What the work is
A frontend developer builds the part of a website or web app that people see and use: pages, forms, buttons, animations. They turn a designer’s mock-up into HTML, CSS and JavaScript (usually with a framework such as React or Vue), connect it to data from the server and make sure the interface loads fast, works well on a phone and is accessible to people with different needs.
A typical day
The day starts with a short team stand-up: who is doing what and what is in the way. Then comes a task from the sprint — a new catalogue page, say, or a fix in the payment form. Part of the day goes on reviewing colleagues’ code, settling details with the designer and the backend developer, and testing in different browsers. In the evening the changes go to the staging server.
How to start
- Learn HTML, CSS and the basics of JavaScript, then one framework.
- Get comfortable with Git and the command line.
- Build two or three portfolio projects: a landing page, a to-do app, a page showing data from a public API.
- Confirm your JavaScript skills with a test on the platform and apply for internships.
Related professions
Backend developer, mobile developer, UI/UX designer, QA engineer.