If you are really thinking of taking web development as a career option, you must already be knowing that there are three different types of web developers, Front-end, Back-end, and Full-stack developers. Full-stack developers are developers that do both front and back-end developing.
As the name suggests, The Back-end developers generally work on the inner details of the web applications to build the “server-side” of web applications. The code and the language that runs behind the scenes on the back-end or the webserver is called the Server-side. The front-end mainly focuses on the client’s interaction with the web page, thus it is called the client-side.
Here we will focus more on the “behind the scenes” people, the back-end developers, and see what they actually do, and the skills that they require.
What Is The Role Of A Back-End Developer?
The back-end developers generally work along with the front-end developers as they provide the outside appearance and the user interface of an application with the back-end logic. Thus, you could say that the back-end developers create the logic that makes the web app function properly. This is done by the use of back-end scripting languages like PHP or Ruby.
The speed and efficiency of the application are optimized by the back-end developers. Also, a storage solution with a database is created by back-end developers, which is very important for all web applications as it stores data like, comments, posts, user information, etc. Some of the common databases are MongoDB, PostgreSQL, MySQL, etc.
Who Works With The Back-End Developer?
Generally, the back-end developers work with a back-end team, but in larger teams, there could be both back and front-end developers working together in a team, which includes UX architects, and engineers.
The back-end developers generally work with software engineers with each having a specific role like quality assurance (QA) or API development. There are different roles and responsibilities even within the back-end.
Required Skills And Technology
Here we have some of the core technologies and skills that a back-end developer must know.
-
The framework of the company and the back-end programming languages must quite literally be at the tip of your fingers.
-
You have to also understand the front-end web technologies like CSS, HTML, and JavaScript so that you can connect with the team members on the front end.
-
Ability to manage a hosting environment. This includes scaling applications to handle the changes of load, as well as database administration.
-
Knowledge of security compliance and of accessibility.
-
Some experience with version control; like Git.
Where to Learn Back-End Skills
Most of the back-end developers have taken some kind of formal training in one way or the other and have a Computer Science(CS) degree.
A lot more abstraction is done by the back-end developers, it could be data mining, writing abstract algorithms, etc. Thus a CS degree becomes quite important.
But that doesn’t always mean that it is mandatory. If you have taken some online courses and have the relevant certificates and the skills along with some work experience to show in your resume, you will be good to go. Some of the popular Back-end languages are JavaScript, Python, PHP, Java, Kotlin, etc.
You can check out the Library section of our website to start learning Back-end technologies.
More Skills to Include on a Resume
-
Excellent time-management, well organized, detail-oriented, ability to multi-task, planning, and prioritization
-
Must have knowledge of Mobile web development or cloud app development.
-
Should be proficient in the use of version control/source code management tools.
-
Must have knowledge of CMS and CRM platforms.
-
The communication skills should be excellent.
-
Should have experience in writing re-usable unit test documents
-
Must be skilled in query plan / explain plan analysis, indexing, table partitioning
-
Must have good knowledge of Database technologies –NoSQL or RDBMS
-
Should have excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills
Conclusion
It is a very critical role that back-end developers play on web development teams. They have the responsibility of handling the data and making sure that the content gets delivered to the front-end.
