Almost all businesses should have an online presence to attract more significant markets. After all, most people are glued to social media and websites for their daily needs. That’s why front-end developers are in-demand online jobs today.
What Does a Front-end Developer do?
Front-end developers specialize in website design. Basically, they program the face of the website. They are responsible for the structure and aesthetics of each page while ensuring that it’s also usable for different platforms like smartphones and tablets.
It’s quite a lucrative career. But, with the many candidates online, how do you set yourself apart? Here are 7 essential skills to become an in-demand front-end developer.
Technical Skills
Web development is highly technical. There will be specific programming languages for different functionalities. And you should have enough experience to create what they need from scratch. You should at least know the following:
- HTML
- CSS
- JavaScript
- jQuery
Depending on your client’s needs, you might even need to learn new languages,
Basic Graphic Design
With all the websites online, you should know how to keep your visitors’ attention. And graphics are an essential part of it. You need to grab their interest with relevant and attractive images to take action.
You don’t have to create the image yourself. But you should know the basics of graphic design to integrate it into the final website properly.
Basic SEO Skills
Companies create websites to get more engagement online. With billions of users every day, getting a piece of that humongous pie will surely bring more sales. But the problem is that there are also billions of websites globally. How do they find you?
Search engine optimization (SEO) will be one of your arsenals. SEO provides organic traffic by optimizing web pages to rank on keywords on search engines. It’s a whole new field.
But as an in-demand front-end developer, you should know how to set up a website that’s SEO-friendly. Examples are faster loading speeds and buffing up user experience. By doing this, you can ensure that the website will support the company’s SEO efforts.
UI/UX Design
And speaking of User experience, an aesthetically pleasing website wouldn’t matter if it’s too hard to use. So you should also know UI/UX Design.
How do you make your website more user-friendly? Is there a balance between functionality and design? Is it easy to navigate the website for what your customers need?
You should consider all of this when designing your client’s website.
QA Testing
When you create a website, it is seldom that everything works on the first go. You will encounter bugs and errors in the program. With this, you should know how to do QA testing. In this way, you can pinpoint the problems and correct them as soon as possible.
Communication Skills
You will not be working alone. As an in-demand front-end developer, you will be working with graphic designers, marketing, QA specialists, SEO managers, and more to bring the best website for your clients.
You should have online collaboration and communication skills to understand every department’s needs. And collate the best ideas that can be implemented with the current technology and budget.
Up-to-date
Technology changes every day. What we know now might not be the best practices for the next months to come. That’s why you are always up-to-date with the latest happenings in your field.
Follow thought leaders in their blogs and social media to get snippets of their opinions in your career. You can also join groups and quora discussions on hot topics on programming. You can even enroll in classes to upgrade your skills.
With this, you will remain relevant regardless of the changes in the future.
Conclusion
With the skills above, you are sure to have the advantage when catching that front-developer online job. If you’re looking for opportunities in this field, check out this link for more information. Cheers!
