Front-end development is primarily focused on user experience. Using appropriate coding and design techniques, you, as front-end developers, create application elements that end users have direct access to, intending to make the whole interface elegant, comfortable to use, quick, and secure while facilitating user engagement.
You can create increasingly complex designs and interaction patterns with the latest front-end design and technology trends. However, at the same time, there is a lot of complexity, so much so that front-end development services have evolved into a specialized area that needs deep understanding.
A major trend in interface design in recent years has been the rise of apps for mobile and smart devices, with users accessing apps from a growing number of gadgets with various screen sizes and interaction possibilities. As a result, front-end developers must ensure that their applications provide a consistent and high-quality user experience for all devices and use cases. This is a challenging task.
Front-End Development vs. Back-End Development
Hardware, computer programs, and websites are made up of many components: code, databases, and user interfaces (UIs). The ones that interact with users are in the front end; those that work with this technology are located at the back end, also called the data access layer. The back end provides resources to support the front end.
Here are the critical distinctions between front-end and back-end software development:
Back-end development is the process of creating components to run an application behind the scenes. Samples are features for data storage, infrastructure, integration with exterior methods, and code written in one or more programming languages. Users cannot access the back end.
Front-end development services show the process of creating components that interact with users. Examples are user interface, buttons, user input, websites, and user experience (UX) features. The front end aims to meet user requirements and provide a positive user experience.
Programming Languages for Front-End Development Services
The following are the most common programming languages for interface development.
- HTML
HTML programming language represents web content’s structure and meaning and is the interface design’s building block. With HTML, browsers display text or load elements by displaying web pages to users that contain hyperlinks and links to other web pages.
- CSS
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a standard language that defines how HTML content is displayed: fonts, foreground and background colors, and so on. With CSS, you can control the layout of a design and its components for various devices, such as desktop computers, tablets, and smartphones. Examples of components are header, body, footer, content, indents, and sections.
- JavaScript
JS expands the functionality of websites beyond HTML and CSS. Via JS:
Web pages can dynamically update and react to user activities without page supplies or other changes.
You can simulate animated UI components such as popups, image sliders, and extensive navigation menus.
Kinds of Web Apps in Front-End Development Services
Web applications are separated into such types:
1. Static web applications
Established on HTML and CSS, static web apps do not contain dynamic elements and are primarily designed to only display content and data without allowing interaction between users and servers. Consequently, these applications, the most common of which are portfolio sites and corporate websites, are relatively easy to create, modify and manage. Please note that although these apps are static, they may include videos, GIFs, and animated banners.
2. Dynamic Web Applications
Dynamic web applications offer interaction between the server and the user, i.e., the user creates a recommendation, which the server receives, and then develops a range in real-time. These applications, which often contain databases or forums and constantly update or change content, typically update via a content management system (CMS). You can build these apps with a variety of web languages, but PHP and ASP are best for structuring content.
3. e-Commerce Web Applications
Sites, which are online stores that advertise and sell goods or services, usually offer a wide range of features that facilitate purchase transactions. Typically, these are interactive applications through which users can interact with the server and which can be integrated with other systems to better manage interactions and inventory.
4. Single Page Applications
Single Page Applications (SPAs) display updated content by loading a single document using JavaScript APIs such as XMLHttpRequest and Fetch. Hence, since users do not have to download new web pages from the server, this is followed by better performance and a dynamic user experience. Nevertheless, because SPAs are more difficult than other web application applications, additional effort is required to monitor performance, maintain state, and implement navigation capabilities.
5. Progressive Web Apps
Progressive Web Apps (PWAs), which are websites that function like mobile apps with native mobile features, do not require users to purchase or download software from app stores. To find and access PWAs in their browser, users can start by querying a search engine.
With PWA, you can develop mobile applications for mobile operating systems. As with YouTube videos, devices progressively load PWA content, delivering a smoother user experience than traditional websites through responsive design.
Ultimately, PWAs offer mobile browsers many of the benefits of native apps, intending to blur the distinction between mobile web apps and mobile native apps.
Content Types in Web Applications
Given the significance of range in the digital economy, numerous web and mobile apps, such as those in the media and news industries, supply range as an integral element of their functionality. Content is also needed in social networks and applications designed for messaging, task management, and exchanging text, images, or videos between users.
When developing web applications, you should do the following concerning content:
- Implement mechanisms to dynamically serve content in a variety of formats.
- Add elements that make it easier to moderate, curate, or rate content to improve its quality.
- Optimize content, especially multimedia, for fast and accurate page loading.
- Display user-generated content (UGC), if available, in an engaging way and offer users a convenient way to share this content.
Adding Images and Videos to Apps
Images and videos have evolved universally in both web and mobile apps. When used correctly, visual content enhances the user experience and is easily perceived by users.
Before you add a large number of images and videos to your application that requires ongoing management and maintenance, consider how to meet the following requirements:
Constant updates. Significant manual effort is required to change all your images and videos to the structure, size, and aspect ratio required by the application, especially in the case of a huge amount of media that needs to be updated frequently. Responsive apps that require multiple versions of an image for different screen sizes further exacerbate this problem.
Video encoding and processing. Before showing videos to users, you must encode them in formats supported by different user devices. There is a delicate balance between providing adequate video quality and high performance at various connection speeds.
Video storage. Video files are large and can quickly overload an organization’s servers. Cloud storage is a good solution because it not only provides large scale but also allows you to stream video to users straight from cloud servers, decreasing the load on application servers.
Video players. To show videos to users, apps must include a video player. An effortless method to do this is to use the HTML5 video tag. There are many advanced players available, some open source and some commercial. Be sure to thoroughly test them with other elements of your application.
Adding Marketing Content to Apps
Many organizations create apps with the help of front-end development services to achieve marketing goals. For example, a clothing chain will share an app with its users where they can view new product offers, make purchases, and join loyalty programs.
Here are the key factors to consider when developing apps with marketing content:
- Transform elements. Since they are measured by the conversions they generate, marketing-focused apps should include features that encourage users to take actions that help achieve the company’s marketing goals.
- Brand value. Marketing content that aims to share brand values must be carefully designed and presented to ensure the right message is delivered.
- Usability and value. Ultimately, marketing apps need to be user-friendly, useful, and compelling. Balance this requirement with your marketing goals to increase user engagement.
