What Is the Difference Between Full Stack and Web Development?

The global market anticipates rapid rise in the need of web developers. Skilled Full-stack developers are in high demand by emerging and eminent companies..

If the idea of being a developer excites you, you’d be thrilled to know that full stack developer skills are in high demand. But are you aware how full-stack vs. front end vs. back end web development stack up against each other? If any of these roles sound exciting, you’d naturally wonder, “What is the difference between them?”

What is web development?

Web development is the job of designing the features and functionality of websites and apps (often called “web design”). Web developers usually work on constructing and programming websites and web apps.

All the web pages you visit on the internet are built by Web developers who made sure that the users have great experience using their pages and functioned perfectly. They use a variety of programming languages which vary depending on the tasks they are performing and the platforms they are working on.

Who is a front end developer?

A front-end developer designs, crafts, plans and builds user interfaces. This interface is the face of the website and the only way to impress the users. A front-end developer shapes a website's visual appearance and layout. At the same time, they ensure that this design seamlessly functions online by employing coding languages such as CSS, HTML, and JavaScript.

What Does a Front End Developer Do?

• User Interface (UI) Design: Designers and developers work together to turn mockups and wireframes into real web pages. They make sure that the web pages look and function as designed.

• Web Development Languages: Most commonly used languages are HTML, CSS, and JS to build and style web pages. HTML structures content, CSS defines layout and styling, and JavaScript adds interactivity and functionality.

• Cross-Browser Compatibility: Different browsers and devices visit the websites. They make sure the web applications work consistently across various web browsers and devices. They also have to test and resolve issues that might occur.

• Responsive Design: Devices today range from 5 inch phones to 40 inch monitors. The developer makes sure the pages look and function as intended no matter what the device is used.

• Performance Optimization: Nobody likes waiting for a page to load. Developers need to optimize their pages  for speed and efficiency, minimizing load times and ensuring a smooth user experience. There are various way to do it like lazy loading, minifying to name a few.

• Accessibility: Front end developers ensure that web content is accessible to all users by adhering to accessibility standards like WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines).

• Front End Frameworks and Libraries: As the websites get complex, developers use stronger tools like frameworks and libraries to streamline development and enhance user interactivity like React, Angular, or Vue.js to name a few.

• Version Control: Proficiency in version control systems like Git is necessary to track changes, collaborate with other developers, and maintain codebase integrity.

• Web Performance Monitoring: There are tools like Google Lighthouse or WebPageTest that are used to monitor and improve web page performance metrics, like page load times and resource optimization.

• Troubleshooting and Debugging: They also identify and fix front end issues, such as broken links, layout problems, or JavaScript errors.

• Testing and Quality Assurance: Testing and quality checks ensure the functionality and usability of web pages and to address any bugs or issues that may arise.

• Documentation: Keeping thorough documentation of code and development processes helps maintain and troubleshoot web applications.

What skills are required to be a Front End Developer ?

A front end developer needs to have a solid knowledge of scripting languages such as HTML, JavaScript, and CSS3. If you wish to become a front-end website developer, you need to master these three languages. 

The most critical front end developer skill in today’s date is proficiency in JavaScript. The versatile JavaScript, which works side by side with both CSS and HTML, is used to build functionalities like including the date and time and “Add to Favourites” button to name a few.

A front end developer also requires to know and build around JQuery, Ajax, UI (User interface), UX (user experience) as well as familiarity with frameworks like AngularJS, EmberJS, Foundation, Bootstrap, and Backbone.

What are the job positions available for a frontend developer and their salary?

Working as a Front End Developer is a collaborative occupation. They need to work along with Back End Developers, Designers, and Project Managers in building, maintaining, and troubleshooting websites. It creates a diverse skill set over time and can lead to changing directions slightly to pursue other career opportunities in web development.

On average, Front End Developers earn around $103,000 a year depending on where a person works as well as an individual’s level of experience. The average salary of these professionals in India is around ₹5 LPA. The minimum salary is around ₹1.2 LPA, it can go as high as ₹18 LPA with experience. As an occupation that depends on collaboration, working as a Front End Developer creates opportunities for working in many different areas of web development and technology, allowing a cross pollination of skills that can lead to options for shifting to other related careers.

Who is a backend developer?

