Front-end development is a big deal for our company and we evolve daily, trying to keep up with new technology for the best results we can get for our clients. That means we always try new frameworks, new ways of solving problems and new knowledge gained every day.
So let’s see what the pros & cons are and what are the reasons we still use front-end, but we don’t use only front-end development.
Internet became a product
People don’t create the Internet anymore. Now, we create products on Internet. And then we use those products to make our lives easier… on Internet.
PRO
Internet seems now a standardized place, browsers embrace CSS grid much faster and even though new things appear at a higher pace, developers still have time to experiment.
The standardized Internet allows us to become innovators. We can explore more and create new frameworks and systems to solve problems.
CON
When the Internet becomes a place full of products, it seems harder for developers to keep up, not to mention for new developers to start this job.
In the beginning, the first developers used to learn a language in few days. Nowadays, thing got really complex, software and languages are complex so it is harder to learn.
We take things slower
Yes, everything moves faster, but in order to develop a good product, you take it slowly and become more organized.
PRO
If we accept that things change really fast, we will find endless solutions to solve our problems. With so many languages, you can find solutions anywhere, but not everywhere. If you know your languages, it has never been easier to build a quality product or to solve problems.
CON
Now, it is easy to get answers. And this is not always a good thing, because we don’t see the pressure anymore. We kind of forgot how to give our code a meaning for the future and maybe leave a legacy for those that follow us. So when in doubt, don’t forget to clean. And then you will find answers that you forgot they existed.
The front end is still developing
We have young new languages, junior developers and more need than ever to write code for our products.
PRO
Front-end development is becoming a mature discipline. It is easy and hard at the same time to say what a front-end developer does because it is not CSS and HTML anymore. Development is now part of many domains and involves people from different fields.
CON
As we said, front-end development is crashing into other areas and it makes it unclear where front-end development stops. Because of that, developers find it harder to be aware of their career and when do they become a senior developer.
The value of a front-end developer
PRO
People started appreciating design more and more, so front-end development became more popular and needed. As almost everything in marketing got standardized, web apps are still a custom experience. Being the only ones to offer this, front-end developers are very appreciated.
CON
It seems that designers are more valued as their work is more upfront. Front-end developers are still working on getting their seat at the table.
How much we know and how much we understand
PRO
The Internet is known as the place to find all the information you need. And front-end development is the one to enable the information to be understood.
The exciting thing about being a developer is guiding how users experience the Internet.
CON
We focus more on users and not on ourselves. If we applied the same filters for ourselves, we will innovate more and discover new solutions. Working with the latest technologies and libraries is not enough. Understanding is still a big factor in developing useful and insightful programs.
Closing thoughts
Being a front-end developer is often stimulating, but sometimes it can become frustrating, as things change very rapidly. If you have any questions or you want to become a front-end developer, give us a sign. At Team Extension we have a great team of developers and many exciting projects.
