What is a Front-End Web Developer?
The role of a front-end developer is to guarantee that website users may readily interact with the page. They accomplish this by combining design, technology, and programming with coding the appearance of a website and debugging. Everything you see, click on, or use on a website is the result of the efforts of a front-end developer.
Front-end web development, sometimes referred to as client-side development, is creating HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for a website or Web application so that a user can see and interact with it directly. The difficulty with front-end development is that the tools and techniques used to produce the front end change all the time, necessitating the developer’s ongoing awareness of how the field evolves.
Website design aims to guarantee that when users visit the site, they view material in an easy-to-read and relevant format. It is further complicated because visitors today utilize a wide range of devices with different screen sizes and resolutions, prompting the designer to consider these factors while creating the site. They must ensure that their site works properly in a variety of browsers (cross-browser), operating systems (cross-platform), and devices (cross-device), which necessitates careful planning on the developer’s part.
A front end developer’s job description should include some or all of the following:
- Improving the user’s experience
- Bringing concepts to life with HTML, JavaScript, and CSS.
- Creating and updating the user interface
- Making design changes to mobile websites.
- Developing technologies to improve site interaction across all browsers.
- Keeping track of software workflow.
- Adherence to SEO best practices.
- Bug fixing and usability testing.
Most front-end engineers spend a significant amount of time dealing with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and mastering each is critical to their success.
A front-end developer creates websites and applications using web technologies (such as HTML, CSS, DOM, and JavaScript) that operate on the Open Web Platform or serve as compilation input for non-web platform settings (i.e., React Native).
A person typically learns HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, which run in a web browser but can also run in a headless browser, WebView, or compilation input for a native run-time environment. These four run-time possibilities are detailed below.
Browsers (internet browsers) (most common)
A web browser is software that retrieves, displays, and navigates information on the World Wide Web. Browsers are often used on a desktop or laptop computer, tablet, or phone, although they may now be found on just about anything (i.e., on a fridge, in cars, etc.).
The most popular web browsers are (in order of most popular to least popular):
- Chrome
- Internet Explorer
- Safari (Note: not Edge, referring to IE 9 to IE 11)
- Firefox
- Edge
Headless browsers
Headless browsers are web browsers that lack a graphical user interface. They can be operated programmatically via a command-line interface for web page automation (e.g., functional testing, scraping, unit testing, etc.). Consider a headless browser as a browser that can retrieve and navigate web pages and can be executed from the command line.
The following are the most popular headless browsers:
- Chromium without ahead
- Zombie
- slimerjs
Webviews
Webviews are web pages that are run by a native OS in a native application. Consider a webview to be an iframe or a single tab from a web browser integrated with a native app on a device (e.g., iOS, Android, Windows).
The following are the most typical web view development solutions:
- Cordova (for native phone and tablet apps)
- Electron (usually used for desktop programs)
- NW.js (typically used for desktop apps)
HOW TO BILL FOR FRONT END DEVELOPMENT
Billing by the hour is often perceived as a mistake; However, hourly billing is the de facto standard most freelancers employ (and can be beneficial in some situations). It is not the most excellent strategy to increase your revenue and get paid top dollar for your expertise. Here are a few reasons why hourly billing isn’t the best option:
You get paid less the faster you work. As a result, you would not be driven to improve your efficiency or learn new abilities.
Working for more extended hours is the only way to increase revenue. You start placing a greater emphasis on quantity rather than quality, making it difficult to stand out in front of potential clients.
Because hourly rates are just a number, you’re always compared to your competition on price rather than value or portfolio.
Certain services you supply will be undervalued or overvalued by your hourly fee. You’ll either lose money or be chastised for work that doesn’t seem to justify the asking price.
Keeping track of your hours is a time-consuming task that does not contribute to your bottom line.
There are better ways to pricing out your online projects, whether you’re a designer, developer, or marketer that makes websites for a living.