A backend developer works on server-side software, things that go behind the working of a website. Back-end developers ensure the website performs correctly, focusing on databases, back-end logic, application programming interface (APIs), architecture, and servers. They write a way for browsers to communicate with databases to store, understand, and delete data. Back-end developers collaborate with front-end developers, product managers, principal architects, and website testers to build the structure of a website or an application.

What Does a Backend Developer Do?

A backend developer is one of the most important roles in building and maintaining a website. To have a smooth experience, it is essential to have a well-designed and efficient backend. Everything on the web currently is possible only because of backend developers. They built the foundation of the web application, including the database, server-side logic, and APIs. Without a solid backend, the frontend of the application would not be able to function correctly.

A backend developer must also guarantee that the program is safe, scalable, and capable of handling large volumes of traffic. The backend developer is also in charge of optimizing the application's performance, which is critical for providing a consistent user experience.

For becoming a backend developer, one must know many kinds of tools and frameworks, including languages such as Python, Java, and Ruby.

Back-end developers must be familiar with many kinds of tools and frameworks, including languages such as Python, Java, and Ruby. They ensure that the back-end performs quickly and responsively to front-end user requests.

What skills are required to be a backend Developer ?

• A backend developer needs to design, construct, develop, and maintain a reliable framework. The three most common languages used by large tech companies are Java, Python, and PHP.

• Frameworks provide a definite way of doing things and make it easy to develop complex applications. You might think about working on a few specific frameworks as a backend developer such as NodeJS, ExpressJS, Django, to name a few.

• A back-end developer has to have a good knowledge of DSA is necessary to design optimized algorithms and efficiently solve problems. These include data sorting, stacks, queues, lists, stacks, binary search, and hashcode implementations.

• The version control system records every change to a code in a distinct “version”. This helps protect the source code when a developer messes up and wants to undo it. Some of the most used version control platforms for backend developers include AWS, GitHub, Gitlab.

• The API, or Application Programming Interfaces are responsible for setting up connections between various applications. Backend developers use these APIs to connect various applications and improve user experience. Developers frequently use JSON, GSON, SOAP, REST, and other standard APIs.

• Database management systems, also known as DBMS,  is used by developers to store and organize massive volumes of data generated by websites and apps in a structured and efficient way. A few popular database management systems that backend developers should know are PostgreSQL, AWS DynamoDB, and Oracle.

• Backend development is a server-side development, so understanding servers is crucial. A server is a system or computer that offers information, resources, and services to other computers or clients across a network, including file storage, security, and databases. The most well-known servers include Microsoft Windows Server, NGINX, and Apache. Knowing the fundamentals of Linux is also very beneficial because most such servers support Linux OS. Docker and Kubernetes are some of the leading server management solutions.

What are the job positions available for a backend developer and their salary?

Some of the popular Backend developer roles are as follows- 

• Back End Developer

• Java Developer

• Full-Stack Developer

• DevOps Engineer

• Software Engineer

• iOS Developer

For freshers, the average yearly salary for backend developers in India is normally between INR 3 and 5 lakhs. Backend engineers in India often make an average income of roughly INR 7–10 lakhs per year with 2–5 years of expertise. Backend developers with more than five years of expertise typically make an average of about INR 15–25 lakhs annually. 

Difference between a frontend developer and a backend developer

Who is a Full Stack Developer?

Full Stack is a term that refers to exclusive knowledge of computer system applications involving front-end and back-end development.

A Full Stack Web Developer is good at developing client and server side software. Full stack developers are responsible for both the front-end design and layout of the website, as well as the server-side components and website functionality.

What does a Full Stack Developer do?

Full-stack developers have expertise in both front-end and back-end development. They are well-rounded professionals capable of working on all aspects of a web application, from designing and implementing user interfaces to developing server-side logic, managing databases, and handling server deployment. Their broad skill set allows them to contribute to every stage of the development process, making them invaluable in building fully functional and efficient web applications.

