How Difficult is it to Learn Back-End Web Development?

When first learning back end web development, you might be curious about its overall difficulty. Thankfully, back end web development is relatively easy, especially when you have readily available learning resources. Of course, the difficulty that comes with learning a new skill is somewhat subjective. The challenges you’ll face from learning back end web development include finding enough resources to help you learn effectively and creating a work-life balance throughout your education. 

Luckily, by reading this guide, you’ve already found a collection of back end web development resources that can support you at every stage of the learning process. Keep reading to see how to overcome some of the most common challenges people face while learning back end web development. While reading, consider how you can adapt your learning based on your circumstances. 

What is Back End Web Development?

Back end web development covers the back end, or “server-side,” of websites. Essentially, it’s the part of websites that handles everything that happens behind the scenes. Without back end web development, websites would only have text, images, and sometimes animations. 

Back end web development is important because it helps websites function. While websites can operate using only front end web development, they will be relatively basic and unable to retain anything. Back end web development allows complex programs to operate on the site, store relevant information, and generate new content based on the user’s actions. Modern websites need back end web development to stay current because simple websites can only go so far in the increasingly digital world. 

Read more about back end web development and why you should learn it.

What Can You Do with Back End Web Development?

While front end web development focuses on the parts of websites that users see, back end web development handles most of its functions. Back-end web development skills are essential when it comes to organizing, cataloging, and saving (or deleting) data. Without these skills, websites are static and lifeless. You’ll need to use back end web development to ensure that your site meets modern standards and user expectations. Front-end-only websites might lead to user frustration if the site is intended for complex uses such as data retrieval. 

Back end web development allows websites to store login information and prevent user frustration from forgetting their password when they revisit your site. If you’ve accidentally logged out of essential websites after clearing your cache, you know how much of a headache it can be to re-login to every site you visit. Your users will appreciate the ease of access to their accounts, which will help enhance their overall user experience. 

What Are the Most Challenging Parts of Learning Back End Web Development?

Back end web development is one of the easier programming roles to learn, right behind front end web development. That’s because you only need to become effective at JavaScript to land a job as a Back End Web Developer, and if you also learn HTML & CSS, you can become a Full Stack Web Developer. You might feel a little overwhelmed if you’re unfamiliar with these terms, but most people can learn these skills in a few months. Even if your schedule is full and you need to take classes part-time, you can easily learn these skills in under a year. 

Back end web development is one skill that allows you to start small and learn as you go. Once you’ve landed your first job, you can expand your skill set into other programming languages and tools to enhance your back end abilities. You can technically learn as much as possible about JavaScript and Python before you apply for entry-level positions. Still, practical experience in the field will make learning more advanced techniques easier. That’s because you’ll see firsthand how to apply those techniques to your work.

How Does Learning Back End Web Development Compare to Other Fields?

When learning back-end web development, it’s worth pursuing topics with similar or related information. The easiest option is web development as a whole and front end web development, which covers everything users can see on the website. You can explore both front end and back end web development in a Full Stack Web Development bootcamp, 

Learning about the programming languages commonly used for back end web development is also a good idea. JavaScript is one of the go-to languages for both front end and back end programs, especially React, a JavaScript library widely used for websites to increase loading speed. Python is another solid choice since this programming language is often used for data analytics and gathering information about the website’s activity. Finally, if you’re interested in creating your own website, you can learn about web design and WordPress, so you’ll have everything you need to get started. 

Organize & Use Your Resources Effectively

While back end web development is fairly straightforward to learn, it’s understandable if it seems challenging initially. Most challenging situations can be made easier by organizing yourself and setting up your resources before you start. Even if it takes a little time to do that, you’ll be able to save yourself from any stress or headaches you might have in the future. 

You’ve probably tried sifting through search engines without much luck, but that may only be because of an aimless approach to learning. That’s okay, though; it’s natural to start with disorganization before everything becomes truly organized. The most challenging part of learning anything is creating a system for success. 

While you’re learning back end web development, try to organize each resource you find as much as possible. It’s useful to bookmark catalogs of resources, such as the Back End Web Development Learn Hub, to keep everything in one place. Make a folder in your web browser and save useful back end web development links there—and nothing else. That way, when you need to access a resource, you’ll know exactly where it is. These little details can make a huge difference in reducing stress and preventing challenges from becoming overwhelming. 

Once you’re in classes and are working with instructors, keep in mind that you can always ask them for guidance. That doesn’t end once the course ends—you can always reach out to them after you’ve finished your classes and see if they can assist with the next steps in your plan. Even if you only meet briefly to talk about the direction of your career, that might be the spark that motivates you to keep finding new resources to take things to the next level. 

Breathe–You’ve Got This

Take a moment to pause and reflect on how far you’ve come, even if it’s only the beginning of your back end web development education. You won’t need to worry if you’re going to be successful because every step of your programming journey will bring lessons that will help you in your career. 

After you’ve organized your resources and found the right classes, you’ve already reduced the difficulty significantly. The fact that you’re researching how to learn back end web development proves that you’re dedicated—and that will win you the battle in the long run. 

Learn Back End Web Development with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

Learning back end web development is pretty straightforward, and the process can become easier when working with a well-prepared training facility. Noble Desktop has taught live online back end web development classes and other computer science subjects for over 30 years. They’re an excellent choice when you’re looking to expand your career or start a new one. 

Those fully invested in learning back end web development and related subjects will enjoy taking a Full Stack Web Development Certificate program. This program teaches both front end and back end principles, which will allow you to enter a wide variety of roles. You can also look into a JavaScript Programming Bootcamp since JavaScript is an important skill for back end web development and most other website-related fields. The more you know about these subjects, the better off you’ll be in the long run.