Backend Development: What It Is, What It Does, Skills, And Salary
Every website you’ve ever visited may be divided into two parts: what you see (including pages and content) and what you don’t.
In the tech sector, this is referred to as the “front-end” and the “back-end,” respectively. Front-end developers and back-end developers are the people who work on these components. Both the front and back ends of a website provide unique problems, yet one cannot exist without the other.
If you’re more interested in the hidden side of websites — the part that keeps things operating — you might want to seek a career in back-end development. And there has never been a better time: According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the function of “Web Developer” is anticipated to grow by 13% between 2020 and 2030, much above the national average of 8%.
What Is A Back-End Developer?
A back-end developer in web development is in charge of creating and managing the back-end of a website or online application. The back end includes all of the components that a normal user does not interface with, such as databases, servers, application logic, and APIs. Back-end developers build this infrastructure and verify that its components perform properly.
What Is Back-End Development?
So, how does the backend look? Nothing, at least not for the user. The back end, on the other hand, is always chugging away behind the scenes to support the front-end experience for visitors. Consider this blog post: how did this front end come up on your computer in the first place? This post’s content, picture, and code files are kept in a database on a web server. When you (or, more precisely, your browser) request to access this web page, it is routed to the server. The files are subsequently “served” to your browser by the server. This is how the back end works.
When you submit a form, the information is saved in an organized database and used to send you an email. These procedures are also part of the backend and hence fall within the purview of backend developers. This is the essence of back-end development: receiving user data from an application’s front end, storing it, executing various operations on this stored data, and returning it back to the front end. Back-end engineers devise solutions and construct the code to make all of this possible.
How Much Money Does A Back-End Developer Make?
The salary of a back-end developer is heavily dependent on where they work. However, persons in this sector can often expect to be highly rewarded. According to indeed.com, back-end developers are in great demand and can expect to earn roughly $95,000 on average.
What Does A Back-End Developer Do?
Back-end developers create, manage, and debug the infrastructure that powers an application. As you could expect, this is a vast obligation that may be divided into several jobs. A back-end developer may be responsible for some, most, or all of the following, depending on the company:
Creating systems and procedures to satisfy the application’s needs
Database maintenance includes data storage and retrieval, organization, backups, and security.
Identifying and correcting issues in the back-end code
Managing any APIs used by the organization to integrate apps, both internally and externally
Optimizing performance to boost efficiency and improve user experience
Creating and maintaining code libraries that may be shared by developers throughout the company
assisting in the development of the general architecture of the application’s back-end
Defending the application from cyberattacks
Back-end developers work with front-end developers to transform functionalities into user-facing material in the app’s interface. To bring online applications to life, back-end engineers frequently collaborate with managers, architects, designers, researchers, IT security, and others.
Front-End Vs. Back-End Developer
The front-end of websites and applications — the user interface that visitors view, interact with, etc. — is created and maintained by front-end developers. Text, pictures, videos, menus, navigation, and other interface elements fall under this category. Developers that specialize in back-end work on
websites and applications. They set up and keep up the application’s unseen components, such as servers, databases, and logic.
Back-end developers and front-end developers collaborate to create a product, much as the back-end and front-end of software require each other to make a full program. Many people make the mistake of assuming that a back-end programmer is the same as a back-end engineer.
These jobs, however, differ in their areas of expertise: Back-end developers specialize in server-side programming languages such as Python, Java, and PHP, whereas front-end developers typically code in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and their related frameworks. Although, in today’s industry, any of those languages can be found on either side of the spectrum.
Finally, the front-end team strives to make the interface entertaining and accessible, while the back-end team creates the app’s unseen infrastructure to support the front end.
Back-End Developer Skills
We’ve spoken about what back-end developers do, but what do they need to know to do it? In this part, we’ll go through the main talents you look for when hiring or training a back-end developer.
Programming Languages
Developers handle servers, databases, and application logic using a range of web development languages. Here are a few examples:
Python
Python is a general-purpose programming language that is frequently used to create the backend of software programs and online applications. It is a versatile, user-friendly, and powerful language that all back-end programmers should become acquainted with.
Python is simple to learn and implement, and it is high-level, which means the code is legible by people and requires less writing than in low-level languages. Its syntax is straightforward and reasonable to read. There are several libraries available for tailoring Python to any requirement, including server-side operations and data visualizations.
JAVA
Java is another general-purpose programming language that is frequently used in application development. It was designed to be deployable in a variety of contexts and to be flexible enough to handle sophisticated, high-performance software applications.
Java is more difficult to understand than Python, and its implementation is frequently more code-heavy. Even so, if you’re acquainted with it, it’s strong and intuitive, and it’s another must-know for back-end devs.
