Front End vs. Back End Development: What’s the difference?

Web development is a popular career choice today, and it’s a great way to go—web developers make a ton of money, even in entry-level positions. There’s also plenty of work available in this field, and employers are continually seeking out new candidates to fill these well-paid and exciting positions. 

In the world of web development, there are several different career subcategories that you can train for. Among them are front end, back end, and full stack development positions. There’s a big difference between front end and back end development, but full stack programmers perform both functions. If you’ve heard these terms before, you’re probably wondering what they mean. We cover full stack development in this article, but for now we’ll get into front end and back end development, their similarities, and their differences.

What Is Web Development?

Before we get into front end and back end programming, we need to go over what web development is more generally. Web development is a fancy way of saying ‘website building’ and everything that it involves. There are different types of web developers, but ultimately, they all work together to make the web programs we enjoy possible. 

These professionals use their programming skills to write out websites in code, but each web developer performs a different task. Some careers in web development are design-centered, while others focus more on analysis and behind-the-scenes coding. There’s a web development position for everybody’s talents and preferences, as this is a particularly diverse career path. 

Next, we’ll get into how front end and back end developers are different.

Front End Development

Front end developers are the last line of defense between the coding team and a website user. They deal with what’s called the ‘client side’ of a website, which is everything a site user sees and interacts with. These developers are talented coders, but they also have the visual design skills necessary to build excellent user interfaces. 

For this position, you’ll need to learn several staple web-development coding languages, most of which are relatively easy to learn. The primary languages for front end development are HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. While coding in these languages may be easy for some, front end development isn’t a cake walk—it requires skill and experience to build a functional and attractive website front end. Think for a moment and ask yourself, “how did Facebook kill Myspace?” While we can debate endlessly about the exact causes, it’s evident that Mark Zuckerberg’s front end design and interface was far superior to anything else on the market. Thus, front end development is obviously one of the most critical parts of the web development process. 

And yet, without the back end, it’d be useless.

Back End Development

Now that we’ve dealt with front end (or ‘client side’) development, it’s time to move to back end development and explain why it’s important. Back end development deals with the ‘server side’ of a website, and it’s a vital part of the process. The server is what transfers information to and from the site and the user’s computer, making the entire Internet possible. 

These programmers require extensive training and coding experience to do their jobs. As a result, they tend to earn slightly higher salaries than front end developers in most locations. Back end work requires the same coding languages as front end development—namely, HTML and JavaScript—but that’s where the coding similarities usually end. In addition to those elementary languages, back end developers need to master Python, Ruby (for Ruby on Rails), PHP, .Net, and Java, among others. Their extensive coding knowledge helps them build the infrastructure on which the website receives and sends data.

How to Become a Web Developer

Now that we’ve gone over the basics of front end and back end development, you probably have a better idea of what you want to do. That means it’s time to investigate education programs that will help you reach your goals and break into the tech industry. 

Coding bootcamp is the quickest and most direct way into a high-paying web development position, and you can get started on the enrollment process and preparation in less than a month with Career Karma. Click the link below to find out more and take our 21-Day Challenge to prepare!