Frontend Developer Roadmap 2023

You might always wonder every time you look at your favorite website and come around with some simplest questions – what makes it look so appealing? How layouts, buttons, and features are implemented? What would I do to create a user-friendly website?

Every website that has a more captivating and stunning design (like buttons, links, animations, menu, site map and more) falls under front-end development. And, people who have such expertise are known as front-end developers.

So, how to start a front end developer’s journey?

Don’t worry! This front end developer roadmap of 2023 guide will help in this.

Since the pandemic has affected various small and medium-sized businesses, every business requires a creative and beautiful app and website. This is why there is a huge demand for front-end developers.

In fact, employment of software developers, quality assurance analysts, and testers is projected to grow 22% from 2020 to 2030, much faster than the average for all occupations. Even topmost companies are also offering numerous career opportunities for front-end developers.

To see yourself as a successful front-end developer, our front end developer roadmap 2023 will guide you through this. We’ll cover all the latest skills necessary to stay competitive in the market. After all, equipping yourself with the right skills is a great step for having a rewarding career in software designing.

Let’s have a look:

Who is a Front-end Developer?

A front-end web developer is a software developer who designs a website through coding languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. By integrating fonts, colors, layouts, animation, dropdown buttons, and other design elements, they create an aesthetically appealing website that users see, click, and touch. It’s also their job to ensure that the site is well-optimized across desktop and mobile platforms.

With recent trends in websites and web applications, the software designer must have knowledge of 3D animation, AI chatbots, cross-device support, etc. along with popular frameworks, including Vue JS, React, jQuery, and a few others are also utilized often. Also, they code the designed layout by keeping in mind the user experience.

Front end development refers to computer programming that focuses on the creation of web pages through different design elements and features visible to users. It’s about making the website more visually appealing and functional for users. You can also name the front end as the “client side” of an application.

So, here we advise that you must have knowledge and expertise in programming skills and some artistic or user experience skills.

What is the Role of a Front-end Developer?

In the modern world, front end, back end and full stack web developers are counted as the most crucial positions in technology.

However, here we first clarify the difference between a front end developer, back end developer, and full stack developer. Developers who work in the front end are responsible for what users see and interact with. A back end developer deals with the “backend” matters such as databases and infrastructure. Full-stack developers are skilled in both areas, capable of dealing with the whole design process from start to finish.

Now, let’s get back to the topic! The general role of a front-end developer is to handle basic responsibilities, including planning the structure and design of web pages, optimizing the design for both desktops and smartphones, and balancing functional and aesthetic design components.

Let’s give us a brief overview over the basic responsibilities of a front end web developer:

• Profound knowledge of HTML5 and CSS3.
• Expert proficiency in JavaScript or TypeScript.
• A high level of proficiency with JavaScript frameworks.
• A high level of experience with UI layouts, SASS, LESS, Bootstrap, and the CSS GRID system.
• Solid experience in using a complex REST API from the client-side
• A solid understanding of cross-browser compatibility issues, and ways to work around them.
• Good knowledge and practical experience of client-side build/config management.
• Good understanding of code versioning tools, such as Git, Mercurial, or SVN
  Good understanding of asynchronous request handling, partial page updates, and Ajax.
• Significant experience of debugging using JavaScript-based tools like Chrome Developer Console.
• Basic knowledge of graphical tools such as GIMP or Photoshop, so that you can make small changes to images.
• Creating responsive, adaptive designs that work on desktop and mobile devices.
• Writing code that is reusable and understandable by others.
• Optimizing sites for speed and growth.
• Using design software like Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop
• Building reusable code for future use.
• Optimizing web pages for maximum speed and scalability.
• Good understanding of SEO principles and ensuring that application will adhere to them.
• Testing the site for usability and fixing any bugs.

Necessary Skills to Become a Front-end Developer

People usually ask questions like what tools and technologies a developer should be aware of to be an updated and successful developer in the current market? Which programming languages and skills are suitable for frontend development? How to become a senior front end developer?

In the following section, we’ll answer all questions for our readers. We’ll also share the most essential things, tools, and technologies a web developer should know.

This front end web developer roadmap of 2023 won’t disappoint you. We discuss in detail those new technologies, frameworks, and libraries essential in the coming days. We know the benefits of learning new things. But for now, let’s focus on the most essential thing a designer should know in 2023.

We’ll also include Responsive web design as a skill because it’s almost the most required aspect in 2023 if you want to let your audience access your website or web application through different devices.

So, let’s get started!

