Front-end development also known as client-side development is the practice of converting data to a graphical interface through the use of HTML, CSS and JavaScript for a website or web application.
This is made possible so when users open a site they can view and interact with the data. While this definition may sound too complex, simply put front-end development makes it possible for us, the users to use an Uber app to order a ride or make a purchase on the Amazon website.
The objective of front-end development is to ensure users can understand and efficiently use the graphical interface of the website or web application. To accomplish this objective, how the data is displayed properly on different web browsers (cross-browsers) should be consistent; this means regardless of the commonly used browsers like Chrome, Safari, and Mozilla Firefox the data display is same. The different operating systems (cross-platforms) e.g Android, Windows and Mac and different devices (cross-devices) e.g Desktop, Laptop, Tablets and Smartphones should be considered.
The challenge associated with front-end development is that the tools and techniques are constantly updated and new coding languages introduced to make the interaction with data better. So the front-end developer needs to be aware of the changes and educate themselves to stay relevant.
A Front-end Developer
A front-end developer is the person who implements web designs through coding languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript which runs on a web browser. The work of a front-end developer can be found on the interface – the layout, the responsiveness of the interface; meaning how it looks on different devices (cross-devices) and animations.
There are different titles used to describe a front-end developer depending on their specialty and the coding languages branches further to accomplish front-end development objective. We will take a dive into front-end job titles in the next blog post.
HTML
HyperText Markup Language (HTML) is the most basic building block of a website essential for search engine optimization (SEO). It is the coding language use to describe and mark content that web browsers understand. HTML describes the structure of a website semantically along cues for presentation, making it a markup language, rather than a programming language.
Hypertext refers to links that connect web pages to one another, either within a single website or multiple websites. HTML uses Markup to decode text, images and other content on a web browsers. Markup includes special element such as h1 ~ h6 for headings or img for image.
CSS
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is the core of front-end development to provide style and structure to a website. It is used for describing the look, layout and formatting of a document written in a Markup language. CSS is used to create visually engaging webpages and interfaces of web application. Cascading comes from the specified priority scheme to determine which style rule applies if more than one rule matches a particular element.
Simply put CSS describes how HTML elements are displayed, providing rules for alternate formatting when the data is accessed on different devices.
JavaScript
JavaScript is a lightweight programming language that adds interactivity to a website. It has been standardized in the ECMAScript language specification. It is supported by all modern browsers. JavaScript is prototype-based with first-class functions, making it a multi-paradigm language, supporting object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles. On a basic level it is used to control things like map, interactive content and online games.
JavaScript makes it possible for a user to change a website content or the look by the click of a button. This interactivity makes user experience across all devices easy and leads to conversion.
Web Browsers
A web browser is an application software used to retrieve, present and access information on the world wide web (WWW). Typically when a user request a web page from a particular website, a web browser retrieves the data from a web server and the page is displayed on the user’s device. It runs on a desktop, laptop, tablet and smartphone.
The most used web browsers is Chrome by Google with about 63% of market share on all devices. This is closely followed by Safari, Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox.
