Hemendra Singh
Today, websites have become a crucial part of our life. There are a lot of sites on the internet. For example, educational websites, shopping websites, etc. The educational websites provide both free and paid content to their users so that, they can learn and grow. On the other hand, shopping websites let us purchase the products without going to the market. Moreover, there are also the websites for entertainment. We can play online games on gaming websites, watch online shows, etc. Have you ever thought, how these websites are created.
To build these websites, you should know about front-end development. These skills also help you get a job in an Android app development company. In this article, we will discuss the skills needed to develop front-end applications. It replaces the need for boilerplate code with the use of the strict file.
HTML is an essential language for front-end developers. It is one of the three most significant languages to learn front-end development. The other two languages are CSS and JavaScript. The HTML language defines the order of the elements on a website. It provides the browsers with the list of all required files that sites need. We can consider the HTML language as the blueprint of front-end development like our DNA. With the help of HTML, one can know what is inside a web page. Have a look at some of the elements of the HTML:
Block level elements. It fills the whole space of its parent element.
Inline elements. It occupies the space bounded by the tags which define it.
Forms. It renders a document section which holds the controls to submit data to web server.
Input types. The use of input elements is to create controls for web-based forms.
CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets. It is another mandatory skill for front-end app developers. CSS describes the look of a website. The CSS controls the factors responsible for the style of a site. For example, colors, fonts, and some animations. CSS is not a programming language. Instead, it is a text document which contains the design instructions for a website. Following are some of the elements of a CSS:
Display value types. It lets you control the graphical elements.
The Box model. As the name implies, it defines the size of the rectangular box for an element in a document.
Font style and web fonts. Font style lets you change the look of the text. Web fonts contain the web-based font files.
Animations and transitions. These lets you add the animation effect to the website.
JavaScript controls the interactions on a site. Let's take an example of a person who builds new rooms and redecorates your house. JavaScript is a language which is used for both front-end and back-end development. It is a server-side programming language. It controls the aspects of the website design.
We can use JavaScript to develop dynamic web pages. For this, we can use frameworks like AngularJS and ReactJS. It means, for dynamic web app development, you should have detailed knowledge of JavaScript. Hence, if you are a front-end app developer, you cannot ignore JavaScript.
When you open a website on devices of different sizes, say PC, mobile phones, tablets, etc. You will find that the site fits all of these devices perfectly. It is what the responsive web design. By learning the responsive web design skill, you will be able to scale the websites for different devices. Let's see the components of the responsive web design:
@media queries. Media queries let the web content fit to the specific range of output devices.
Relative sizing units. You will get many units of measurement like em, rem, vw, vh and vmin.
While building a web application, you may face many issues. These issues may be bugs in your code, performance issues, etc. To fix these issues, you know how the browser interprets the code. The browser developer tools provide you with all the details to encounter such problems.
Elements panel. With the help of this tool, you can see everything in one DOM tree. It lets you edit the DOM elements.
Network. The network panel records each piece of information about the network operation.
Timeline. It lets you records and analyzes all the activities in an application as it runs.
Application profiling. Using this panel, you can observe the memory usage of your application as it runs.
Resources. It let you inspect the resources loaded into your application.
With the help of JavaScript libraries and frameworks, it is easier to write the web application. Using these libraries, you will also be able to resolve cross-browser compatibility issues. Have a look at some examples of these libraries:
AngularJS. It lets you extend the HTML vocabulary. So that, you can create the front-end apps. It features two-way data binding.
EmberJS. It replaces the need for boilerplate code with the use of the strict file.
KnockoutJS. It makes building data-driven applications easier.
What is essential to building a web app favorite of many people? There are many deciding factors for this. One element may be its speed. You should have the skills to make a web application fast. By learning some simple principles of browser rendering, you can make your web app perform faster. You can do it in many ways, have a look:
Critical rendering path. It is the process in which browsers transform HTML, CSS, or JavaScript into pixels. These pixels are then, sent to the users' screen.
Image optimization. By optimizing your images, you can make your application light. Remember, while optimizing the images, do not compromise with their quality. You can also remove the extra metadata from an image file.
JavaScript minification. It is the process of removing redundant characters from JavaScript files. It will lessen the file size.
Whether you are seeking a job or going to develop a front-end application, you should possess the necessary skills. These skills are HTML, CSS, JavaScript, etc. Why do you need all these skills? Because there are many things to be done on a website. For example, it should be fit for all devices irrespective of their sizes. Also, if there are any issues on the site like a bug, you have the skills to encounter it. Besides this, a beautiful look of the website is necessary to increase the users' experience.
My name is Hemendra Singh. I am Managing Director and co-founder of The NineHertz, a Mobile App and Web Development Company. My ideology is that a clear vision and hard...