HTML & CSS

Both HTML and CSS are the first and foremost things to learn when it comes to frontend development. Having a good knowledge and expertise in HTML and CSS helps in becoming a good web developer. HTML is a markup language, which gives structure to web pages. Whereas, CSS is Cascading Style Sheet, which styles the HTML elements with the color, fonts, typeface, and more.

Javascript

The next most essential thing a web developer should learn is JavaScript. This design element gives life to web pages and makes them more interactive for users. When someone clicks buttons, it’ll change the animations and appearance of your web pages.

Now, JavaScript is offering more than this. It’s easy to design a complete web application through JavaScript. This essential programming language is a must for frontend and backend developers. So, spend time learning JavaScript in 2023.

React.js

As we’ve mentioned, frontend development comes up with various latest tools and technologies. Instead of creating pages through HTML and CSS, the React.js framework is an effective framework, which dynamically creates web pages for you. There are many other frontend frameworks, including Angular, Vuejs, Svelete.js that are powerful like React.

CSS Preprocessors

Sometimes, it’s hard to write repetitive code or deal with incorrect file structures or get confused between different cascade name files. This is where CSS preprocessing plays a significant role and makes things easier. SASS, LESS, and Stylus are CSS preprocessors that allow developers to create code in the preprocessor’s language. It’s easy to accomplish things easily with this programming language.

jQuery

jQuery is a JavaScript library, which includes several plugins and extensions to make coding easier and faster. Instead of starting everything from scratch, jQuery automatically adds ready-made elements to projects and customizes accordingly.

JavaScript Frameworks

A front-end developer must have knowledge about JS frameworks, including Angular, Backbone, Ember, Vue.js, and React. These frameworks give a ready-made structure to your JavaScript code. While learning JavaScript frameworks does take time, they really speed up development and can be used with libraries like jQuery to minimize how much from-scratch coding you have to do.

DOM Manipulation

The DOM is an object-based representation of a web page, which allows for discrete objects to be manipulated in scripting languages like JavaScript. All HTML pages are based on the DOM or “Document Object Model.” DOM manipulation allows your website to respond to user behavior. It helps in building a form that will enable users to add comments, blog posts, or personalize the page.

AJAX

Since its introduction in the 2000s, AJAX has been a staple tool for front end developers. AJAX is a common framework that uses built-in XMLHttpRequest (XHR) objects to request data from a web server. It allows web pages to be updated asynchronously by exchanging data with a web server. By minimizing how often a page reload is required, the AJAX framework reduces network utilization and increases the user-friendliness of web pages.

Responsive Web Design

This is an important thing to learn. In order to design a website or application, make sure it’s responsive, so customers can access it from different devices. Responsive web design enables developers to present websites depending upon the different sizes of devices.

NPM (Node Package Manager)

Being a front-end developer, it’s also necessary to have essential tools. And one of them is NPM. This tool will lessen the code. Now, you don’t have to write code for everything. Generally, NPM is a package manager of the JavaScript programming language. It’s also the default package manager of Node.js. Now, you don’t need to write a framework for creating dynamic web pages and you can just import them to use in your project.

RESTful and APIs

REST stands for Representational State Transfer, which is a lightweight architecture that simplifies network communication on the web.

APIs and RESTful services adhere to the REST architecture. Using Facebook’s RESTful API, you can read your friends’ list and return that information if your app displays friends in chronological order. It also improves performance and scalability, reduces downtime, and makes it easier to move or modify your web service.

SQL and NoSQL

Front end developers can use SQL and NoSQL to interact with permanently stored data, such as user profiles and content maintained across site visits. Databases like Oracle, Microsoft SQL, and MySQL can be interacted with using SQL (Structured Query Language). Each of these databases consists of tables, which can be queried using SQL statements.

On the other hand, NoSQL deals with non-relational databases. Using it, data can be accessed or modified without following strict linear structures. NoSQL frameworks are excellent for large databases since SQL tends to slow down response time. Now, MongoDB has become a popular NoSQL option for modern responsive applications.

Version Control

If something goes wrong while developing the codes with HTML, CSS, and JS, you need to start writing all the code from the beginning. This could take enough time and you might not reach the projects’ deadline. However, version control keeps track of your changes and allows you to access previous versions easily. To become a front-end developer, learn to use this software without wasting time.

