Have you ever thought what type of web development is the best for your project? Is it full stack web development or something else? What are the differences between the various forms of web development? These questions are difficult to answer, since there are a great variety of web development types and approaches available.
The main problem with assessing web development is the amount of variety available. Due to the continuous development of coding languages, frameworks, and databases, businesses and individuals are often not sure how to choose the best web development approach for a specific project. For example, according to Magoosh’s blog “Web development can range from developing a simple single static page of plain text to complex web-based internet applications (or just “web apps”) using server-side scripts to deliver content dynamically to the user depending on their requests.” This puts special consideration onto finding the correct development route based on the specific needs of a project.
In this article, you will learn more about the various types of web development available, the differences between them, and which one is the best for your project. Dive deeper to explore the specific components of each web development type, how each type of web development works, as well as various best practices with regards to project estimation and success. Lastly, learn more about web development frameworks and how they can help expedite the development process and support the best practices.
Definitions of Web Development
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Web development refers to the various processes and activities involved in the development of websites. It involves tasks such as website design, website maintenance, search engine optimization, content management, coding, web server configuration, and website security. There are three major categories of web development: front end, back end, and full stack development.
Front End Development is the process of creating the visuals of a website. This includes tasks such as design, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, user interaction, and user experience. It is the process of creating the graphical elements that a user will see and interact with when they first visit a website.
Back End Development is the process of creating the function and code that actually runs a website. This includes coding in languages such as PHP, Ruby, Python, and MySQL. It also includes tasks such as server configuration, security, performance, and integration with other systems.
Full Stack Development is a combination of both front end and back end development. It involves tasks such as creating user interfaces, handling databases, and working with servers. Full stack developers are skilled in more than one coding language and can handle projects from end to end.
Front-End Web Development
Front-End Web Development
Front-end web development, also known as client-side development, involves building websites or web applications using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It is the process of creating visually appealing websites, which includes tasks such as designing layouts, creating navigational menus, and coding individual web pages.
Front-end web developers create the look and feel of a website or web application. They use web development tools such as HTML, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), and JavaScript to complete the task. With a combination of these tools, they can create views and interactions for the client side web applications.
Types of Front-End Development
Front-end development is a broad term that encompasses multiple disciplines. Here are three of the most important areas of front-end development:
- UI/UX Design: Designers are responsible for creating user interfaces and user experiences. They use tools such as Adobe Photoshop, Sketch, and Figma to create designs for websites and apps.
- HTML/CSS/JavaScript: Coders are responsible for creating the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript necessary for deploying a website or web application. They use web development tools such as GitHub, Atom, and Sublime Text to create the code that will make the website work.
- Responsive Web Design: Responsive web designers are responsible for making sure that a website looks good on all types of devices. They use media queries, adaptive layouts, and other techniques to ensure that the website looks great on all screens.
Front-end web development is an important field that is rapidly evolving. As technology advances, developers have access to more powerful tools and frameworks that enable them to build complex web applications. With the right skills and experience, front-end developers can help create the web of the future.
Back-End Web Development
Back-end web development is an important component of the development of a website and allows for the development of functionality for managing databases,processing user input and security. It involves the implementation of server-side coding, scripting, databases, server administration and other back-end operations.
Server-Side Scripting and Coding
Server-side scriptingis the code that is executed on the server’s side before sending the resulting page to the user’s browser. Server-side scripting involves the usage of programming languages such as PHP, Python, Ruby and JavaScript. It is responsible for connecting with databases, managing user logins, constructing the web page with HTML and CSS and building user interfaces. The output of the server-side code is sent to the user’s browser to be displayed.
Databases
Databases are an essential part of back-end web development. They are used to store structured data in tables which can be requested from or updated by the server-side code. Common database systems used in back-end web development include MySQL, MariaDB, MongoDB, Firebase and Oracle. Databases allow for the storage of user data, preferences, configuration settings and other types of data related to the website.
Another important part of back-end development is server administration. This involves the management of the actual server and responsible for keeping the server hardware and software up to date. It also involves the monitoring of server performance and optimizing it for speed and reliability.
Back-end web development allows for the creation of dynamic websites and applications with rich functionality. It is an essential part of the development process and requires knowledge of server-side technologies, databases and server administration.
Full-Stack Web Development
Full-Stack Web Development
Full-stack web development is a comprehensive approach to web development that covers the entire development stack. It involves working with multiple technologies and understanding the interactions between them, such as the relationship between the server and the client layer. Full-stack web development requires a deep understanding of both backend and frontend development, as well as database management. Therefore, it requires a comprehensive set of skills.
Front-End Development
The front-end of a website is essentially the part of the interface that the user interacts with. Full-stack web development includes front-end development skills, such as HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, and various frameworks and libraries like jQuery, React, Vue, and Angular. All of these technologies enable the development of various types of interactive interfaces and user experiences.
Back-End Development
Back-end development involves a variety of programming languages and technologies, such as JavaScript, .NET, PHP, Java, and Python. The server-side development also involves server-side techniques like data storage, server-side scripting, web security, and server-side caching. All of these are used to create dynamic functionality on the server to respond to requests from the client side.
Database Management
Full-stack web development also involves a deep understanding of database management. There are various database technologies like SQL, MySQL, and NoSQL. This knowledge allow developers to design and implement data models, create data visualizations, and work with different databases. When coupled with server-side scripting, these database technologies enable developers to build dynamic websites.
Overall, full-stack web development covers a wide array of skills and technologies, and requires a deep understanding of the core aspects of web development, such as front-end development, back-end development, and database management. This enables developers to create complex, interactive web applications that can be accessed by multiple users on different devices.
Conclusion
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The world of web development is a dynamic and ever-changing one. Every single day, new ideas and tools emerge that bring with them ever-greater possibilities for digital experiences. With this ever-growing complexity, it can be difficult to know which types of web development will serve you best in your particular situation. Which type should you choose – server-side, client-side, or database-oriented development?
The best way to find the answer to this thought-provoking question on web development is to stay informed. Follow our blog for new releases on the newest trends and tools in the world of web development, and maximize the potential of your online presence.
Now let’s move on to our FAQ section, where we’ll answer some of the most common questions about web development.
What is client-side web development? Client-side web development is the process of creating a website or application that functions on the end-user’s device. This is done with the use of HTML, CSS and JavaScript, which are used to create the page structure, visual aspects and interactive components.
What is server-side web development? Server-side web development is the process of creating a website or application that functions on the server, not the end-user’s device. It includes tasks like page routing, configuration, database communication and security. All interaction with the server requires special coding.
What is database-oriented web development? Database-oriented web development centers around creating websites or applications using Structured Query Language (SQL) databases. This type of development includes activities such as setting up the database structure, connecting the database to a web form, writing queries to pull records from the database, and designing the output.
What is the difference between server-side and client-side development? Server-side development focuses on the code that processes the request and creates the web page on the server. Client-side development focuses on the code that converts the data into a visual format on the user’s device.
What language is used in web development? HTML is the most basic language used for web development, it provides the structure for the page. CSS is then used to control the look and feel of the page. JavaScript is the most versatile language as it is used for client-side scripting, providing interactivity like animations and dynamic content. Server-side languages are also used, such as PHP and Python, to provide dynamic user experiences.