What is the front end? What does front-end development or client-side development of a website mean? Who is an expert, a front-end development programmer, or a front-end developer? What technologies and programming languages are needed for website front-end programming?
If an interested person wants to learn front-end development, is it necessary to study computer or software engineering or related fields in university? How is the front-end development job market? Anyway, how to become a front-end development specialist?
The advancement of technology and the emergence of new technologies have created new specialties and jobs. Front-end development is one of the specialties and jobs that emerged after the invention of the Internet, the development of electronic commerce (E-commerce), and online stores. The development of the front end of the market is very good profitable and promising.
To become a front-end specialist, you don’t necessarily need a university education. Those who do not know anything about computer engineering and software or programming languages can also enter the career path of front-end website programming by taking website design training and progressing in it with more practice and training.
In this specialized and comprehensive guide, I will answer all the questions about this specialty so that those interested in designing and developing the user side of the website will have a complete and clear picture of the topics they must learn and the path they must follow. In this guide, the fundamental topics in front-end development are discussed first, and then advanced techniques and technologies are discussed.
In the specialized and comprehensive guide for Front-End Development 2024, you will read these contents:
- Definition of front-end website development
- The importance of front-end programming in website design
- Front-end programming languages and libraries
- Basic concepts in front-end development
- The way to learn front-end programming
- Job market and front-end developer income
Table of Contents
What is front-end programming (Front End Development) of the site?
To define the front end of a website and develop the front end, one should be familiar with the structure and types of websites. 35 years ago, there was no such thing as a website. There were no specializations and jobs needed to design and develop a website. A look at the evolutionary history of website design in the world shows that website design and development has grown slowly over the past 3 decades.
The first websites that were built in the world did not have front-end and back-end experts, and no one designed and programmed them. Because everything was very simple and there was no special technology for creating web pages.
Websites were just a platform for transferring information (texts) through the Internet. Website pages did not have different colors, types of buttons, menus video content, and animations. Store websites and different types of websites were not yet born.
As the use of the Internet increased and more users were found, more organizations and businesses decided to have a website. To respond to this growing need (having beautiful and user-friendly websites that can be used to pay bills or buy goods), programming languages and new technologies for developing all kinds of websites were released to the market.
One of those languages was CSS and the other was Javascript. The CSS language makes the appearance of the website more beautiful and the Javascript language makes the website interactive. So, websites found two sections:
- Back-end or Server side (Back-end or Server side) which the user does not see and where information processing and communication with the server takes place and
- Front end or client-side (Front end or Client side) which includes every visual and interactive element that users see and have with the site.
When the website found two distinct parts, the development of each of which required different programming languages and technologies, the development and programming work of each part also became a separate specialty: server-side programming and client-side programming.
frontendmasters.com has comprehensively and clearly defined the development and programming of the front end and the main tasks of the front-end developer:
A front-end developer is a type of software developer who specializes in creating and designing the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) of websites and web applications. The primary responsibility of a front-end developer is to ensure that the visual and interactive aspects of a website or application are user-friendly, aesthetically pleasing, and functionally efficient.
The importance of user-side programming in website design and development
The first websites in the world were static. That is the websites that functioned like an exhibition and could only be used to display text and photo content.
However different businesses and big companies like Google and Apple needed interactive and dynamic websites. Websites wanted to attract users with various content and interactions.
The separation of front-end and back-end website development means the separation of website design from programming. Website design or UI/UX design is an independent field and specialty in which designers (product designers, user interface designers, and user experience designers) design the appearance and interactions of a website.
The main task of designers is to design the website or application in a human-centered way so that the needs of users in interacting with the product are met and they have a good and enjoyable interaction with the website or application.
Designers do not program or develop the front end. Their task is design. The developer or programmer is the user side who implements and programs the design.
The developer must implement the design in such a way that it is effective and runs correctly and completely on different devices (mobile, tablet, etc.). The importance of programming and development of the client side of the website or application is precisely in this point: the website is useless without an attractive and efficient front end.
If the front-end and interface design and user experience of the website are not implemented properly, the strong back-end is useless and users cannot interact with the website. It is as if there is no website at all.
This is precisely the reason why there are many first-class front-end specialists in the technical and product development teams of major companies in the world, such as Apple and Google.
Without front-end development, designing and developing a website or application is meaningless and useless.
Main languages and libraries in front-end website programming
Programming languages, libraries, and frameworks used to build and develop front-end websites and applications are usually different from server-side programming languages. Some of the most popular server-side programming languages are PHP and ASP.
Of course, there are some languages (such as JavaScript and Python) that are so powerful and have different libraries and frameworks that they can be used in both user-side and server-side programming of websites.
The development team of each website and application decides which programming languages to choose for the development and programming of the front-end and back-end of the product based on the needs of that software.
