A Guide To Help You Understand The Differences and Find Out Which Branch of Web Development Is Best For Your Business
Tell me, do you often find yourself asking –
“What’s the *actual* difference between the front end and back end of a website?”
If that’s you, you’re not the only one!
When you’re new to the world of coding, terms like front-end, back-end, and full-stack development can be SUPER confusing.
That’s why in this blog, I’m going to delve into the main differences between front-end vs back-end development so you don’t have to.
Bringing it back to basics so you can find out which services you need for your business.
What’s Web Development?
Put plainly, a website developer builds and maintains websites for the web.
Front-end development and back-end development are two different types of web development, while full-stack is a combination of the two.
Sometimes these three separate career paths can feel muddied in the tech world, but each has its own distinct role.
Back-end developers are focused on data, modeling, and the ‘unseen’ parts of a website. Front-end developers help build what users interact with and see. And a full-stack developer does some or all of the above.
Let’s delve into them a bit more…
What’s Front-End Development?
If you’re a front-end developer, you build with the user in mind.
Your job is to code and bring to life the visual aspects of a website. Focusing on what the user sees when they visit your site.
You make sure your site is easy to interact with while functioning smoothly.
Front-end developers build things like:
- Buttons
- Layouts
- Graphics
- Navigation
- Animations
What’s Back-End Development?
If you’re a back-end developer you focus on the side of the website users can’t see.
While website visitors don’t directly interact with the back end, they indirectly interact with elements these developers work on by clicking on parts of the webpage.
You manage storing and arranging data, while also ensuring the front end is functioning well.
Back-end web developers work on tasks like:
- Building code
- Troubleshooting
- Debugging web applications
- Database management
So… What If You Want To Do Both?
Well, then you hire a full-stack developer!
In web development, there’s often not a black-and-white distinction between front-end vs back-end development.
That means front-end developers end up being the ‘jack-of-all-trades’ and learn those additional back-end skills, and vice versa.
Basically, as a full-stack developer, you’re responsible for the entire flow of the visitors’ experience, from start to finish.
And although you can’t master everything to do with front-end and back-end development in detail, you can pick and choose the parts of the front and back-end development you enjoy. Creating a well-rounded knowledge that will help you create some pretty awesome websites.
So tell me, has this blog helped you figure out the difference between front-end vs. back-end development yet?
If you’re reading this thinking –
“Sure, this is all good info. But how do I actually hire a developer to help me?”
Then look no further, my friends! If you haven’t got a tech expert you go to already, I specialise in building WordPress websites from scratch. Whether you need a brand-new website or a complete website refresh.
And if you do decide to work with me, all my packages come with two months of free hosting and maintenance, custom video tutorials, and an awesome coming soon page.
If you still have questions, feel free to get in touch.
I’d be happy to guide you on your way and give you any advice you might need.