PHP
PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) is a server-side programming language that is frequently used to construct dynamic websites with content that changes depending on the user or browser requesting the page. PHP creates web pages on the server dynamically based on database content. This is the inverse of static web pages, which are kept on servers in their entirety and seem identical to all visitors.
PHP runs millions of websites worldwide and is another reasonably simple server-side language for novices to learn. It’s also one of the primary languages used by WordPress, the world’s most popular content management system.
Other Languages
Of course, there are other different programming languages available to back-end developers. Other popular possibilities include Ruby, a high-level language for fast-developing web and mobile applications, C, a lower-level language (and presently the most popular), and .NET, a Microsoft framework for developing websites and online apps.
A back-end developer may also use programming languages designed expressly for database administration, such as SQL or JSON.
Front-End Languages
While back-end developers often deal with server-side programming languages, learning the principles of front-end languages will be useful while working on web-based projects. HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are the three front-end languages.
HTML (HyperText Markup Language) HTML defines the structure and content (text, links, and media) of web pages. Almost all web pages are written in HTML, and their files finish in.html.
CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) The internet would be a rather boring place without CSS — every website would just be walls of unstyled text and graphics. CSS also aids in making website content flexible to various devices and screen sizes.
JavaScript (often shortened to JS) Developers use it to control animations, dynamically change page content, and run scripts on websites (without consulting the back-end).
Understanding these languages will make it much simpler to collaborate with front-end engineers and designers, and it may aid in detecting problems that require both front-end and back-end resources. They’re also valuable general-purpose talents to acquire, particularly if you want to pursue design or full-stack programming.
Database Management
Because sending data into or getting data from the application’s database is a large part of the back-end developer’s job, understanding of contemporary database technologies is vital.
The two types of db are relational databases and non-relational db. Relational databases save connected data pieces like a customer’s name, email address, or account ID. Relational databases, which commonly employ the SQL language, are arranged as tables with connected data items in the same row.
Non-relational databases (also known as NoSQL databases), on the other hand, do not store data points based on their connections (though the data can still be related). Non-relational databases organize their data using Extensible Markup Language (XML) and JavaScript Object Notation rather than tables (JSON). In addition to SQL, knowledge of NoSQL database tools such as Redis and MongoDB might be beneficial on the back end.
Server-Side Software
Back-end developers create software that runs on servers. Common server software such as Apache, Nginx, Microsoft IIS, and the Linux operating system should be known to you. You’ll also need to grasp how web servers receive and handle requests for web pages, how they store data and the fundamentals of keeping them fast and safe.
APIs
An application programming interface (API ) is a collection of definitions and protocols that allow two apps to connect with one another and share data. An API receives requests from external apps and responds by completing the request. This call might be to get or edit data from the API’s database.
APIs are responsible for the utilization of one web app’s technology on another. Apps such as Facebook, YouTube, Google, and Spotify make much of their data available via public APIs.
Today, various APIs are in use, with REST APIs being the most prevalent. You should be familiar with REST APIs if you want to work in web development (and possibly SOAP APIs too). This technology links not just distinct apps but also internal back-end services.
REST APIs are the most widely used APIs nowadays. To work in web development, you need to be familiar with REST APIs (and possibly SOAP APIs too). This technology integrates not just independently owned apps but also corporate back-end services.
Data Structures And Algorithms
Data structures and algorithms, unlike other talents, are more conceptual than real technology, but they are extremely vital. To be effective in their work, a good back-end developer must have a thorough understanding of these domains, which is why they are included in computer science academic curricula.
A data structure is a method of organizing information in a computer. Arrays, linked lists, trees, attempts, hash tables, heaps, stacks, and queues are all common data structures that back-end engineers may face at some point in their employment.
In general, an algorithm is a predefined approach to solving a problem. Back-end engineers are familiar with the core algorithms of computer software, including sorting algorithms, searching algorithms, text parsing, matching, hashing, and recursive algorithms.
Other Important Skills
There’s a lot more to learn about back-end development than the essential skills outlined above. Here are some more abilities that will help you as a back-end programmer:
Experience with a version control system, most likely Git, as well as knowledge of GitHub
Server administration knowledge or experience
Communication abilities, as well as the ability to explain complicated technical issues to non-experts, are required.
Time management abilities are required because you will most likely be juggling many duties at the same time.
Knowledge of cloud computing and hosting
Understanding recommended practices for web accessibility
Understanding excellent cybersecurity techniques
Back-End Developers: The People Who Make The Site Work
We frequently commend front-end engineers and designers for their outstanding aesthetic work and user experiences. Of course, this honor is well-deserved. But keep in mind that these sites would not exist without the labor of back-end developers.
If you want to maintain the web’s infrastructure while solving abstract, complicated tasks and aren’t scared to learn multiple new programming languages along the way, you could be a good fit for a back-end developer. Rest assured, this employment isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
