Virtually every type of business today should have some sort of a web presence. If a company is not online in this day and age it will be forgotten in no time and fade from memory. Even mom-and-pop shops and local businesses should have at least a basic web presence to reach customers with new product announcements and allow customers a way to contact the business remotely.
Because of how fast the modern web is moving with web apps and websites becoming more dynamic, interactive and full of rich media, having Javascript developers working alongside other front-end developers and server-side developers is a must. Javascript is one of the three pillars of modern front-end development alongside CSS and HTML.
3 Pillar of Modern Front-End Web Design: Javascript, CSS and HTML
All three of these languages and programming technologies are necessary for companies to create great web content and websites as well as web apps that stand out from the pack. Today, many users are visiting websites from mobile devices and they expect their user experience (UX) to be similar and as feature-rich across different devices, browsers and operating systems.
Javascript is particularly important to stand out in this competitive field of web design because it will allow customers to actually fill out forms or interact with web content. HTML is for static site content and displays a website to those clicking on the page. CSS is responsible for the layout content and aesthetics of the site.
All three of these languages are a must-have within any company’s web developer presence if the company is serious about offering good content to its customers. However, there are other tools, languages and technologies that can also benefit companies in the long term for great web design.
Back-End Languages Are Worth Considering As Well
For companies that have a lot of customers or clients and a huge database of records and transactions, having server-side developers available comes highly recommended. The back-end languages are less flashy in the sense the code runs in the background and is usually not noticeable by the average site visitor when accessing the site in question.
However, this does not mean their work is not just as important as front-end code. Front-end is needed for website visitors to see the content show up on their browsers while the back-end is also needed for databases and code to power what users are able to interact with. Both of these aspects of coding complement each other. Some of the recommended back-end languages one should consider in server-side development include PHP, Python and Java.
PHP is the most common back-end language. It is an open-source language with an active community and can be run cross-platform from Linux, Mac or Windows environments. Some of its strengths are its support for a wide range of databases and the fact it is platform-independent.
Python is also an open-source language and has an easy syntax to follow and decipher. It is an interpreted and general-purpose language that originated when the web was just at its beginning phase. Its strengths include extensive support libraries, third-party modules and a low learning curve.
Java is a multipurpose and high-level programming language that is used interchangeably for desktop, mobile (Android) and web development. The language can be used for a wide range of development tasks and projects. It is also used as a base for a variety of frameworks such as Spring.
Why Frameworks Matter
Frameworks are tools that companies should consider when looking to outsource or hire new development talent.
An example of a framework that should definitely be considered for web content, particularly interactive and dynamic web apps, is Ruby on Rails (RoR). This framework is open-source, free to use and even runs in the Linux environment. To get a sense of what the framework can accomplish, consider the fact that web apps like Basecamp and Airbnb were built using it.
RoR offers developers the ability to implement changes in code relatively quickly and test their code on the fly. The language has a lot of automation as well, thus simplifying things and hastening development.
AngularJS is another framework worth considering when looking for web development talent. This open-source framework was created by a Google employee as a side project as a way of making web app development easier. The framework excels in the development of single-page web apps. It also simplifies web development as well as testing with its architectures called client-side model-view-controller (MVC) and model-view-ViewModel (MVVM).
Conclusion
Web development today consists of a wide range of development skills. There are various languages, frameworks and technologies that go into making dynamic, interactive and cross-compatible web apps and websites.
For beginning web developers and startup leaders who do not have the patience or time in learning to code or patience and resources in hiring talent for the task, they may consider template-based software. This includes web design packages such as WordPress or Weebly.
However, these are very limited and will still require some front-end development skills to truly shine and stand out from competitors. Once a business is established or wants to truly shine and stand out they should consider both front-end and back-end development talent. They should also consider having a wide range of specialized at hand including some familiar with general-purpose languages, cross-platform testing, and various frameworks.
These are just some of the main technologies, languages, and frameworks, used for modern web development. There are many others as well. Web development as a whole is a competitive and interesting industry with a lot of talent to choose from and consider.