What is Front-End?

As a professional Front-End, I work specifically with HTML, CSS and JavaScript.

HTML is not a programming language, is a markup language; CSS is a style language; and JavaScript (which is different from Java) is a scripting language (in this case, the focus of Front-End is in JQuery).

The main function of a Front-End is ‘giving life’ to the design made by the designer.

The Front-End term is relatively new. Despite the similarities with web development, which has been around for over 20 years, the concept of Front-End as the technical implementation of interfaces and user experiences is relatively new.

Indeed, the development of Front-End web development is focused only on areas surrounding the user. This development can be virtually independent of the development of Back-End in the most extreme and equally complex cases. However, it still continues to invest heavily in web developers full-stack without regard to a developer full-stack, despite knowledge of various layers, their level of proficiency is not high in all of them. Although a good developer Full-Stack is an asset, these are rare to find. Today the stack has changed and has become much more complex than it was 15 years ago.

If a developer specializing in Back-End, or even a designer, know HTML, CSS and JavaScript, which the real need for someone who specializes in Front-End?

This kind of thinking is quite reducing the complexity of the functions of a Front-End and results in a simplistic perception of the work involved.

A Front-End Developer is a professional responsible for designing, building and optimizing web designs interfaces as:

• Ensure cross-browser compatibility and cross-platform;
• Producing clean code, well documented and structured;
• Apply SEO techniques (Search Engine Optimization);
• 80% load time is spent on the Front-End;
• The look of a website is the first thing to be seen if the website has a poorly organized structure, you risk leaving and never coming back is higher;

British Hospital
This project obtains 93% to 100% the level of performance (test on Pingdom.com).
The result of this performance arises because there is a well organized and structured code, by applying caching techniques, these techniques that significantly reduce the loading site, and finally, also appears for the optimization of images.

Despite being a relatively new and little understood field it is clear that the Front-End is an asset for the development of quality websites in terms of performance and user experience.
In a world of appearances and instant gratification, who have a Front-End well designed, structured and implemented will win the hearts and loyalty of its users.

I’m a Front-End Developer at Hi INTERACTIVE and an Hi INTERACTIVE Community member. I write about Front-End. Keep up with the new Community articles at Twitter, Facebook and Hi INTERACTIVE website.