Your hourly rate has a direct impact on your perceived value and skill.
A high hourly charge is difficult to explain unless you work with high-budget clients, making them more challenging to get.
Customers judge the worth of the end (results) and remove themselves from the process evaluation by subtracting hours from a quote. Testimonials, reviews, and your portfolio can all assist you in addressing any issues you might have.
Customers dislike surprises and don’t like to pay “additional fees.”
Even though project-based pricing is thought to be superior, this strategy has a few drawbacks. Project complexity and client ambivalence are the two most typical obstacles to Project Based Pricing. The more vast and intricate a project is, the more difficult it is to evaluate. Dealing with undecided customers might be difficult because it’s difficult to predict how many modifications they’ll ask for.
The easier way to deal with these issues is to write a formal contract that specifies the project’s scope and reviews it. In uncertain events, such as new or unknown requests and coping with never-ending review cycles, your contract should spell out what happens.
To account for unknowns, you’ll probably need to set an hourly rate.
Your hourly rate should, in general, correspond to your level of knowledge, technical skills, and the industry or region in which you compete. It shouldn’t be calculated simply by dividing your earnings by the number of hours you worked.
HOW TO INVOICE FOR FRONT END DEVELOPMENT
Invoicing is rarely as straightforward as taking a customer’s credit card or another form of payment over the internet. To keep correct accounting records, you must follow specific local rules and regulations.
Businesses also have internal systems in place to keep their accounts payable in order. By putting the correct information in your invoices, you can be paid faster and develop confidence and rapport with your clients. Here are some essential components to include:
You should provide a complete description of each service you provide. It will serve as a reminder to your client of the work completed at that time. You could, for example, include:
Project Name – Include the project’s identifying name.” It is also good to include some project specifics so that you and your clients know what it’s about when looking over old invoices.
Quantity – This refers to the number of deliverables in the invoice. Most projects will have several smaller packages along the way. For instance, you might charge for three bug fixes and one app architecture mock-up. Listing the quantity would help avoid confusion about costs.
Hourly Rate — Include your hourly rate in your invoice if you charge by the hour. Any other time-based costs, such as day rates, are the same.
Subtotal – This is the invoice’s total amount before any additional fees or taxes are applied.
Total Amount – If you do not include taxes or VAT in your invoices, the total amount will equal the subtotal.
Detailed service information will save time and effort of searching through past conversations for the information they require.
Each invoice you send out should be assigned a specific number. Don’t use the same number twice. Start with one as your first invoice if you’re unsure. You should also avoid leaving any gaps or spaces in the invoice number.
HOW MUCH TO BILL FOR FRONT END DEVELOPMENT
Any freelance engineering or software development should be billed by the hour. Your level of experience and knowledge determines your ability to charge a certain amount to sell yourself. In the United States, $25 per hour is a low wage for a front-end developer to accept as an employee. $15 per hour would be a ridiculous “must be living with his parents” deal.
Front-end developers earn $51,000 per year on average around the world. Front-end-end developers can make anything from $61,000 to $101,000 per year in the United States. Freelance front-end developers typically charge between $61 and $80 per hour, though this varies depending on where the developer is located and how much expertise they have.
Remember that the above fees may vary depending on your recruiting needs, including whether you need a full-time, part-time, contract, or freelance Front-end developer. Hiring an on-site developer versus a remote developer may cost more or less.
If I assume you’re a novice with no experience and are willing to accept $15 per hour, it appears that 150 pounds will get you 14 hours of work. It took almost two days to give birth! Wow, they’re putting their money down for this one!
It’s entirely up to you, mate; perhaps the experience and having a project under your belt, to begin with, trumps the financial gain. That could be especially true if the company you’re considering is small, and you know they can’t afford to pay a programmer that much for full-time work; in that instance, you might be able to make up for it in goodwill. But goodwill doesn’t pay the bills, and if this job lasts longer than a week, I won’t bother with it.