensive guide towards launching your own website.
Happy learning!
What to read next
