Skills to check before hiring remote front-end developers

Introduction:

Front-end developers need to offer a range of talent – from being knowledgeable, having technical expertise, being innovative to possessing a broad understanding of user experience and design – these are some of the major front-end developer strengths. However, before we dig deep into analysing what makes a good front-end developer and know the most important quality of a front-end web developer, let’s first understand who is a front-end developer?

So, Who Is A Front-End Developer?

In simple words, a front-end web developer is the one accountable for applying visual elements that users see and interact with in a web application or on a website. Front-end web developers are mainly responsible for the website’s user-facing code and the architecture of its immersive user experiences. In order to execute these responsibilities appropriately, front-end developers must adapt and be well-versed in front end languages such as HTML, CSS, DOM, and JavaScript.

Now, it is clear who is a front-end developer and their key responsibilities. Let’s see what are the front-end developer skills required to hire remote front-end developers.

What Are the Skills Required to Hire Remote Front-End Developers?

1.       Front End Developer Programming Languages:

One of the most important qualities of a front-end web developer is that he or she must be fluent in all the primary programming languages. For example – Knowledge of HTML as a programming language is essential as it helps in giving a structure to the website, whereas knowing CSS helps the front-end developer to style the web application or page. At the same time, using JavaScript ensures that the website is interactive and responsive.

The top programming languages that a front-end developer must know:

• JavaScript

JavaScript is important among the front-end languages as it is browser based. JavaScript was primarily used for adding functionality to browser-based websites and web applications. JavaScript is also largely used in back-end development – hence, from a front-end perspective it is a great language to understand correlation as it powers the site’s general interactivity. Also, front-end developers can build rich UI components such as image sliders, pop-ups, mega menus, tabs, etc., with JavaScript.

• HTML5 & CSS3

The knowledge of HTML5 and CSS3 goes hand-in-hand for front-end developers.  While HTML acts as a mark-up language which is the foundation of web pages, whereas CSS allows to customize the appearance of elements to add some visual flair to have a quality user interface. HTML is in charge of displaying the raw content of a page and storing important markers used by search engines and web browsers. However, CSS gives developers control over how pages and content are displayed and offers ways to create visually engaging websites and applications.

• jQuery

jQuery is from the JavaScript library that streamlines and standardizes communication between JavaScript and HTML codes. jQuery offers faster development and produces code that works in a wider range of browsers. Front-end web developers largely use jQuery to build effects, animations, manipulate web pages on different browsers, etc.

• Angular

Angular is an open-source front-end framework by Google for developing dynamic websites and mobile applications. Angular enables front-end developers to build interactive and modernised web as well as mobile app solutions. Angular supports Google’s largest applications! Hence, having the knowledge of Angular can be extremely essential for front-end developers, as it eventually will offer increased productivity and scalability for the websites.

• Bootstrap

Bootstrap is a powerful programming language that offers a front-end framework for developing responsive web pages and applications. Front-end developers with Bootstrap knowledge can build a responsive grid system, easily & quickly customise web pages and ensure cross-browser compatibility. Also, Bootstrap is an open-source framework which front-end developers can modify according to their projects.

• ReactJS

ReactJS is an open-source JavaScript library that is used for developing user interfaces mainly for single-page applications. ReactJS is picking among the various available front-end technologies and is used for handling the view layer for websites. React let’s create reusable UI components which can make development easy and efficient for front-end developers.

• PHP

PHP is a programming language that is primarily used for back end development. However, front-end developers need to be well-versed in PHP as it can be used at the server side to generate front-end codes. PHP can be used to implement HTTP requests with responses in JSON, HTML, CSV or other types of formats.

2.       Hunger for Knowledge

Front end developers must always be eager to learn and have hunger for knowledge. With updating technology and new coding languages introduced every now-and-then, front-end developers must have the hunger for new information and knowledge. Moreover, front-end web development comprises several different aspects – such as web page layout, content production and graphic designing. In these scenarios, front end developers should also consider advancing themselves, which can be only done if they are wanting to learn and acquire the required knowledge.  

3.       Flexibility

For front end developers the skill set required allows them to work in different areas such as image editing, UX/UI, mobile development, programming, etc. At times, as per the industry demand and the client requirements front end developers may have to go out of their comfort zone and try to implement newer and advancement technology into the website or mobile apps they are building. Hence, it is significant to be flexible!

4.       Patience

This skill is not only applied to front-end developers, but rather to anyone who works with technology. From creating designs, coding and implementing them in an interactive and responsive environment can be challenging as well as time consuming. Also, a single error in the programming can mess the entire UX/UI of the website. Thus, front-end developers are expected to have patience and work in a collective and problem-solving manner.

5.       Smart Work & Self Motivator

Ensuring smart work is executed and being self-motivated is crucial especially for a remote front end-developer. Gone are the days where front-end web development required custom HTML, CSS and JavaScript for interaction. With the admiration of frameworks and libraries, front-end developers can now be smart and reduce time and costs in creating websites. This way, they can also concentrate more on designing, creativity and user experience. Being self-motivated, is yet again important – be it to learn a new technology or to finish the work on time, especially in case of remote front end-developers.

Conclusion:

So, whether you choose to hire remote developers or decide on appointing a front-end development company –analyse all the above listed web developer skills.

Finding the right quality of a front-end web developer or a front-end development company is not difficult. All you have to do is ascertain the requirements and be aware of the skill set that a front-end developer must possess.

 

Guest article written by: I’m Sree Saranya, Senior SEO Analyst and I spend my time surfing Google to learn about new technologies and like to re-search about developments.