Learn Front-End Development: The Best Courses and Resources
It takes a lot of effort to build a website from scratch. Front-end and backend developers must work together for a successful end result. A site’s backend is usually what comes to mind when people think about web development. But unless you learn front-end development, you won’t be able to control a web page’s usability and functionality.
What Is Front-End Development?
Front-end developers are responsible for using front-end programming languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to create the content that users interact with. They also include user interface or user experience designers who determine how users see sites.
Front-end development deals with the client-side, which is meant to draw in customers. The goal is for consumers to have a high-quality, functional experience.
The job of a front-end developer differs from that of a back-end developer, who works on server-side issues of websites, including search algorithms, data, and resource allocation.
What Jobs Use Front-End Development Skills?
Below you can find common jobs that front-end developers can snag.
- Front-end developer. Naturally, this is a job for front-end developers. They often work for companies that build apps or maintain websites.
- User interface (UI) designer. UI designers’ goal is to make websites attractive and memorable. They design pages that fit a company’s needs. They also ensure the site will work across big and small screens, using graphics, animations, and other elements.
- User experience (UX) designer. UX designers focus on what people interact with on a website. They consider what users want to accomplish while visiting a site. For example, UX designers may ensure that consumers are led through pages in a way that makes it easier to buy products.
- Full-stack web developer. Full-stack web development covers both the client-side and server-side portions of building a website. These developers know how to code all aspects of a site.
Steps to Learn Front-End Development
Front-end developers need a good grasp of code and aesthetics. Here are steps you can take to build your skills before applying for a gig as a front-end developer.
1. Determine Your Route
We’ve previously discussed ways that front-end developers can make a living. So before you get started, it’s good to narrow down your interests. Once you know your focus, you can choose what path to take.
2. Learn the Tools of the Trade
Front-end developers need to master CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), and JavaScript. You can luckily learn these programming tools on your own without attending a university.
These tools are great for the front end, but if you decide you’d like to become a full-stack developer, you’ll need to learn backend tools like PHP, Ruby on Rails, Python, and more.
3. Study the Greats
If you want a successful career as a front-end developer, it would be beneficial to study digital design to find aesthetic inspiration.
By studying the most popular sites and analyzing their aesthetic decisions, you’ll learn the principles of successful web design.
The Best Courses to Learn Front-End Development
Front-end development courses are easy to find as this field continues to explode in popularity. Check out our picks below.
The Complete Front-End Web Development Course
This course will teach you about open-source web development tools like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, and Bootstrap.
Bootstrap is an open-source tool for building mobile-first sites. This skill will come in handy as 75 percent of internet users are projected to use only their smartphones to access the web by 2025.
HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for Web Developers
This free course assumes you have familiarity with front-end web development. It provides an in-depth guide to HTML5 and CSS3. One module requires you to build a site for a hypothetical restaurant owner. This real-world experience will be very beneficial.
Professional Certificate in Front-End Web Developer
This course, designed by the World Wide Web Consortium, also known as W3C, is one of the most in-depth courses on front-end development. W3C sets web standards including specifications for the best way to build a website. It is led by Tim Berners-Lee, who is known for inventing the Internet.
In this unique course, you’ll learn everything there is to know about HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. At the end of the course, you’ll receive a certificate from W3C. This program has been endorsed by many companies in tech.
Front-End Web Development Certificate
Harvard’s Extension School offers this certificate in front-end web development, which includes lessons in universal building tools like GitHub and Sublime Text. You’ll also learn about animating web graphics and implementing audio and video elements.
The Complete Web Developer Course 2.0
This course teaches you how to build websites and web applications from top to bottom. It also gives you the chance to work on the backend, starting you down the path towards becoming a full-stack developer.
All of the software that you’ll learn to operate is free and open source. There are no prerequisites. You can go from absolute beginner to advanced developer in just over 30 hours.
Full-Stack Web Development with React Specialization
This full-stack course from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology will teach you web development in four months. You’ll learn React Native and Bootstrap so that you’ll come out of the gate ready to build mobile apps. Having an expertise in mobile-first development will certainly help in your job search.
Why Learn Front-End Development?
Front-end development will provide a stable career making the Internet more beautiful and less frustrating. You’ll help shape technology that has made our modern world possible. And you’ll be getting paid well to do it.
If you like the idea of helping companies large and small get their message out in a useful way, then becoming a front-end developer may be right for you. When deciding between front end and back end development, consider which aspects you have a greater passion for. Your intuition will not guide you astray.
