Backend vs Frontend Development :: Developer Skills, Salary Report 2020

If you are an aspiring a developer or an entrepreneur interested to learn about Backend vs Frontend Programming Languages & Frameworks in 2019 & 2020, you are in the right place. This blog will help you understand what are the basic differences between frontend and backend technologies.

So, keep reading to learn what are their technology stack and why do we need one to build a mobile app, website, or an IoT app development solution.

Above all, a complete solution is achieved by the perfect synergy between the Frontend and Backend Programming Languages & Frameworks.

Stack Overflow did a developer survey for 2019 & 2020, in which over 81,000 developers from the world took part. So, here are the 15 most popular programming languages among developers around the world:

List Of Best Programming Languages To Learn In 2020

You must be thinking; what are the best Software Developer Skills, Technologies & Languages for 2019, 2020 and how do they fit in the Software development scenario?

That’s what you’ll learn in this front end vs back end blog.

So, let’s start from the base and grow our way up to their differences, skills required, development potential, career and salary of frontend and backend developers for 2020.

What is Front End Development?

Frontend, also known as “client-side development” entices of everything that a website or app user can visually see in their app screen or web browser. In simple terms, everything that you can see on the screen of an app or website is the front end.

Front End of Websites & Mobile Apps

Let’s consider a live example; the site that you are watching right now. The content design, images, spacing between the paragraphs and lines, the company logo on the top left, and that small notification button in the bottom right corner; all of it is the front end.

Front end for mobile apps is the same as the website. For instance, the content, buttons, images you see in a mobile or web application are part of the frontend. Moreover, the mobile screens are touch-responsive, so when the application responds to all the gestures that you do like pinch zoom in/out, double-tap, swipe, etc. that is frontend in action.

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The front end developers build all of these things. They create the look and feel of what you see and touch on the screen.

Ionic, Swift, Kotlin, Bootstrap, Angular, Vue, jQuery, React.js are few of the tools and technologies that are used for Frontend development. We’ll talk more about these technology stacks further in the blog.

Front End of IoT

Any object connected to the internet is an IoT (Internet of Things) Device. You may be thinking how does a frontend for IoT devices work? Any smart device like a smart fridge, remote PoS systems, smartwatches, smart wallet, needs “something” that users can interact with to operate the device. Hence, that “something” is an interactive medium, and its elements are the frontend for IoT.

IoT devices don’t have a frontend per say, but the devices house a firmware that acts similar to frontend as in a mobile app. Further, this firmware can be written in programming languages like C, C++, Lua, Python, and JavaScript.

There’s UI/UX designing and implementation for IoT devices too.

The most popular frameworks among the 81,000 surveyed developers:

What is Back End Development?

Backend, also known as “server-side development” entices the things that happen in the “back” of the system. Some of the top server-side programming languages include PHP, Node.js, ASP.NET, and more. However, if you are looking to choose the one among them, then you glance through the recent ASP.Net vs PHP comparison and get the right ideas.

Back End of Websites & Mobile Apps

The backend of a website entices setting up servers, storing and retrieving of data, and the interface that connects these servers with the front end. If the front end developers take care of how the website looks, the backend developers are more concerned with the website’s speed, performance, and responsiveness through coding, cloud API & database Integration.

Just like frontend, the mobile app backend development is in every way the same as the website backend. further, The options for you to set up a backend server for your mobile app are: a cloud computing ( AWS, Firebase) a custom server, or MBaaS (Mobile Backend as a Service).

Ruby, Apache, Nginx, PHP, MySQL, MongoDB are few of the tools and technologies that are used for Backend development. We’ll talk more about these technology stacks further in the blog.

Back End of IoT

One of the most important components of IoT’s backend is the cloud backend. Evidently, Most of the IoT devices depend a lot on cloud servers to upload and download data and process them into actions.

If we talk about advanced IoT solutions, the backend development can be powerful and compatible with capabilities like AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ML (Machine Learning).

The backend technologies used for IoT projects are Amazon IoT, Google Cloud, MQTT Broker, IFTTT, and many more.

Frontend Vs Backend What’s The Difference?

	Frontend	Backend
Expertise	The front-end web developer need to be well versed with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.	The back-end developers should have the working database, Server, API, etc.
Job Description	The front-end developers team design the look and feel of the website, and keep modifying it through testing.	The back-end developers team develop software and build database architecture that supports the front-end.
Stand-alone Development Service	The frontend service can't be offered independently unless the website is a static one with simple working.	The backend services can be offered independently as BaaS (Backend as a service).
Project Goal	Front-end developers’ goal is to make sure that the website or app is accessible to all users, and responsive in all views - mobile and desktop.	Back-end developers’ goal is to to build an application around the front-end and provide all the support that it needs, and make sure that the site or app always functions properly.

Backend Vs Frontend Technology Stacks

	Frontend	Backend
Programming Languages	HTML, CSS, JavaScript	PHP, Python, SQL, Java, Ruby, .NET, Perl
Frameworks	Angular.JS, React.JS, Backbone.JS, Vue.JS, Sass, Ember.JS, NPM	Laravel, CakePHP, Express, CodeIgniter, Ruby on Rails, Pylon, ASP.NET
Databases	Local Storage, Core Data, SQLite, Cookies, Sessions	MySQL, Casandra, Postgre SQL, MongoDB, Oracle, Sybase, SQL Server
Servers	-	Ubuntu, Apache, Nginx, Linux, Windows
Others	AJAX, AMP, Atom, Babel, BEM, Blaze, Bourbon, Broccoli, Dojo, Flux, GraphQL, Gulp, Polymer, Socket.IO, Sublime Text	-

Here are the most in-demand programming languages in the world:

Frontend Vs Backend: Who’s The Best?

