Every single online application has parts you interact with. When you visit a web page, for instance, you’re greeted by a landing page, a navigation bar, a site map, and other items related to the user interface. All of these fall under the collective term called the “front end”.

Have you ever stopped to wonder who creates these visible features on a site? They are done by the aptly named ‘front end developers’, and that can be you someday. Interested? Then, read on.

What is front end development?

This is one of the most in-demand jobs these days. In simple terms, it’s client-side web development done through coding languages like JavaScript, CSS, and HTML. It differs from back end development which covers databases and everything else that goes behind the scenes.

Who is a front end developer?

They focus on implementing the layout and navigation of a website, including the way it appears differently on a phone or tablet. Some of their roles and responsibilities are:

• Deciding web design and structure
• Developing features for better user experience
• Implementing brand-consistent techniques
• Fixing usability issues
• Monitoring website performance
• Balancing aesthetics with functionality
• Building reusable code that’s future-proof
• Optimising page for speed and scalability
• Collaborating with the web development team
• Studying and using various markup languages

What skills are needed to be a front end developer?

Now that you know what front end development entails, let’s focus on the skills you must cultivate. Your arsenal needs to be a mix of both soft and technical skills.

Soft Skills

Creativity

Most companies hire designers and developers to build their site where the former create the overall look while you turn their ideas into a reality. Some clients expect you to fulfil both roles though. You’ll have to be familiar with color psychology, grid-based designs, and typography then.

Teamwork

Understand that website development is a team effort. As a virtual assistant for website, you don’t have to meet your colleagues in person. You still need to work with them to ensure that each task is done well, however.

Problem-solving

It falls on your shoulders to resolve any problems related to the front end. Expect some pressure on the job as you’ll have to make modifications within a limited time. Focus on finding solutions rather than dwell on what you did wrong.

Communication

Part of your responsibilities as a front end developer is communicating information to users so it’s easier for them to navigate web pages. You also need to communicate well with the project manager, back end developer, and UX/UI designers to properly build and deploy the site.

Dedication

Projects aren’t completed overnight. If anything, they take months to prepare for and complete. You must be committed to revising and finishing your work when something goes wrong. It takes dedicated practice to learn and grow from your mistakes, after all.

Technical Skills

HTML and CSS

HyperText Markup Language (HTML) and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) are the most basic building blocks for web development. These two are enough to create the foundations of your web pages. They allow you to create from a blank canvas or modify existing templates.

HTML provides the structure while CSS is used to style the visual layout. It encompasses the fonts, colours, and so on. Either way, both are essential in front end development.

JavaScript and jQuery

If you want to make your website interactive, you need more than HTML and CSS; you need JavaScript (JS). This language is used to add interactive features such as page animations, scrolling, games, quizzes, video embedding, and audio embedding.

JS consists of libraries like jQuery, which is a collection of extensions and plugins that make JavaScript faster to use. It compresses multiple lines of code into a single-line format. Other libraries you must try are Leaflet for mobile-friendly maps and Moment for working with date and time.

Frameworks

They differ from libraries through inversion of control. You can choose where and when to call a library. A framework provides places to plug in your code but it calls the code as needed. With many frameworks to choose from, learn to know which one is best for each website.

Some JS frameworks are great for displaying all of the site content while others are perfect for building complicated user interfaces. One of the most powerful and efficient is Angular which is operated by Google and useful for Single Page Applications (SPA).

Responsive Design

People use different gadgets like phones and tablets to browse the web. Companies want their web pages to adjust themselves to the device being used without any extra effort on their end. This is why mobile design skills are a necessity.

Responsive design uses CSS and HTML too automatically enlarge, shrink, hide, or resize elements on a page so it looks good on various screens. Developing a mobile-friendly site is easier when using CSS frameworks like Bootstrap with its mobile-first fluid grid system.

Testing and Debugging

These help ensure that your site performs well with minimal issues. There are several kinds of testing methods in website development, such as unit testing, integration testing, end-to-end testing, and UI testing. Unit tests are the most common and it’s where you isolate some code as a self-contained unit.

Debugging has a different aim from testing. It’s a process that involves identifying bugs, finding their sources, and correcting problems to make the application error-free. Google has debugging tools built directly into their Chrome browser called Chrome DevTools and it’s the most convenient to use.

Version Control

Also known as revision control or source control, this is the practice of tracking and controlling changes to your source code. It’s used to go back to a previous version of your work so you won’t have to start from scratch when something goes wrong.

Git is one of the most well-known version control systems around. Among its numerous benefits, its feature branch workflow sets it apart from others as its branches are easy to merge. Its capabilities facilitate an agile workflow where you’re encouraged to share changes frequently.

CSS Preprocessors

Make your job easier by learning this advanced version of CSS. They extend the primary class of CSS thereby enabling you to use logic in your source code, such as functions, inheritance, variables, nesting, and mathematical operations.

Not only is it used to improve styling elements but also it allows you to skip tasks like writing colour strings and CSS selectors. The three most stable CSS preprocessors are Stylus, LESS, and Sass though there are smaller ones too.

Content Management Systems

Abbreviated to CMS, these let you create websites without extensive programming knowledge. They’re ideal for when you’re totally new to web development as you don’t need to touch the code. You’re able to make updates to a website with a few clicks.

You must have heard of WordPress which ranks first among open-source development and management tools. If you’d like to try other platforms, there’s Magento that’s ideal for online merchants, Drupal that supports multi-domain management, and Joomla that offers easier installations.

Ready to be a front end developer?

From knowing how to communicate with your teammates to searching for any bugs, those are some of the important skills you must possess if you want to excel as a virtual assistant for website development. They may not come to you naturally but you’re sure to hone them with practice.

If you think you’re equipped with a wide skill-set already, prepare to apply as a front end developer. We at Remote Workmate can help connect you with the right employer. You may ask us for advice on how to switch to a home-based career too.