However, the use of HTML markup language, CSS language, and JavaScript programming language is mandatory in the front-end development of almost all websites and applications, and those languages are considered the first choice of developers.
The world’s first static websites were built with the HTML markup language. The need to quickly design and develop attractive, efficient, and modern websites led to the creation of various libraries and frameworks to help programmers and developers.
In the continuation of this section, the most important languages and libraries in user-side programming will be introduced, and in the next section, the client-side development frameworks of the website will be explained.
1. HTML markup language
HTML is not a programming language. Hyper Text Markup Language or hypertext markup language is a standard, preliminary, and, of course, basic type of markup for creating the overall structure of website pages and web applications. The importance and role of markup languages in the development of websites is undeniable.
The creation of the first websites to transfer data over the Internet was made possible with the help of markup languages. The importance of HTML in the design and development of websites has caused experts and programmers to look for different ways to improve the efficiency of this language.
This language is constantly updated to meet the needs of website developers. HTML5 is the last released version of this markup language. In addition to continuously updating HTML, some experts combined HTML with other markup languages (such as XML) to create a more powerful and efficient language called XHTML to address the weaknesses of HTML.
The front-end developer builds the foundation or skeleton of the pages of a website with the HTML language. Other elements and contents of each page of the site are placed on the page using HTML tags.
For example, front-end developers use two widely used and important tags Div and Span in HTML to create a specific space to place different elements on the page.
Mastering the latest version of this markup language is necessary for every front-end specialist to develop the overall structure of a website’s pages, the correct use of various tags of this language, and to avoid common mistakes in HTML.
2. CSS
Cascading Style Sheets is a language that can be used to style pages and elements placed in it. In other words, CSS defines how HTML elements should be displayed on the page.
The purpose of CSS language is to separate the appearance information of each element, such as color, size, font type, location on the page relative to other elements, etc., from the information related to the overall structure of the website written with HTML.
This separation gives the developer more flexibility to control the appearance characteristics of the elements and the ability to design several pages with the same format and prevents repetitive tasks in website development.
The power of this language is much more than defining colors and fonts. With CSS, you can even add animation to website pages. Mastering this language and its capabilities and facilities, including animations in CSS and the CSS preprocessor, is essential for the development and programming of front-end websites.
3. JavaScript
JavaScript is the most important front-end programming language for websites and applications. The front end of more than 98% of the world’s websites is written in JavaScript. American programmer Brendan Erich created the first version of JavaScript in 1995. Of course, other programmers helped JavaScript evolve after him.
JS is a high-level, interpretive, and multi-paradigm language. JavaScript is a language that runs in the user’s browser and makes website pages interactive and dynamic. In other words, it is JavaScript that makes shopping online, registering online for a class or university, or paying a bill online (all of which are interactions with a website) possible.
This language has many features, and with the help of JavaScript, the front-end programmer can use asynchronous programming (Async) and AJAX technology to speed up receiving and processing information.
Working with JavaScript for client-side development of websites and applications is so easy and fast that programmers also use it for server-side development.
Of course, for server-side development in large and complex projects, a language similar to JavaScript called TypeScript is usually used.
Mastering JavaScript coding and working with its libraries is one of the most important skills for website and application programmers and front-end developers.
4. jQuery
jQuery is the most important and famous JavaScript programming language library. A programming language library is a collection of ready-written code that a programmer can use to perform a specific task.
jQuery is a free and open-source software that was introduced to the world in 2006. The main developer of this library is an American software engineer named John Resig.
The importance of jQuery is that it makes it easy for developers to code with JavaScript. In addition to all JavaScript rules, jQuery also has its own special rules and features. Of course, learning to code under this library is not difficult at all.
Also, this library has many useful plugins. JavaScript is present and running in the browser by default. But jQuery must be downloaded first and then added to the website with a special code.
Front-end website development frameworks
As the number of websites increased and the number of internet and website users increased, more technologies and tools were created for faster and more efficient design and development of websites and web applications.
For example, Progressive Web App (PWA) is one of the most important technologies used in web application design in recent years.
Frameworks are also the most important and practical tools that make website development easy, fast,, and economical. A framework is a ready-made and pre-designed structure for building software.
The framework is the foundation of the work and eliminates the need for the programmer to start the project from scratch. Frameworks are usually related to a programming language and doing a specific task (for example, frameworks for programming and back-end development).
Next, I will briefly introduce 4 of the most important and popular front-end frameworks. Learning and mastering even one of these frameworks makes the work of every front-end developer easier and faster.
1. Bootstrap
Bootstrap is a free toolbox and a collection of ready-made HTML, CSS & JavaScript code snippets. This framework eliminates the need for the programmer to write a lot of code and saves the developer’s time and the time needed to run the project.
