How Difficult is it to Learn Full-Stack Web Development?

Are you curious about learning full stack web development but worried it might be too hard? Of course, the difficulty that comes with learning a new skill is somewhat subjective. The challenges of learning full stack web development depends on factors likeyour prior coding experience, the breadth of languages you hope to learn, and the mode of instruction you are receiving. 

No matter your current schedule or comfort level with full stack web development, there are plenty of tools available to help make learning easier than you might think.

What is Full Stack Web Development?

Full stack web development is the name given to a process of web development that handles the programming and coding of front end (user-facing interactive elements of a web application) and back end (server-side infrastructure that handles issues like databases and is hidden from users). It represents the most complete kind of web development, since both front end and back end development infrastructure is required for web applications to run properly. Many different combinations of programming languages are used in the process of full stack web development and Full Stack Web Developers often specialize in specific sets of programming languages.

Some of the most commonly used full stack web development languages include HTML/CSS, JavaScript, SQL, Python, and Ruby on Rails. This list is far from exhaustive, but it is a good place to start considering your path to learning full stack web development. JavaScript, in particular, is an important language for Full Stack Developers to learn because it is versatile enough to handle all of the elements of full stack development, with programming frameworks that allow it to handle the server-side back end functions of a webpage. While there is no set path that a Full Stack Developer must follow in terms of learning how to code, learning a variety of programming languages will be a requirement.

Read more about what full stack web development is and why you should learn it. 

What Can You Do with Full Stack Web Development?

Full stack web development is a beneficial skill to have because it teaches you every element of the technical side of running a webpage or application. You will learn to use languages like HTML/CSS and JavaScript to create stunning, visually evocative web pages. You’ll learn back end languages or frameworks, like Python or the MERN stack, to build the server-side infrastructure that allows webpages to function. Thus, learning full stack web development will teach you how to find work building any aspect of a web application or system. It will set you up for future success in fields adjacent to these programming languages, like data science, cybersecurity, or machine learning. With Full Stack Web Developers being in high demand, learning these skills is a great way to break into a high-paying, diverse career field.

For students not looking to pivot to a new career, learning full stack web development is an ideal way to begin building your own web presence. Whether you are starting an advocacy organization, building a small business, launching a new product idea, hoping to create vibrant personal projects, or just starting a freelancing career, learning full stack web development will let you take care of every aspect of the web development process. The internet offers various creative and professional opportunities for you to take advantage of. Learning how to handle every step of the development process is an ideal way to ensure that the digital presence you are building works the way you want it to work.

What Are the Most Challenging Parts of Learning Full Stack Web Development?

For most students, the most challenging parts of learning full stack web development are at the beginning, when they are programming novices and integrating multiple languages to build full systems. The best method of overcoming both learning challenges is to receive guided professional instruction on how to code since having access to an instructor who can examine your code (whether it is new or complex) will solve many problems for students before they become overwhelmed.

How Does Learning Full Stack Web Development Compare to Other Fields?

Full stack web development is best compared to the two elements of web development it combines: front end and back end development. Full Stack Developers will need to learn the fundamental and advanced skills involved in both of these processes, so understanding how they work separately and complement each other is a useful way to determine if you want to learn full stack development or specialize in one of its component parts.

Front end web development is concerned with a web application's client-facing elements. This side of programming focuses on the visual elements of the page and the interactive elements that users engage with. Front End Developers will learn programming languages like HTML/CSS and JavaScript. They are more likely to deal with the creative side of web design since they will develop the parts of the web application that users see and interact with. Front End Developers may learn more complex frameworks for programming languages like JavaScript that will allow them more control over the back end functionalities of a web application. To learn more about front end web development, consider exploring the free resources available at Noble’s Learn Front End Development page or check out their selection of Front End Web Development classes.

Back end web development concerns the invisible infrastructure that allows webpages to function. This aspect includes programming that deals with server operations, database integration and querying, and other elements such as collecting data on user traffic and documenting user activity. This work is often done with programming languages like Python, SQL, or R. These languages are also important for several different data sciences and machine learning functions since they tend to handle database collection, organization, and querying. To learn more, please visit Noble’s Learn Back End Development page or look at the Back End Web Development classes offered through Noble.

Coding Experience

The most significant factor in determining how hard it will be to learn full stack web development is how much prior experience you have in computer programming. Students with a deep knowledge of programming languages such as HTML/CSS or JavaScript will already have a leg up since these are important skills for full stack developers to know and knowing other programming languages will help make learning more languages easier.

Students who don’t have a significant programming background will need to learn the basics of computer science, which can often be the most challenging part of the process to learn. These students must learn skills like HTML/CSS from scratch before moving on to the more difficult languages.

Professional Training

One of the best ways to ease the challenges of learning a new skill is by enrolling in a professional skills training program. Whether in-person or online, hands-on training in full stack web development skills can ease learning these programming languages, regardless of whether you are trying to master the MERN stack or learning HTML/CSS. While professional training may seem intimidating and expensive at first, there is no better way to ease the process of learning full stack development, nor is there a better way to speed up learning these skills.

Learn Full Stack Web Development with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

Becoming a full stack developer will take a decent amount of time and energy since it will require students to learn many different programming languages. While these languages all complement one another and learning one will make learning another easier, students will still need to spend a decent amount of time training as programmers. One of the best ways to learn a complex set of new skills is by enrolling in a professional training program, such as those offered by Noble Desktop. In these classes, professional instructors will provide students with guided instruction and give them hands-on experience in all aspects of full stack development. These classes are available in-person and live online classrooms, and regardless of the delivery method of the course, class sizes will remain small. Students will be able to work directly with their instructors. Noble also offers a free retake option for all of its courses, meaning that after you’ve completed a seminar, you can retake that course for additional training anytime in a calendar year.

Noble’s most comprehensive training option is its Full Stack Web Development Certificate program is its comprehensive training option. This course is designed with programming novices in mind, meaning you don’t have to have any programming background to succeed in this course. Students will learn how to program the front-facing aspects of a webpage using HTML/CSS and JavaScript, and they will receive hands-on experience working with common developer tools like VSC and Git. After this, students will learn the important JavaScript frameworks and libraries like React, Node.js, and Express.js that give JavaScript full stack development capabilities. In addition, every student who enrolls in this course will have the opportunity to take an SQL course, which will teach them the basics of programming functionalities into databases.

Noble also offers a wide array of shorter, more skills-focused bootcamps that will teach students one or more elements of the full stack development process. This training can include narrow career-certificate programs, like the Front End Development Certificate program, which will cover lessons in HTML/CSS and the interactive elements of JavaScript, and the Python Developer Certificate program, which teaches students how to use the Python programming language to build back end server and database infrastructure. 

These classes are ideal ways to learn significant elements of the full stack development process, though students should know that some of these courses have requirements. For example, Noble’s JavaScript Development Certificate program is a great way to learn full stack web development skills using JavaScript, but it will require students to know HTML/CSS to enroll. Students looking for a slightly more accelerated lesson that is still beginner-friendly may want to consider enrolling in Noble’s Software Engineering Certificate program, which provides training in all of the elements of full stack web development and compliments that training with lessons in Python so that developers can utilize back end languages other than JavaScript frameworks.

Regardless of your goals or prior experience levels, Noble Desktop is here to assist you with a full stack web development class built to suit your needs.