What Skills Should Front End Developers Have?
A Front End Developer should understand the foundations of web development, best practices for web development, and have a high-level understanding of which technologies are best to use for the front end. They should be proficient in popular front end coding languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Front End Developers must practice version control using relevant tools such as git. They should know Javascript Frameworks and Libraries such as React and Node.js. They’ll be using developer tools and environments on a daily basis and should familiarize themselves with them. Most employers will allow Developers to use any developer environment they want and Developers should know which is most efficient for their own working style.
Recruiters will also look for soft skills like good communication, ability to work well on a team, and critical thinking. Detail-oriented and self-motivated problem-solvers who do well under pressure will thrive in the Front End Developer position. A Front End Developer should also be adept at self-learning as technologies and best practices are constantly changing and learning will be a career requirement.
Learn the Skills You Need to Become a Front End Developer
-
Coding
Coding is another way to say computer programming. It is how humans "instruct" computers through the process of designing and building a functioning computer program. Computer and web programs are built using coding languages like C, Python, PHP, HTML, JavaScript, and more. Coding can be used to create desktop, mobile, or web applications.
-
Web Development
Web development is the practice of building, creating, and maintaining websites. Web development uses coding languages to build a website for the internet.
-
Front-End Web Development
Front end web development manages the part of the website that a user sees and interacts with in their browser. Front End Developers design, analyze code, write code, and debug the client-side of an application or website.
-
HTML & CSS
HTML is Hypertext Markup Language and CSS is Cascading Style Sheets. HTML is used to create web page structure and text while CSS is used to style the structure and text visually. HTML can be used to create objects like sections, menus, and functions within a webpage. CSS is used to select those objects and style them with fonts, colors, layout, and more to make the webpage visually appealing.
-
JavaScript
JavaScript is an object-oriented computer programming language. It is mostly used for interactive effects and user experience enhancements within web browsers. JavaScript also has frameworks which allow Developers to quickly find and execute small chunks of prewritten JavaScript in a standard, predictable way.
-
React
React is an open-source JavaScript library that is maintained by Facebook for building user interfaces. React is often used as a base in the development of single-page or mobile applications, social media style applications, and other web platforms.
-
Git
Git is a distributed version control system that is standard in software and web development. Git allows multiple developers to work on the same project at once or a single developer to keep track of changes. It also creates a simple environment to conduct A/B testing. Git is designed to optimize speed, data integrity, as well as distributed and non-linear workflows.
-
Node.js
Node.js is a runtime environment based on Chrome’s JavaScript engine, which allows you to run JavaScript on the back-end of a website (on the web server). Initially, JavaScript only ran in a web browser (the front-end of a website, also called client-side JavaScript). With the popularity of JavaScript, developers wanted to use it on the back-end, instead of learning another language such as PHP, Ruby on Rails, etc. Node.js enables developers to do just that, making JavaScript a full-stack language.
-
Developer Tools
Developer tools are tools typically created by developers to do tasks like debug code, edit code more efficiently, test code, test interface, and more efficiently build websites and applications.
-
Dev Bootcamp