Web development is an extremely diverse profession, depending on the specialization one web developer may find his job role completely different from his peer. This variety is because of the advancing web technologies being launched and updated by the day, because of web development being a vast domain responsibilities have been divided into separate professions to dilute the learning curve for individuals. The most prominent areas used to categorized web development are; Front end web development, back-end web development. In this article, we will weigh these options against one another so you can choose the appropriate web developer certification and make a well-informed career decision.
Before digging deeper we need to understand the front and backend specialization do. I would also like to state that it’s not a matter of hard or easy when choosing between web development specializations but rather a matter of preference and interest.
How do websites work?
To make a well informed decision you must understand the working of a website first. I will explain the function of a website by example of an e-commerce store. Imagine if you want to buy a t-shirt you will go to the search bar and enter your choice, after pressing enter you will proceed to the product page and after selection to the checkout. That’s about it right?
Now everything that you see in this store the images, buttons and text and boxes are developed by front-end developers. The operations that happen due to clicking the search bar and add to cart button are handled by backend developers.
So cutting it short, front-end developers work on the visual elements of a website and back-end developers are responsible for dealing with the web servers and databases. Both front-end and back-end developers use and arsenal of languages and frameworks to achieve these tasks. Let’s explore these technologies in detail.
Front End vs Back End Technologies:
As we have already learned about front end and back end developers possess an arsenal of skillset relevant to their job role and responsibilities.
Front end toolbox
– HTML:
HTML is the foundational language for the web. Everything that you see in a webpage from basic text to links are made with HTML markup and it is absolutely imperative for a web developer to know this language. Almost all web developer certification include HTML as a building block towards becoming a web developer.
– CSS
The cascading style sheets is a price jewel which a front end web developer possess. Every visual element in the web page is styled with CSS and front end developers are highly skilled in CSS usage. CSS is immensely powerful and can manage from altering color combinations to creating complex layouts for both desktop and mobile websites.
– JavaScript
JavaScript is the language for the web, I won’t overselling by saying that JS today is the biggest web programming language in the world. Essentially JavaScript is responsible for adding all kinds of interactive features to a web page and acts a foundation for learning advanced web technologies like React, Vue and Node. A very basic usage of JavaScript would be triggering a pop-up box by clicking on a button.
– Bootstrap
I have to mention Bootstrap here as well because of its immense popularity in the front-end industry. Bootstrap is a CSS framework used to build mobile-friendly website with pre-built CSS classes and JS frameworks. Almost every front-end developer has to work with Bootstrap at some point in this career.
Back end toolbox
The tools required for back-end web development are rather straight forwards because of the complexity of work back-end are not required to learn multiple languages. The best practice for any backend web developer is to choose a programming language and server platform of their preference and learn the appropriate skills accordingly.
Server programming languages
There is an array of choices when it comes to the server platform. The web platform has transitioned from its PHP-based conventional approach to cloud-based hosting now and backend developers can easily research these platforms and choose a career path accordingly. Some of the most popular server-side programming languages would PHP, Ruby, C#, ASP, Node JS, and Java.
These peripheral technologies that are used in web development also determine the frameworks that will be used as well. For example, a PHP developer may excel towards Code Ignitor or Laravel in order to advance his skill set whereas a JS developer would opt for Node JS or Express JS.
Front End vs Back End Salary:
A rookie’s mistake would be to consider that a back-end developer is somehow superior to a front-end developer, this is probably the oldest and biggest myth in the information technology industry. Both front-end and back-end developers hold important positions in a web development infrastructure and cannot function without the other. I consider both of these professions to be equal. Both front-end and back-end developers are heavily compensated according to their relevant skillset. Salary ranges for both professionals would be:
Front end salary
According to payscale.com, the average salary of a front-end developer with a recognized web developer certification would be $120,000 annually. This number can be explained by the huge demand for talented developers in the market with almost 30% of job vacancies being unfilled each year.
Back end salary
According to payscale.com, the average salary for a back-end web developer with a recognized web developer certification is about $135,000 per year.
Which one should I choose for my web developer certification?
By now you must have a detailed idea about the two main areas of web development. To choose between the two is a matter of preference really, if you joining making visual elements and are more inclined towards user experience and interfaces, you should go for a front-end web developer certification. However, if you are interested in computer algorithms and programming more then you should opt for a back-end web developer certification.
The market for web developers is huge and now is the best time to get in, check out web developer certification where we teach both front and back end concepts in great detail also our program is 100% online and self-paced so you can learn at your own time from the comfort of your home.