• They  are proficient in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, ensuring that websites are not only functional but also aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly. They use various front-end frameworks and libraries like React, Angular, and Vue.js to enhance user interactions and create responsive, dynamic web applications.
• On the server side, full-stack developers work with languages such as Python, Ruby, PHP, Java, and Node.js. They are responsible for writing server-side logic, integrating databases, and creating APIs that allow different parts of the application to communicate effectively.
• They manage and maintain databases, using systems like MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, or SQLite. They are responsible for ensuring data integrity, optimizing database queries, and planning for scalability. They also handle database backups to prevent data loss and plan for disaster recovery.
• They are skilled in deploying web applications on servers, using cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud. They are responsible for configuring servers, managing resources, and ensuring that applications are secure and performant.
• To ensure that applications can handle high traffic and heavy usage, full-stack developers perform load and stress testing. They use tools like JMeter or LoadRunner to simulate user activity and identify potential bottlenecks or performance issues. This testing is crucial for maintaining the reliability and scalability of web applications.
• Full-stack developers often take on DevOps roles, managing the deployment pipeline and ensuring that code changes are smoothly integrated and deployed. They use tools like Jenkins, GitLab CI, or Travis CI to automate testing, deployment, and monitoring, reducing the risk of errors and speeding up the development process.
• They often work independently on projects or collaborate with specialized front-end and back-end developers. Their understanding of the entire web development stack enables them to bridge the gap between different teams, ensuring that projects are cohesive and well-integrated.

A Full Stack Web Developer works with :

• A browser (JavaScript, jQuery, Angular, or Vue)

• A server (PHP, ASP, Python, or Node)

• A database (SQL, SQLite, or MongoDB)

They are adaptable and can assist with different developmental phases while keeping versatility and time management intact.

What are the different skills required for Full Stack Development?

• Full Stack Developers are masters of HTML and CSS. They make sure the websites do what they are intended to and also look good.
• The biggest weapon of the front-end application is JavaScript. Developers are constantly working with Javascript tools to improve user interaction and experience with tools like React, Angular, Vue, and JQuery.
• DBMS  is used by developers to store and organize massive volumes of data generated by websites and apps in a structured and efficient way. A full stack developer is required to manage, process and maintain all the data efficiently in DB’s like MongoDB.
• A Full Stack Developer is proficient in back-end technologies and frameworks such as JavaScript, Java, C language, Python, and other programming languages such as JSON, XNL, Angular, PHP, Perl, and Ruby.
• The developers are also required to host the website on cloud service providers/platforms. Though it may appear simplistic, the actual skill of web hosting is extremely important in terms of users accessing it via the WWW on cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud, and understanding of server management and security practices.

• GitHub and Subversion are a few popular version control systems that help track users’ histories and manage content, which is one of the key responsibilities of a Full Stack Developer.
• They have a understanding of DevOps practices and tools to automate deployment pipelines, perform continuous integration, and manage server environments.
• They have the knowledge and ability to perform and analyze load and stress tests to ensure applications can handle high traffic and usage.

• A Full Stack Developer’s soft skills include clear communication, collaboration,  team management, creativity, analytical skills, critical thinking, strategic planning, and problem-solving skills.

Full-stack developers are versatile professionals who play a critical role in the development of web applications. Their ability to work across the entire technology stack makes them invaluable in creating efficient, scalable, and reliable web solutions.

What are the job positions available for a Full Stack developer and their salary?

After you have checked off every skill on the Full Stack checklist, you can apply for a job as a Full Stack Developer in any top tech company. With such an elaborate and specific set of skills, a Full Stack Web Developer can easily earn a high-paying job in a relevant industry and make a successful career out of it. If one has the passion to pursue it, the creative and financial opportunities make this one of the best occupations there are.

An ideal Full Stack Developer salary in India ranges between ₹ 2.1 lakhs to ₹ 16.1 lakhs with an average annual salary of ₹ 6 lakhs.

What to choose?

Your area of interest will define the best route.

Generally speaking, both roles are different in the initial stages of web development. But as you get more experienced the line between both gets blurred with each passing day, making you dabble in more technologies than you started from.

That said, companies that have websites with multiple aspects prefer Full stack developers. They are versatile and can work on whatever the project might demand at any given time.

Another advantage of working as a full stack developer is the potential for high earnings.

All roles are highly valued in the tech industry, and you can pick whatever you feel comfortable in after determining your qualifications, educational background, and preferences.

Many prefer starting their careers as web developers. This allows them to focus on a single route - the website. Later they expanded their skills to front-end and back-end development, moving to the position of Full stack developers.

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