All about web development specialists– for IT recruiters

All about web development specialists– for IT Recruiters.

 

We’re staying in the web development area. You can check out my last article on Frontend vs Backend here.

In this article, I’m going to go over the question of “Who is who?”

When you were looking for a potential candidate, you’ve probably noticed that they tend to call themselves different names. I hope that getting familiarized with the terms will help you better understand the candidate’s profile. Thanks to that, you’ll gain the confidence that you’re contacting the right person.

Some misunderstandings on the subject resulted in labeling recruiters as people who can’t tell the difference between candidates who use Java and those who are proficient in JavaScript. 

Let the games begin!

 

Let’s have a look at the most common job titles:

• Frontend developer
• JavaScript developer
• Web developer
• Web application developer
• Website designer
• Graphic Designer
• UX Designer
• U.I. Developer
• Full-stack developer

 

How can you tell the difference?

Let’s take a quick look at how web application development works.

The whole process starts with the collection of requirements. First of all, we need to know what’s the purpose of the application. As well as who are the target users and what their expectations are. What do they like, how are they going to use it, etc.

Next, we need to know what it should look like. At this stage, analyze the initial concept and plan development solutions.

The next step is the design of the website. This includes the appearance. Establish the layout of individual elements. In short, the focus is on the visual aspect of the work.

The time comes to create the application, so we have the coding stage. Specialists make sure that everything is in accordance with the graphic design. That the website opens on all browsers, that the waiting time for its launch is “user-friendly”, you know, we want it fast, faster. What is also worth emphasizing is the website must work smoothly. It must be fully functional for use.

Next, the website is uploaded to the server. You have to take care of the backend.

Then what? At the end of the day, it needs to be optimized to make it as useful as possible for us.

Okay, so that’s it, in a nutshell. Now, the following graphic shows in a cool, simple way who is involved in each stage of the process.

 

 

Now briefly:

User Experience Designers

They make sure that users like the website, that they are satisfied when using it. UX Designers collect requirements, conduct research, analysis, and statistics. Based on which, they can say what something should look like and why. They also determine what needs to be changed to be more than satisfying. UX has a more human aspect.

User Interface Developers

Are responsible for how users interact with the website. Deals with the content of the site, its layout, the arrangement of buttons, sliders, windows, images, etc. They make the website nice and functional. They work with UX Designer and developers.

Application developers

Take care of functionality, coding. Their work is reflected best in the statement: I will make the site work, although I do not promise that it will be beautiful.

 

You may be involved in Web development through:

• Frontend. The most common job titles are Frontend developer, JavaScript developer.
• Backend. Most commonly called backend developers. Probably won’t see a name such as a web backend developer. However, NodeJS developer might come up.
• Frontend and backend. Here we have full-stack developers or web developers, and web application developers.

 

A little tip!

All this time, we’ve been talking about creating websites. I wouldn’t like you to identify the U.I. Developer or backend developer only with this area. These specialists may have the same job names when they also make desktop or mobile applications.

So you should analyze the technologies listed on the profiles, which are a hint if it is definitely a person dealing with web applications.

 

Short summary:

UX Designer —> research & design

U.I. Developer —> design & code

Application Developer —> code

Knowing the basic issues, i.e., the trio of languages, HTML, CSS, and J.S., as well as the general job description. You really can, in such a basic way, quickly find out who is who and if it is the specialist you are looking for.

Also, it is worthwhile to understand the content of the job offer, i.e., who the target candidate is.

So, when you’re browsing through the profiles of LinkedIn candidates, ask yourself some basic questions:

• Are you sure this is the profile of the person who creates websites?
• Does the specialist in question design more? I.E. uses HTML, CSS, Photoshop, Adobe illustrator to a large extent, and occasionally JavaScript. Or maybe mainly codes?
• Next, if they code, is it the frontend side and here mainly use of JavaScript? Sometimes HTML and CSS, or maybe backend (Java – Spring, .NET – ASP.NET, Python – Django, Ruby – Ruby on Rails and many others).

It is also worth noting that someone who has made a lot of working and good looking websites, which they can boast about, is not necessarily able to make a web application. The majority of websites of shops, companies, etc. have a standard functionality covered in templates with a whole lot of plug-ins and designs.

Efficiently operating such tools (e.g., WordPress, Drupal), a person can quickly and effectively sell “making pages” without being able to code in the backend and not at all or barely in the frontend. You have to watch out for this when evaluating candidates by portfolio.

As we get to the bottom of it, the key to a better understanding of the profile of a web development candidate is knowledge of the various other technologies.

About that soon.

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