VSCode

Microsoft VSCode has come along as the most potent IDE or Editor for Web Development. Compared to those fat IDEs, VSCode is also very lightweight and highly configurable. You have plugins for almost anything from developing frontend to connecting to a cloud-like AWS, Azure, and GCP and deploying your application. If you want to become a proficient Web Developer in 2023, we recommend you learn VSCode in 2023.

Chrome Developer Tools

Chrome developer tool is another essential tool for frontend developers. Nowadays, more and more people are using Chrome for browsing data. This browser has a built-in debugging tool, known as Chrome Developer Tool. Through this tool, you can see raw HTML but also CSS, JavaScript libraries, and much more. You can even make modifications in the CSS classes to enhance the look and feel of a website. You must have great knowledge about this.

Test/Debug

While designing a website, there could be chances of making mistakes. That’s why a front end developer must know how to debug errors or bugs from the website. It’ll be helpful to get used to these terms right from the start. You need to run tests to make sure that your website is functioning properly and is error-free.

These are the essential technologies for any web developer, but particularly frontend developers. There are also thousands of courses and the best books to learn front end development to make a successful career. So, read our front end developer guide or roadmap carefully and keep yourself up-to-date in becoming a better web developer.

Front-end Developers Salaries and Job Opportunities

Most IT organizations are looking for front end developers as startups and the use of mobile devices have increased. For front-end developers, this changed the way for a more increase in demand. For every commercial website or app, front-end developers are much needed.

With the requirements of above-mentioned front-end developer skills, many small to large companies need a professional developer who is an expert. Job vacancies of front-end developers are more in number with a good salary package across the worldwide. However, the salary of web developers depends on several factors, such as location, certification, experience, present opportunities, and many other factors.

According to salary.com, the average Front-End Developer salary in the United States is $119,224 as of January 27, 2022, but the salary range typically falls between $106,922 and $130,083.

According to talent.com, the average front end developer salary in the USA is $103,222 per year or $52.93 per hour. Entry-level positions start at $81,900 per year while most experienced workers make up to $137,754 per year.

Front End Developer Salary In Some Popular Cities of USA

Here is a list of front end developer salaries across different countries. Meanwhile, the average salary range is based on skills and experience self-reported from Talent. Find reports below.

• Front End Developer Salary in California – $125,000.
• Full End Developer Salary in New Jersey – $120,000.
• Full End Developer Salary in Massachusetts – $117,000.
• Full End Developer Salary in New York – $117,000.
• Full End Developer Salary in Virginia – $115,000.
• Full End Developer Salary in Washington – $113,526.
• Full End Developer Salary in Illinois – $112,125.
• Full End Developer Salary in New Hampshire – $110,00.

Note: The above figures reported may not be accurate as they may vary depending on the demand.

And, here is the average full-stack developer’s salary:

• Indeed: $100k/year, with an average $2,500 yearly cash bonus.
• Glassdoor: $109k/year, The lowest frontend developer salary is around $51K, while the highest is $145K.
• PayScale: $77k/year, with a low of $50K and a high of $90K.
• ZipRecruiter: $94,639 per year, with a low of $37K and a high of $147K.

The salaries and job opportunities of front-end developers across different locations are approximate. And, salary depends on various factors such as skills, experience, company, speed of delivery, and location.

Future Scope of Front-end Developer

With the high-rise demand for web design and development, the need for front end developers is also in demand. To be appealing to audiences, your official websites must be designed more appropriately. Having an interactive, creative, and story-telling website will help in building a long-lasting relationship. This further enhances the experience with your audience.

So, in order to reach and attract audiences’ attention, the demand for the front end is more today and also in the future. Even every business wants a front-end developer for fulfilling their clients’ requirements and business growth. Therefore, front-end careers will continue to grow and be highly attractive.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), web developer job opportunities will grow by eight percent by 2029. This is double the average growth for all occupations, which means the job outlook is strong.

The latest studies predict that by 2020, there will be a deficit of approximately 1 million developers in the United States alone.

Therefore, these numbers are expected to increase over time. An increase in Internet usage means more demand for user interfaces, leading to an increase in front-end development jobs. The popularity of the Internet has impacted web development in a major way, and it is continuing to grow without slowing down. If you’re looking for a career in web development, look no further.

Wrapping Up!

We suggest you go through this roadmap of front end developer skill sets to enhance your chances of staying ahead of the competition in 2022. Our detailed mentioned skills help in writing a better code, which doesn’t only increase website functionality, plus its overall appearance.

So, read our guide to front end development and get clear about developers’ responsibilities that are in high demand worldwide.

Still have any questions, feel free to contact us today. We’ll assist you in every possible way.