How to become a frontend developer

Lets Dive Into It

Front end developer is one of the hottest career options right now, but what is front end development? To summarize, it is that part of web development that is associated with designing interface(s) that allows users to interact with a website or web app. Before we move further to discuss the path of becoming a front-end developer, let’s build a brief understanding of web development first.

Web Development in a Nutshell Well, the internet - websites and web apps - has two sides. The front-end or the client-side and back-end a.k.a. the server-side. While the backend is invisible to the users, it is the front-end through which the same interaction with a website or web app. Front end developers are professionals responsible for designing and implementing the interface, the medium, by which users can interact with the website or web app. The process of web development starts with web designers who craft the appearance and design of a website. Next, a front-end developer, or a full-stack developer, ensures that the website works by leveraging code, tools, and technologies.

Why do we Need Front-End Development?

The internet is growing at an unprecedented rate these days, and there are all sorts of reasons for that. People use the internet for:

• Communication.
• Gaining information and knowledge.
• Learning and studying.
• Paying bills.
• Running businesses.
• Shopping, etc.

How to Become a Front End Developer?

Warning: You need to be ardent and resolute to enter and succeed in the realm of web development. It demands lots of practice, a mushrooming knowledge base, and sheer determination. Ready to know the path to becoming a front end developer? Ok, let’s go then. To make things easier to understand, we’ll discuss the entire process in phases. Just like other job avenues, front end development starts with learning:

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Step 01: Learn front-end development.

You will start with three vital technologies for learning and mastering the craft of frontend development:

CSS - Responsible for the appearance of a website/webapp.
HTML- Responsible for what of a website/web app. Analogous to the human skeleton.
JavaScript - The nervous system (working) of a website. Responsible for the how aspect of a website/web app.

There are a plethora of programming languages and technologies for accomplishing website and web app development, such as jQuery and JavaScript frameworks. The next step is to learn the same. There are several ways of learning frontend development, including:

• Attending webinars.
• Enroll in online courses.
• Going through online tutorials.
• Reading (e)books.
• Watching video lessons.

Step 02: Start building real projects

Once you’ve done some good level of frontend development learning, it’s time to put it to test. Now, you should start developing real projects. There are several issues that you won’t face until you start doing it. These can’t be learned by learning but by practicing.

Start small, begin with building smaller, basic interfaces. Eventually, work your way up to more complex interfaces. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. These are important. The more mistakes you will make, the better opportunity for you to learn by practice.

If you don’t know where exactly to start, begin with free, educational projects available online. Study them. Afterward, modify and tweak them to clear your concepts. Today, several online compilers are available. If you wish to save yourself from cluttering your system, use them.

There are so many resources, both paid and free, available online to support learning frontend development. These include Codeacademy, freeCodeCamp, hackr.io, Tutorialspoint, and YouTube among dozens of others.

Step 03: Build your Profile

All projects that you’ve completed on your own, especially the ones that demonstrate your skills and ability must be added to your resume. You need to build your frontend developer profile. There are several ways of doing it and thus, it is all up to you to decide how to do it.

You can make a profile on LinkedIn and other job portals. Add your works to your profile and write descriptively about them. If you don’t like social media then prepare a traditional resume.

Step 04: Apply for a front end development job or internship/Start offering your services as a freelance front end developer

Getting an internship as a junior frontend developer is a great way to learn and earn. By doing so, you get the opportunity to learn from experienced people while playing a role in accomplishing the projects.

Yes, you earn low when you work as an intern but on the flip side, you need fewer qualifications to jump on-board. Moreover, you need not aim for money in the starting. Prioritize learning and experience first.

Once you’ve completed the internship, you can either look for a full-time job or start offering your services as a freelancer. It will take some time to land your first job or freelance project. So, be patient and keep on working.

Step 05 - Learn more technologies and tools

To stay relevant in the ever-evolving landscape of the IT industry, you need to stay abreast of the latest advancements. You need to keep expanding your skillset and technologies that you can work with. Some technologies that you can learn to advance your frontend development career are:

Any advanced programmer/developer is well-acquainted with the concept of CLI or Command Line Interface. Shell offers you the ability to access an operating system and do several things like displaying files and navigate through the file system via a text interface.

Node.js is a JavaScript runtime environment that allows developers to build standalone JS apps. It is an open-source, multi-platform software application that allows executing JS code outside a web browser.

Following the notion of JavaScript everywhere, NodeJS is built on top of the Chrome V8 engine. It unifies web application development by facilitating both frontend and backend development.

There is a diverse array of programming languages. Each one of them is more or less different from others. While some prioritize some specific set of concepts, some others might disregard it altogether. Hence, the more programming languages you’ll learn, the better programmer you will become.