Full Stack Developers VS Front and Backend Developers
A web developer's job is almost always included on lists of high-paying IT jobs. So why not? Web developers are essential in today's digital world. A web developer is responsible for creating a visually appealing website, a high-performing e-commerce site, or any other web-based application.
If you want to hire a web developer, you'll be glad to know that full-stack developer skills are in high demand. But how does full-stack web development compare to front-end vs. back-end web development? In other words, what distinguishes these job roles? We'll explain it to you.
In this article, we will go over the following topics to help you understand the distinctions between front-end developers, back-end developers, and full-stack developers.
What is web development?
The process of creating a website for the internet is known as web development. The non-design aspects of a website, such as creating features and functionality with programming, markup, and scripting languages, are referred to as web development. Developers focus on technical aspects of website development such as architecture, programming, and application integration, as well as graphics.
A web developer is someone who does the following:
- Creates and maintains websites and other web-based applications.
- Creates a website from a web design.
- They collaborate with clients, stakeholders, and designers to understand the vision.
- It is possible to specialize in either frontend or backend development. Even as a full-stack developer if necessary.
Now that you understand what web development is, consider the various types of web development which are front-end, back-end, and full-stack development.
Front-End Web Developer
Front-end web developers are responsible for the website's design and user interface. HTML, as you're probably aware, is the structural skeleton of a webpage. Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) can be thought of as the skeleton's physique or body. CSS allows front-end web developers to change the shape of the body, which in terms of websites is equivalent to pre-defining specific sections to make the website display a specific style.
It has the following advantages.
- A front-end developer will have many opportunities to work on various projects and provide a great user experience to their end users.
- According to the pay scale, an entry-level (with less than one year of experience) can earn a minimum of 4-5k USD. It can also differ from company to company and depending on their skill level.
- Because technology changes so quickly, front-end developers always have something new to learn. This broadens your skill set and accelerates your growth.
- Frontend developers have many options for making decisions, such as which frameworks suit them best, what types of projects they want to work on, and what level of UX they want to provide to their users, among others.
There are also some disadvantages to it.
- A front-end developer will only be familiar with front-end components and designs. This restricts a frontend developer to only that one thing.
- As a company, they will prefer an asset that can work in any environment, that is, one that can work on both the front end and the back end at the same cost.
- As a developer, a person’s knowledge base is important and if he/she is also knowledgeable about technologies related to other domains, they will have many opportunities. Otherwise, they will be limited to the front only.
- For good UX, front-end developers must create designs. This activity can require a significant amount of time and thought, which can disrupt a person’s work-life balance.
Back End Web Developer
So, what makes a website's front end possible? Where is all of that data kept? This is where the backend enters the picture. A server, an application, and a database comprise a website's back end.
A back-end developer creates and maintains the technology that powers the components that, when combined, allow the user-facing side of the website to exist at all.
Skills Needed to Become A Back-End Developer:
Back-end developers use server-side languages such as PHP, Ruby, Python, Java, and to communicate between the server, application, and database. Net to create an application, and tools such as MySQL, Oracle, and SQL Server to find, save, or change data and return it to the user in front-end code.
Back-end developer jobs advertised often demand expertise with PHP frameworks such as Zend, Symfony, and CakePHP; experience with version control software such as SVN, CVS, or Git; and experience with Linux as a development and deployment system.
Back-end developers use these tools to write clean, portable, and well-documented code for web applications. But, before they write that code, they must work with business stakeholders to understand their specific needs, then translate those into technical requirements and come up with the most innovative and cost-effective solution for technology architecture.
Full Stack Web Developer
There isn't always a clear distinction between front-end and back-end development. "Front-end developers frequently need to learn those additional back-end skills, and vice versa, especially in today's economy where marketing resources are scarce," Matranga explained. "Developers require some cross-discipline. You have to be a generalist a lot of the time."
Facebook's engineering department popularised the role. The idea is that a full stack developer can work on the entire "stack" of technology, i.e. both the front end and indeed the back end. Full-stack developers provide the whole package.
Advantages of a full stack web developer
- Full-stack developers contribute to software architecture at various levels.
- Full-stack specialists can more freely combine various technologies during the technical design phase, while also considering their suitability for the project's needs.
- Developers are no longer required to wait for front-end developers before implementing other system components.
- Full-stack software engineers are better prepared to deal with errors and issues that may arise during the project's development.
- Because there are fewer people on the team, they can communicate more effectively with fewer delays, better feedback, and fewer misunderstandings.
- They have an innate ability to handle more responsibility because they can oversee not only specific areas of the project but the project as a whole.
- Hiring full-stack developers will invariably cost businesses more.
It would be wrong not to consider the potential drawbacks as well:
- In the majority of cases, full-stack developers lack expertise in one area.
- It can be challenging to find a team of dedicated full-stack developers.
- It may be more cost-effective to use less skilled software developers to handle certain technical tasks at times.
- Full stack developers are mostly not aware of the latest trends in the market and it's a huge big concern for companies.
Final Thoughts
The demand for qualified full-stack developers is at an all-time high and shows no signs of abating. Web developer job opportunities will grow by 13% over the next ten years, much faster than the average for any other profession. Furthermore, with millions of new websites being added each year to the 1.5+ billion sites already in existence, more web developers are required to build them. There is no doubt that there is a high demand for web developers. So it's easy to see why web development is such a popular career path.
While web developers are paid well and considered valuable assets, they must stay on their toes by constantly learning and adapting to new trends and technologies. Being a full-stack developer can be a rewarding experience if someone wants to be a part of a fast-paced career.
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