What is front-end web development? With so many freelancers looking for the perfect coder boot camp and talking about the difference between front-end and back-end, it’s important for internet users to understand what front-end means and what it entails. Here’s a quick primer on this interesting aspect of web development.
The Basic Definition
Frontend web development refers to the appearance of the web, including applications and websites. By using tools designed specifically for the purpose, this kind of web development enables viewers of a site to be able to read the website for the information they are searching for with relative ease. In recent years, front-end has changed, with the number of browsers increasing, the different types of devices on which websites can be viewed creating the need for mobile web development, as well as different operating systems requiring this type of development to be versatile and stable.
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The Tools
The tools used for front-end development is composed of coding languages, which each have their own uses. HyperText Markup Language, known as HTML, is the foundation for frontend web development; without this common coding language, websites would not exist. Cascading style sheets, known as CSS, help monitor what type of browser and size of the screen a website is being viewed on; it also works as a style tool, allowing each website to have its own unique feel. JavaScript is event-based, meaning that it allows websites to have forms, forums, comments, and other objects that a visitor to that site can use. All of these coding languages are necessary for front-end development, enabling the information on the web to be read and understood by users.
Accessibility Issues
A key component of front-end development is to ensure that web pages are viewable on smart devices, which have taken the world by storm in the past 15 years. Because so many websites are viewed on smartphones and tablets, it’s imperative that front-end development take this into account; the same can also be said for different operating systems and browsers, each of which has unique requirements for web pages to be viewed on that particular application. Because front-end development deals primarily with the appearance of websites, these developers must be acquainted with the coding languages needed as well as the changing dynamics of websites in general.
Performance Concerns
Front-end development is primarily concerned with performance issues; without fast load times, a website would be considered useless by anyone who tries to visit that web address. Performance in front-end development can be manipulated by correctly utilizing the tools listed above, ensuring that a website opens up quickly and that all interactive objects are working properly. Front-end must also handle applications that are found on smart devices, so it’s imperative that a developer understand how a web application or website will run on a smart device as well as on a desktop or laptop computer.
Frontend web development is a process that requires a great deal of knowledge in coding and computers; it is also one of the most important jobs in development. Because so much of what society sees on the web is directly affected by this kind of web development, a cursory understanding of what it is can be helpful for individuals. Now that the question of what is front-end web development has been answered, individuals can delve deeper into this incredibly important facet of web development and learn if this is a career they are interested in pursuing.
