From the simplest, most static websites to social media platforms and apps, from e-commerce sites to content management systems (CMS), all the tools we use on the internet every day were made by web developers.
What a web developer does involves these three layers: client-side coding (frontend), server-side coding (backend), and database technology .
Let's take a look at each of these layers in more detail.
Client-side
Client-side scripting, or frontend development, refers to everything that the Client-side programming runs in the web browser and is directly related to what people see when they visit a website. Things like layout, fonts, spain mobile phone number list colors, menus, and contact forms are all handled by the frontend.
Server-side
Server-side scripting, or backend development, is all about the stuff that goes on behind the scenes. The backend is essentially the part of a website that the user doesn’t see. It’s responsible for storing and organizing data, and making sure everything on the server-side works properly. It does this by communicating with the frontend. When something happens on the server-side—say, a user fills out a form—the browser sends a request to the server-side. The server-side “responds” with relevant information in the form of frontend programming that the browser can interpret and display.
Database technology
Learning about what a web developer does also involves learning about databases, as websites also rely on database technology. Databases contain all of the data and content that is necessary for a website to function, storing it in a way that is easy to retrieve, organize, edit, and save. Databases run on a server, and many websites use some form of relational database system (RDBMS).
In short: the frontend, backend, and database technology all work together to build and create a fully functional website or application, and these 3 layers form the foundation of web development.
The difference between web development and web design
You may hear the terms Web Development and Web Design used interchangeably, but they are two different things.
Imagine a web developer and a web designer working together to build a car: the developer would take care of all the functional components, like the engine, wheels, and gears, while the designer would be responsible for both the visual aspects — how the car looks, the layout of the dashboard, the design of the seats — and the user experience of the car, whether the car drives smoothly or not.
Web designers design the website. They design the layout of the website, ensuring that it makes sense, is user-friendly, and feels good to use. They consider all the different visual elements: what color schemes and fonts will be used? What buttons, drop-down menus, and scrollbars should be included, and where? What touchpoints will users interact with to get from point A to point B? Web designers also consider the architecture of the site, establishing where content should be included and where it should be included.
Web design is an extremely broad field, and will usually be divided into more specific functions such as: UX Design, User Interface Design and Information Design.
It is the web designer's job to take this design and develop it into a fully functioning, living website. A frontend developer takes the visual design that was provided by the web designer and builds on it using programming languages such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. A backend developer develops the more advanced functionality of the website, such as the checkout function on an ecommerce site.
In short, a web designer is the architect, while a web developer is the builder and engineer.
3. A Brief History of the Internet (World Wide Web)
The internet as we know it today has been decades in the making. To help you understand how web development works, let’s go back to where it all began and consider how the internet has evolved over time.
A Brief History of the Internet
1965: The first WAN (Wide Area Network)
The Internet is essentially a network of networks, connecting different WANs. WAN is short for Wide Area Network, a telecommunications network that spans a large geographic distance. The first WAN was established in 1965 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This WAN would later come to be called ARPANET. It was originally founded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency of the US Department of Defense.
