Those who choose to become web developers are in for a sunny career path. The demand for web developers is high, and it’s not going to change anytime soon. That’s because all businesses and individuals want their own slice of digital real estate—their very own website.
Web creators have different specialties, coding, or programming skill sets. But they come in three major classifications. These web developers are involved in the different stages of website creation, although they may overlap at times.
If you’re thinking about becoming or hiring a web developer, you’ll learn what they do in this article.
What is a Web Developer?
The first step in building a unique website is choosing the best web developer to breathe life into your ideas. Some may get confused between a website programmer and designer. From the outside, it looks as if they’re doing the same thing. Technically, they’re two different talents.
You can think of a web designer as an architect who’s concerned about the overall look, feel, and function of the site. On the other hand, a web developer builds the entire site structure. The two often work together, with the developer working to assess whether specific designs can be technically possible or not.
Getting familiar with how these codes demands time and effort. As such, becoming a professional web developer is not easy.
Major Classifications of Web Developers

Most often, creating a website requires different kinds of developers specializing in various stages of web development. Web developers make a website using complex codes written in various programming languages. Building a site from scratch requires translating human language to computer language such as Python, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), HyperText Markup Language (HTML), and JavaScript. Here’s what you need to know about each role:
1. The Front-End Developer
Also called front-end engineers, these developers are most often confused with web designers, since they focus on the interactive elements of a site, including its look and feel. This means making sure that all the content—colors, headers, text, and other typographical components—are in the right place.
These developers also make sure that all the formats are correct and that buttons work properly, directing you to the correct page once you click on them. Front-end developers are often responsible for creating mobile-friendly sites on all web browsers. And with over five billion mobile phone users worldwide browsing their phones at any given time, it’s unsurprising that web development is a lucrative career.
- When to Hire Them: Front-end engineers aim to make a visually pleasing yet functional site. As mobile friendliness is one of the main elements for ranking high in search engine results pages (SERPs), you need to hire them if you want to make sure your site can be accessed using any gadget and that it remains functional, whether you’re viewing it on your computer, a smartphone, or a tablet.
2. The Back-End Developer
These web developers are responsible for building the server’s code to make sure that the data flows from a website’s front end (or what the user can see and interact with) to the back end (such as the server, database, and so on) simultaneously.
Back-end developers use a wide range of languages to build a program. They hold the crucial task of working with data and facilitating its smooth transfer from the server to the web browser. This developer should have an in-depth understanding of a variety of programming languages and choose the most efficient method of creating the required program for the site.
- When to Hire Them: A back-end developer is ultimately responsible for making your website running and functioning appropriately. This is crucial, especially if you run an online store where you need to update your prices, images, and other types of information often. Typically, these are all stored on a database. And it’s the back-end developer’s responsibility to make transacting with your e-commerce shop seamless, enabling all functions such as Buy, Add To Cart, and payments easy.
3. The Full-Stack Developer
If you want to have the best of both worlds, so to speak, you might be interested in a full-stack developer, since these developers can work on both the front- and back-end components of the website. You can look for a full service website development toronto agency. This means a full-stack developer is capable of creating a whole website without the help of the other two developer types. In bigger projects, though, a full-stack developer would work in collaboration with front-end and beck-end developers.
- When To Hire Them: Most full-stack developers are highly skilled at either front- or back-end development. If you’re able to find one who’s great at both, then you can ask a full-stack developer to create the entire website for you. Often, they’re also tasked to supervise large projects, with a team of front- or back-end developers working under them.
Full-stack developers can save you time and costs for website creation, since hiring one instead of three can speed up the web creation processes significantly.
Conclusion
If you’re wondering which type of web developer to hire when making your own site, it’s ideal to understand what each one does. To sum up, a front-end developer takes charge of the site’s entire look, a back-end develop on functionality, and a full-stack engineer, the entire processes involved.