Besides the technologies involved, your front end vs back end developer choice depends on what matters to you the most as a developer.

If aesthetics and the feel of the product are essential to you, then your inclination is towards front end technologies as a career and specialty. On the other hand, if you are concerned with the improving efficiency and responsiveness of the website, app, or software, your calling is towards back end development.

A big part of what frontend designers do is to make everything that the user sees on a mobile or PC screen look amazing and also easy to use. On the contrary, the only time back end developers are concerned with aesthetics is when it comes to writing clean code.

If you start to think that in Frontend Vs Backend, any one of the two, is superior to the other based on what we talked above, then it’s a false assumption. The two disciplines are very unique and equally important to build a website or application.

It’s just that some people have a natural talent for the visual aspects, while others are good with the logic and technical problem-solving. Apple became what it is because of Steve Jobs (the front-end visionary) as well as Steve Wozniak (the back-end genius).

Front End Vs Back End Developer

So you have got a pretty good idea about frontend and backend development. Now it’s time to understand more about the software developers that provide frontend and backend development services. Below we have mentioned a concise and to the point description of frontend and backend developer job positions, skills, and responsibilities.

Go through these points to be thoroughly informed about the capabilities of backend and frontend developers.

Back End Vs Front End Developer: Job Titles

There are many job opportunities as a developer. Based on your expertise, experience, and field of interest, you can apply for any of the following job positions in the backend or frontend discipline.

Frontend Job Titles:

Front End Developer
Front End Web Designer
Android Developer
iOS Developer
Front-End Dev. Ops
Front End JavaScript Application Developer

Frontend User Interface (UI) Developer
HTML/CSS Developer
Front End Testing/QA
Front End SEO Expert

Backend Job Titles:

Backend Developer
Junior Backend Engineer
Web Developer
DevOps
Software Engineer
WordPress Developer

Cloud Developer
REST API Experts
Server/System Administrator
Database Designer /Architecturer
Java Developer
Python Developer
PHP Developer

The image below represents the percentage of developers out of the 81,000 who believe they fall in below job profiles.

Front End Vs Back End Developer: Required Skills

The advanced skills required, change as per the experience and job title, but some skills are absolutely needed to become a front end or back end developer.

Skills Required in a Front-end developer	Skills Required in a Back-end developer
Good understanding of aesthetics, art and design	Thorough understanding of 3rd party add-ons
Knowing various CMS like WordPress, Joomla or Drupal	Critical understanding on how to debug code
Intuitiveness to the user's needs	Translate client’s business requirements into functional code
Knowledge of PHP and OOPs (Object Oriented Programming)	Knowledge of web server configurations
Expertise in quality assurance	Compatible working with outside systems (payment processors, social media sites)
Knows to use design tools like PhotoShop, Sketch or Figma	Critical thinking skills
Basics of web hosting	Designing user interactive systems

SEE ALSO: Most In-Demand Developer Skills For 2019

Front End Vs Back End Developer: Roles & Responsibilities

What are the roles and responsibilities of frontend and backend developers? Make sure to go through these before applying for a job or hiring your front end or back end developer.

Roles & Responsibilities of Frontend Developer	Roles & Responsibilities of Backend Developer
Ensure visibility of the site remains the same throughout various browsers.	Understand the client’s goals with the website or application and provide effective development solutions.
Building a site or app visually appealing and also enticing the user to interact.	Storing data securely and ensuring that it is displayed to that user when requested.
Understanding of cross-browser testing.	Developing payment processing systems, securely storing payment info, and making payment charges.
Skillful with tools like Flash and Dreamweaver.	Manage and build (if necessary) API resources that work across devices.
Basic understanding of SEO.	Building architecture of a system and Data science analyses.
Designing for easy usability.	Organize the logic of the system that runs efficiently across several devices.
Good in interacting with clients and implementing their feedback.	Skills for solving system related problems and implementing algorithms.

Front End Vs Back End Developer: Salary Comparison

Frontend Developer Salary

According to PayScale:

According to Glassdoor:

Backend Developer Salary

According to PayScale:

According to Glassdoor:

What is a Full Stack Development?

Some individuals are so qualified that they can do both: frontend and backend development. Such developers are called full-stack developers, and the skill of knowing both the modules is called full stack development.

Learning or hiring full stack developer has its own benefits and drawbacks. The number of developers reduces to half, but the level of expertise also reduces. The developer specialized in either frontend or backend development will always know more about the single discipline than the one who knows both.

There are various other stacks similar to full-stack like MEAN Stack, LAMP Stack, .NET Stack, Python-Django Stack, ROR Stack, etc. A developer can become an expert in any of these technology stacks.

Frontend or Backend: What Will You Choose for 2020?

If you are a developer, don’t choose your specialty based on what sounds cooler. Do a more detailed analysis and then choose the expertise that interests you the most.

If you are looking for the best frontend and backend developers to build your website, app, or software; get in contact with our tech experts. Talk to us and bring your search to a satisfactory end.

Backend vs Frontend Development: Your Step by Step Guide for 2020