What is Frontend Development?
Frontend development focuses on the client-side of a website — everything the user sees and interacts with in the browser. This tutorial, created by an IIT alumnus with over 13 years of experience, guides you step-by-step with live code examples.
Frontend developers use HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to build interfaces, and commonly leverage libraries and frameworks (React, Vue, Angular) and tools like build systems, package managers, and version control.
A solid frontend foundation is essential for anyone pursuing a web development career and is also valuable for backend and full-stack roles.
Frontend developers are among the top highest-paid in the IT Sector. In the US, top frontend developers are earning up to $140,000, with an average of $114,000.
Frontend Vs. Backend
Web development is broadly divided into two areas: Frontend (the client-side) and Backend (the server-side).
- Frontend is what the user sees and interacts with. It's built with technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript that run in the browser.
- Backend refers to the server, application, and database that power the website from behind the scenes. It handles logic, data processing, and user authentication.
A Full-Stack Developer is proficient in both frontend and backend development, capable of building a complete web application from start to finish.
Full Stack = Frontend + Backend
Fullstack web development includes both Frontend and Backend. Fullstack developers knows both front and backend in depth. So they can easily build a complete website by own.
Frontend is the client side part which includes three web technologies, HTML, CSS and JavaScript. We can create a form in frontend, but cannot submit it.
Backend includes web server, API's and database. We can choose any web server and database as per the requirement of website.
Top popular backend technologies/languages
The following list shows the market share of various server-side programming languages used on the web. The arrows indicate their recent growth trend.
- Php (73.3%) ↓
- Ruby (6.4%) ↑
- Java (5.4%) ↑
- Node JS (5.0%) ↑ (fastest growing)
- Asp.net(4.8%) ↓
- Scala (4.7%) ↑
- Static Websites (1.7%) ↓
- Python (1.2%) ↓
- ColdFusion (0.2%) ↓
- Perl (<0.1%) ↓
- Erlang (<0.1%) ↓
Most Popular Technologies Stack Overflow (2023)
According to Stack Overflow Survey 2023, here is a list of Most Popular Technologies in IT Sector.
- JavaScript (63.61%)
- HTML/CSS (52.97%)
- Python (49.28%)
- SQL (48.66%)
- Typescript (38.87%)
- Shell/Bash (32.37%)
- Java (30.55%)
- C# (27.62%)
- C++ (22.42%)
- C (19.34%)
- Php (18.58%)
Most Popular Technologies Github (2023)
- JavaScript
- Python
- TypeScript
- Java
- C#
- C++
- Php
- C
- Shell
- Go
Frontend Roadmap
Our Frontend tutorial starts with core technologies (HTML and CSS) and progresses to HTML5, CSS3, responsive design, and JavaScript. Advanced topics and frameworks follow after the fundamentals.
To learn frontend development you'll need a code editor, a modern browser, and basic familiarity with files and folders on your operating system.
Frontend Roadmap with duration
| S No | Technology | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | HTML with HTML5 | 12 Hours |
| 2 | CSS with CSS3 | 16 Hours |
| 3 | Figma to HTML | 8 Hours |
| 4 | JavaScript with ES6 to ES14 | 28 Hours |
| 5 | jQuery | 3 Hours |
| 6 | SASS | 1 Hour |
| 7 | Bootstrap | 2 Hours |
| 8 | SEO (on page) | 1 Hour |
| 9 | UI Testing | 1 Hour |
| 10 | Git and Github | 1 Hours |
| 11 | Web Hosting | 1 Hour |
| 12 | Projects |
JavaScript Libraries and Frameworks
| S No | Framework/Library | Popularity |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | React | 40.58% |
| 2 | jQuery | 21.98% |
| 2 | Angular | 17.46% |
| 2 | Vue JS | 16.38% |
To build frontend, we use three web technologies or languages for frontend development. W3C is the organization who works to develop web standards for HTML, lead by Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of HTML. In this Tutorial, we'll cover all aspects to build a website.
The Core Frontend Technologies
- HTML structural layer of a website, used to create content.
- CSS presentational layer of a website, used to style html.
- JavaScript functional layer of a website, used to add functionalities.
HTML (Structure)
<button>Click</button>
CSS (Style)
button{ background: red;}
JavaScript (Functionality)
<button onclick="greet()"> Greet <button>
Code Editors For Frontend
A Code Editor is a software used to write code, and browser is used to view live webpages. Some popular code editors for Frontend are VS Code, notepad++, brackets, sublime text , atom etc.
| Code Editor | OS | Type |
|---|---|---|
| VS Code (Recommended) | Windows / Mac / Linux | Open Source |
| Brackets | Windows / Mac / Linux | Open Source |
| Sublime Text | Windows / Mac / Linux | Open Source / Licensed |
| Atom by Github | Windows / Mac / Linux | Open Source |
| Notepad++ | Windows | Open Source |
| Adobe Dreamweaver | Windows / Mac | Licensed |
Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ)
Is Frontend hard?
Frontend development is not particularly hard. In fact, HTML and CSS are now integral part of the curriculum in schools.
Time to learn Frontend
Frontend includes HTML, CSS, JavaScript, CSS Preprocessor, PSD/Figma to HTML and JavaScript Frameworks like React or Angular in depth.