This framework is the first choice of many front-end professionals in the world for the development of responsive front-end and compatibility with the display on the screen of all kinds of mobile devices.
Bootstrap has an open-source library of SVG icons and a collection of its themes. Bootstrap themes are its extensions.
A very important advantage of all Bootstrap framework tools is that the website developer can customize everything as he wants in the shortest possible time.
2. React
The React framework is the most popular and well-known front-end framework for the JavaScript language. This framework is a set of ready-made components for quickly building user interfaces (UI).
The React js library allows developers to design single-page web applications that are compatible with AJAX technology. This technology makes it possible to change the necessary contents without the need to load all the information on a page so that the desired interaction of the user takes place.
React JS is fast, extensible, and simple. The very important advantage of this framework is that it is fully compatible with other JavaScript frameworks or libraries.
3. Ember.js
EmberJS is one of the JavaScript frameworks that reduce the time, work, and effort as well as the resources needed to build any web application. Ember performs repetitive and mundane but essential tasks in web development projects for and on behalf of the developer.
That’s why using this framework helps front-end professionals stay creative and focus on more important tasks.
To work with Ember.js, it is necessary to be familiar with HTML, CSS & JavaScript. Because the first level of development in Ember is based on HTML & CSS.
In addition, you should be well aware of Modern JavaScript features (such as classes and modules), because Ember has used them a lot.
4. Svelte
The svelte framework is the latest front-end JavaScript development framework. Svelte is a set of components and tools used to structure a website or application with JavaScript. Svelte offers an innovative approach that allows developers to build exactly what they need.
This framework makes JavaScript code light and compact. This makes the code work faster from the beginning and as a result, the programs built with it are lighter and more user-friendly.
This is the most important difference that Svelte brings to the world of JavaScript user-side programming compared to other frameworks.
Basic concepts in front-end development
For front-end programming and development, it is not enough to master several languages, libraries, and frameworks. The front end of the digital product is what the user sees and interacts with. The correct implementation and proper functioning of the user interface design and product user experience are related to the development of the user side of the website.
The front-end specialist of websites and applications must remember at all stages that users (humans) are the audience of the product he develops. If they can’t achieve their goal through elements, interfaces, and interactions, which make up the most of the user side of the website and application; The product and as a result the front developer have not been successful.
This is why the front-end programmer must have a correct understanding of the basic concepts in user-side development and website design principles and pay full attention to them during front-end development.
1. Responsiveness and mobile-first design
The most important concept in the design and development of the front end of digital products is to pay attention to users who search on the Internet with mobile phones and browse different websites.
According to the latest statistics, almost half of the traffic of websites across the net is from mobile devices. For this reason, the front end of all websites must be designed and adapted (reactive or responsive) to display on small screens.
Mobile First Design is an approach to website design based on which the site designer and developer first design the website to be compatible and suitable for displaying on small mobile screens and after making sure that the site is displayed correctly on different mobile screens. It comes down to adapting the design for devices with larger screens.
2. Accessibility
Websites and applications should not be designed only for people with full physical and mobility abilities. The blind, partially sighted,, and disabled also have the right to use the Internet.
Accessibility means that websites are designed and made usable by anyone with any restrictions and special conditions. This limitation may be disability physical limitations or environmental limitations. Environmental restrictions are related to the speed and limitations of the Internet and the conditions of the user’s device.
Therefore, one of the most important concepts and principles that product designers and front-end website developers must pay attention to is to design and develop a website that all people with any ability and condition can access and interact with.
In addition to mobile-oriented and responsive design, website design solutions for users with vision problems are also among the things that must be followed in the front-end development of any digital product.
The way to learn front-end programming
If you are interested in learning user-side programming, you can proceed with the following suggested path:
- HTML, CSS, and Javascript training
- Practice and practice and practice to master the front-end development of the website with 3 languages HTML, CSS, and Javascript
- Learning at least one CSS framework (Bootstrap framework is recommended.)
- Learning at least one Javascript framework (React.js framework is recommended.)
- More practice and learning of useful technologies and tools (such as Git)
- Following specialized forums to stay updated and to know and follow the works of famous and inspiring web designers.
- Acquiring soft skills (problem-solving skills, ability to communicate effectively, teamwork skills, etc.)
To follow the suggested path to learn client-side programming, there are several training and practice methods that any interested person can choose of based on their conditions, background, time, and goals and start training:
- Self-learning using free resources (the best online and free resources to get started are: W3schools and Frontmasters, one of the best online resources for learning CSS is the Geeksforgeeks website and Javapoint for learning JavaScript.)
- Enroll in training classes or online courses to learn each language separately
- Participating in a comprehensive, practical, project-oriented, and reliable website design and programming training course