What Does a Back-End Developer Do? A Detailed Guide

 / August 28, 2019

Dear (aspirant) developers! Which kind of personality are you? Do you find an amazing back-end developer? If you find yourself drawn to what shapes and forms the effortless-looking user interface of a web application, chances are: You resonate with the back-end developer community. So What does a back-end developer do?

back-end developer
Source: Bermuda 1

If you see yourself cracking the coding requirements passed by front-end developers, there is a huge chance you would enjoy being the articulate back-end developer we all admire.

And if your guilty pleasure is to spend hundreds of hours trying to find out how to write the perfect codes, get ready to get on board with the other back-end development side hustlers.

Back-end or front-end developers, either pay colossal contributions to the ultimate outcome of a web application or software product of any kind. Server-side sagacity and integration of front-end business are among the most common responsibilities that a back-end developer must take on from her/his participation in a web development project. This blog post will offer more insights into what it takes to be a well-qualified back-end developer.

What is Back-End Development?

What is Back-End Development?
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There always seems to be a fuss about front-end and back-end development. Much like the ever-heating argument of whether tactics can trump execution in the making of a project, front-end development has, for the longest time, gained the glamour of the development game in comparison to the attention paid to back-end development. However, there is one consistency in all debates – one cannot properly function without the other.

FURTHER READING:
1. How to Become a Full Stack Developer? Does It Suit You?
2. What Is a Front End Developer and How to Become One?
3. Top 6 Best Front End Developer Courses With Certificates
4. Front-End vs Back-End: Which Suits You Best?

The 2 Types of the Codes

In this article, a simple yet comprehensive outlook on what back-end development means in the area of software development means will be carried out from the perspectives of avid professional developers from Designveloper. There are two types of codes that exist on two sides of a project – the developer side and the client side.

1. The Client-Side

The codes that later on will display on the client-side which had been processed and ‘smoothed out’ are the ones on the client-side thanks to front-end development. In order to smooth out those presentable codes to the clients, who are only familiar with the outer appearance of the product, back-end development played a major role in creating and running the second type of code on the server.

2. The Developer Side

Such a server would garner requests from the clients through the server, which would add more input to back-end development and in turn produce a more conditioned front-end development. There is no ideal front-end performance without a soundly-operating regime coined by a back-end developer

HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are most frequented by back-end developers, creating a user-friendly interface that operates on the client-side.

What Does a Back End Developer Do?

What Does a Back End Developer Do?
Source: Bermuda 3

If back-end development was your superpower as a superhero in the cinematic Marvel Universe, what are the exact powers that you are capable of?

Since dealing with a huge weight of data that communicates the requests of clients to the server is such a huge proportion in back-end development, your power would be data-centric – meaning your main tasks would revolve around storing, modifying, reconstructing, and processing data so that front-end development would have enough materials to navigate through their own set of requests. That being said, the more meticulous the data is thanks to back-end development, the more time clients will be able to save from communicating data-related issues with a back-end developer.

Recommended reading: How Much Does Google Pay Their Software Engineers?

1. Back-end development

Also implicated that you would need to manually set up the basis of the database system as well as manipulate various types of data systems in order to process and secure data in the way that suits the project the most. Other than working with data stored on the physical storage units, back-end developers also need to equip themselves with working with data stored on servers on a cloud-based infrastructure.

2. Tips on How to Contribute to the Organization

The following tips are given by the people at Designveloper on how back-end developers could contribute to the organization:

  • Place great concentration on programming and debugging.
  • Be a team player: with the front-end development team, operation team, and clientele.
  • Excel at communication skills: keep everyone in the team informed of progress and existing issues in order to come up with solutions in a timely manner.
  • Create a set of customizable codes that could be reused in future similar projects in order to save time.
  • Stay up-to-date with the latest trend in the back- and front-end development as well as in the technology arena in general.
  • Make time for listening to specific feedback from customers, for example, troubleshooting, application glitches, and resolving bugs.
  • Stay informed of customers’ requests and equip yourself with the latest information within back-end development by participating in educational programs, conferences, and seminars.

To us Designveloper, the key to back-end development is perseverance, a growth mindset, a can-do attitude, and generosity towards fellow team players and customers. Feedback always plays a pivotal role in sanding the rough edges of a back-end development project – we Designveloper believe a back end developer holds the key to a complete project, bringing the highest rate of satisfaction to customers.

3. A Trajectory for a Back End Developer to Thrive in the Software Development Realm

A trajectory for a back end developer to thrive in the software development realm
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In order to advance in the software development realm, one can start off by mastering coding languages such as Java, Ruby, PHP, and Python; and familiarising themselves with front-end languages such as HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. A junior back-end developer could earn a bachelor’s degree in computer science or in similar relevant areas.

However, some companies like Google, Britain-based EY and Apple were reported to no longer exclusively hire talents with a college degree anymore for the same reason why so many successful tech moguls in the tech industry were college drop-outs. Just because you could not afford an expensive college degree that took 4 to 6 years and shouldered you with heaps of student loans. It does not mean you cannot excel at programing an application that can meet the requirements of the clientele. That being said, a decent education can give you a great start in comparison to other people. Yet only persistence and consistency could last you longer in terms of the longevity of your software development career.

back-end developer

Recommended reading: What Full-Stack Engineer Really Is In 2022?

Getting basic to advanced knowledge in every aspect of a software development project would always do you a huge favor in matching the clientele’s vision for the project as well as creating a feasible vision for the clientele in need of a professional perspective. There is more to back-end development if you want to get ahead of the game. You could earn more credentials and work experience in back-end development and front-end development. Experience in handling CMS framework and web development.

4. Understanding of back-end development

Seniority in software development stems from a great understanding of back-end development, which would take you a while to master yet would gain you a more comprehensive perspective on how a software development project should appear and function at the end of the development process.

5. A survival guide for those who wish to mature in back-end development

A survival guide for those who wish to mature in back-end development – Essential skills and what-nots
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Critical thinking is by far a must in any profession; so it undoubtedly should be the ultimate personal skill that a proficient in back-end development must possess. Personal instinct plays an important role in such – sensing when there will be an issue on the client’s side. and how to come up with a contingency plan in advance is one prominent example of someone criticizing their own back-end development project without allowing their ego to be an obstacle.

Always listen to the client, even though at first you thought you know what the best is for the client. Put yourself in the client’s shoes once in a while in order to understand their challenges in using your software product. Empathy, consistency, and the ability to communicate problems. And solutions are virtues found in a back-end developer that are vastly appreciated by the client side.

6. Attending lots and lots of seminars every month!

Even when you know you would not gain much new information in the area like how you would in a conventional class setting, networking with other fellows’ back-end developers would allow you to get to know more case studies. Better prepare for future projects ahead of you and contact people that potentially could become team players of your next back-end development projects. 

Attending lots and lots of seminars every month!
Source: Bermuda 6

The user interface sets the first impression of a smart product. Yet, without back-end development laying the concrete. There would be no sense of stability, consistency, and performance efficiency in software development.

People at Designveloper take back-end development as seriously as front-end development since we share a mutual understanding that a great software product would not exist without back-end developers doing all the hard work. People at Designveloper greatly appreciate back-end development as we know it takes a village to introduce a back-end developer.

If you are on the way to becoming that great back-end developer being the talk of the town, do not forget to reach out and share the obstacles on your growth path. If you are that back-end developer we surely would appraise, do not hesitate to reach out. We welcome back-end talents regardless of academic and social background.

Best wishes to you, People at Designveloper.

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