As of 2024, There are approximately 1.13 billion websites on the internet, each of which could be split up into two simple parts, the front and back. The backend saves and manages your data such as your Amazon History. Whereas, the learn frontend development is all that meets the eye, all the visual stuff, the text, the buttons the imagery, all of it.
Frontend Development is typically considered to be one of the easier technical fields to get into. But, what is Frontend Development? How long does one need to become an expert front-end developer? Fret not, today’s blog will help you get all the right answers to these questions and more.
What is Frontend development?
There’s a lot that goes into creating a website, the frontend is all that’s included in the User Interface. The text, buttons, images, views, and animations are all an integral part of the front end. So, frontend development can simply be termed as the practice of creating interactable user interfaces.
Frontend development utilizes a lot of technologies and frameworks to put out a perfect UI. The three most basic such technologies are
- HTML: Creates the basic structure of UI elements
- CSS: Style the UI elements
- JavaScript: Works on logic, creates elements, and works alongside the backend
In recent times, we’ve seen advancements, and now frameworks such as React, Angular, and Vue have become a lot more popular, so a frontend developer is always evolving. At this point, you must be wondering, how long does it take to learn frontend development? Ummm, Well…
Factors Influencing How Long It Takes to Learn Frontend Development
Well, the answer isn’t that simple and there are plenty of factors that can influence how long it takes for you to learn frontend development. The goal of a frontend developer is always to produce smart, intuitive, and easy-to-use UIs, but the duration of becoming a frontend developer depends on 5 things;
- Prior Expertise
- Commitment & Consistency
- Learning Methodology and Resources
- Hands-on Practice and Projects
- Opportunities and Luck
Prior Expertise
Undoubtedly, the most important factor is your prior knowledge of programming and UI designs. If you’ve been programming for quite some time even if in C++ or JAVA you’re a lot more likely to become a good frontend developer earlier than someone who has no such background. Because even in frontend development there’s more than what meets the eye.
Similarly, if you’ve been doing FIGMA or any UI/UX design, you understand certain basics of frontend already and will have a headstart and grasp concepts much quicker. However, an ideal case scenario will always be where you’ve had some prior experience with HTML, CSS, or JS at any level. Familiarization with basic concepts can take a couple of weeks or even a month and if you know that already you’re better than half the people trying to become frontend developers.
Commitment & Consistency
A famous saying goes, “Without Commitment, you cannot start but without consistency, you will never finish”. This is easily the best way to put your frontend development journey, usually when anyone starts learning frontend development they are extremely motivated but with time that dies out.
To become a great frontend developer in less time you need to be regular, you have to work day in and day out, learn new concepts, try different frameworks, make mistakes, and keep on learning from them, only then you be able to master frontend. It takes 21 days without a break for anything to become a habit, do frontend development for 21 days straight, and, well, rest as they say will be history. Set a timer when you start learning every day and make sure to reach your daily time goal and soon enough giving time to practice frontend development will become your habit.
Learning Methodology and Resources
What you’re learning is only just as important as how and where you’re learning that from. Front-end Development may seem like something simple, but it’s usually the simplest of things that are hardest to master.
Whether you’re using a specifically tailored front-end development course or you’re learning it from a YouTube playlist, whether you do practice tasks alongside the theory or not, all this will impact the duration of your learning.
Online Courses available can be tricky for some as they are not usually tailored to specific needs so for some a face-to-face course on front-end development will be a better option. However, the material available online on platforms such as Udemy, Coursera and YouTube is more than sufficient to help you learn and master Frontend development. So, you need to find the strategies that suit you the best and then stick to them and you’ll be an amazing developer in no time.
Hands-on Practice and Projects
Theory will only take you so far, which is why right after you’ve gotten to know the basics of frontend development, get some hands-on practice. Sometimes we think at the start that we don’t know enough and shouldn’t start building scrappy webpages with basic CSS and HTML. But, trust us when you’re learning it will almost always seem crappy until it won’t.
Building small projects such as Clones of a restaurant’s website or Amazon’s product page would boost your confidence and aid you in taking less time to learn front-end development. So, fret not and get right to it with your minimum knowledge and basic concepts of front-end development.
Opportunities and Luck
Front-end development is an extremely saturated field of development which is why newbies don’t get early chances. This competition can become a real hurdle in your aim to learn front-end development.
This might sound a bit pessimistic but almost always it’s not certain that you’ll get a frontend development internship or gig as early as you’d expect. Some people can be lucky and they might get better projects at the start, but you should always remember, that luck favors the brave. So keep on building your resume and soon enough you’ll land your ideal front-end development internship. Keep cold emailing the recruiters and soon enough you’ll be sitting behind a Laptop or Computer and doing what we love most, Frontend Development.
Stages of learning frontend development
Now that we know what are the possible hurdles in learning frontend development, let’s discuss the stages of learning Frontend development.
The stages could be broadly divided into 3 phases of learning frontend development
- Beginner Level
- Semi-Pro Phase
- Advanced Stage
Beginner Level: Learning HTML, CSS, JS Basics
This stage usually lasts between 1 to 3 months when you are getting used to core concepts of Web Structure, designing, and underlying logic. You start with HTML (Hyper Text Mark-up Language) learn the structure, which will take about 2 weeks, then move to CSS and work on styling concepts for a good 3 weeks and finally it’s time to learn JS (JavaScript) and PHP for logic building and usability.
The beginner Stage is the most critical as it is the underlying foundation for all your future endeavors in learning Frontend Development, don’t mess it up.
Semi-Pro Phase: Getting Used to Frameworks (React, Angular, Tailwind)
Once you’ve got a good grasp of basics you move a step further and learn the market standard frameworks, the newer ones such as Angular and React, and their ancestors such as Laravel.
This stage can be a bit confusing because sometimes you can get double-minded but the best practice is to start with a technology or a framework and only once you’ve done multiple projects move on to something new. This is an extremely grueling phase of learning frontend development and you need perseverance to get through this.
Advanced Stage: Mastering Efficiency & Innovation
After you’ve mastered multiple frameworks it’s about managing all things beyond that. You get more critical of what frameworks and practices to use for which specific project and you learn how to intermix multiple technologies to pull off the best result.
The Advanced level in learning frontend development lasts a lifetime because there are always new technologies sprouting and you need to always be mindful of change. Best front-end developers are just like Successful businessmen, they don’t put all their eggs in one basket, and you always keep shifting from new to newer if it’s good enough.
Roadmap to Learn Frontend Development Quickly
There is no pet formula for how to learn frontend development in the best possible way, however, there are tested routes that one can follow to take less time to learn frontend development. The simplest and most effective approach is as follows;
- Start from the start with HTML, CSS, and Javascript + PHP
- Learn version control with Git & GitHub for collaborative work
- Get used to popular frameworks such as React, Vue, Angular, and Laravel
- Stay engaged with the development community
Following this roadmap, you’ll soon become what you’ve always longed for, an exceptional frontend developer.
Conclusion
Learning frontend development is a journey, one which is met by numerous obstacles. Frontend development comes uniquely to all based on their prior experience, opportunities, learning methodology, and projects. However, one key element of this learning curve is consistency. if you are regular in your learning and follow streamlined roadmaps, you can accelerate learning and become proficient very soon. With persistence, the right approach, and guidance you’ll fulfill your dream of becoming a frontend developer. Share your experience of learning frontend development down below.
