What is Full Stack Web Development

The process of deploying an entire web application from scratch to finish is known as Full stack development. A full-stack developer is often responsible for the development of an entire application, someone who possesses the understanding of the tools and technologies used for the front end as well as the back end of the website. We will learn about full stack web development in this tutorial, along with the elements that make it up, the tools and technologies that support it, and how it influences the current, dynamic tech environment. 

What is Full Stack Web Development?

Full-stack development is the process of planning and creating both the front-end (client-side) and back-end (server-side) elements of a web application. While back-end development deals with managing the server-related elements of the website, such as database administration, API development, and more, front-end development concentrates on creating engaging user interfaces and providing a rich user experience.

A full-stack developer is a person who can carry out both duties independently eliminating the need to hire two distinct developers—the front-end developer and the backend developer who are recruited for separate responsibilities while constructing an application.

Languages Used for Full Stack Web Development

A full-stack developer is generally hired for small-scale projects, however, for larger-scale web applications, the efficient procedure is to utilize different developers for different roles. In full stack development, there is the freedom to combine several programming languages based on how well they work together.

JavaScript is one of the best options available to developers for full-stack development since it is one of the few languages that can be utilised on both the front end and the back end. This feature of JavaScript enables it to capture seamless communication between the client and the server.

Some of the popular languages used for developing the front end of websites are HTML, CSS, JavaScript, ReactJS, VueJS, and more, however, for developing backend are Python, NodeJS, Java, Ruby, and more. 

There are also several stacks available such as MERN stack, MEAN stack, Ruby on Rails, and more which makes the entire development lifecycle smooth and convenient.

Front End vs Back End vs Full Stack Web Development

1. Front-end development: It is also known as client-side development, as the name suggests it focuses on the visible parts of the websites that are UI components of an application. This development ensures the website is responsive, user-friendly, stylish, and visually appealing. 
2. Back-end development: It is also known as server-side development, as it ensures the logic is applied correctly on the website as intended by the developer. The developer here creates a behind-the-scene show that powers the website to connect the front end of the website with the required servers and databases, ensuring a seamless transaction of data between them.

Advantages of Full Stack Web Development

The scope of full-stack development continues to grow along with the current technology industry. There was once a time when developers didn’t even consider creating a backend of their websites, they used to hard code everything as the front end of the websites, but we have come a long way since then. 

Let’s now understand the crucial role full stack development plays. 

1. Economical: A full-stack developer is hired when you’re working on a small-scale project. As a result, you won’t need to hire additional developers because the full-stack developer has all the necessary skill sets.
2. Efficiency: A system is more effective when there is less misunderstanding among the project’s stakeholders. Since a full-stack developer also reduces communication among the other project specialists, this results in a more coordinated and effective development process. 
3. Issue resolving: An application designed by a full-stack developer may interact easily with the front and back ends of the website since they have a thorough grasp of what they are doing. As the entire project is produced by a single developer, it also makes the process of fixing any flaws that are present in the project easier to identify. 

Full Stack Web Development Tools

A web application’s effectiveness is the result of a number of technologies, frameworks, and tools working together. A developer must be aware of the technologies that go behind creating the front end and back end of the websites respectively. Therefore, let’s discuss some of the full stack web development tools that you may use in your next project. 

1. Front End Tools

The fundamental structure and style of a webpage are created using the standard languages HTML and CSS. These two are among the languages that are essential for building a basic internet presence. JavaScript is useful for including more interactive UI components on your website. Additionally, a number of JavaScript frameworks and libraries provide a pre-written collection of code that simplify the creation of UI components overall. 

Some common yet popular choices of JavaScript frameworks are ReactJS, Angular, and VueJS. The best part about the implementation of these JavaScript frameworks is that, because JavaScript is the language that every web developer learns at first, there isn’t always a high learning curve involved. 

2. Back-End Tools 

A significant amount of work is involved in developing a back-end system of an application including, database management, APIs, Authentication and Authorization, and more. To cover each of these aspects a different technology is used, and sometimes one technology performs several tasks. Popular examples of programming languages used to script the server side of the application are Python, Ruby, PHP, and JavaScript. There are also several backend frameworks involved such as ExpressJS which is based upon JavaScript, Django which is based upon Python, and more. To manage databases one may use MySQL, MongoDB, Redis, and more. 

One of the modern approaches to full stack development is to rely upon stacks such as MERN (MongoDB, ExpressJS, ReactJS, NodeJS), and MEAN (MongoDB, ExpressJS, AngularJS, NodeJS) stacks. These are the combination of several JavaScript-based frameworks that do the task effectively and deliver an overall efficient and coordinated system.

Full Stack Web Development Best Practices

Best Practices help you utilize full stack web development to its maximum potential. Here are some of the best practices in  Full Stack Web Development you can use to construct a reliable script that will enable you to build a website that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing.

• Planning: A project that has been carefully planned out before it begins helps to create a clear direction towards the requirements of the project’s resources, such as time, budget, and team members, which improves the project’s overall efficiency. Additionally, making extra decisions in advance, such as selecting the appropriate stack, tools, and technologies, may be very helpful in handling any mid-project crises. 
• Maintainability: When creating, it’s important to keep in mind that maintainable code makes it easier to update any script in the future. Writing clear, succinct, and well-structured code will help you do this. To improve the quality of the code, one must also adhere to other coding standards and descriptive naming conventions. 

• Secure Project: No script that might pose a security risk exists in an acceptable project. To fix this, the project’s frameworks and libraries must be updated on a regular basis, and appropriate authorisation and authentication methods must be developed.
• Testing: The process of testing determines if the resultant product functions as planned. Before releasing your product to actual people, it is crucial to test it in a variety of situations. To guarantee the optimum functioning of an application, functional tests, unit tests, integration tests, and end-to-end tests must be preferred.
  It is always a best practice to the website on real devices and frameworks for better accuracy. Real device cloud like BrowserStack can help you test your website comprehensively.

Test Website on Real Devices & Browsers

• Responsiveness: Everyone requires accessible and responsive website to reach a wider audience. With the device fragmentation, and considering the user diversity, Responsiveness and Accessibility are the key factors to deliver a best in class website. This helps cater to a larger audience. 

Conclusion

Full stack development opens the door to the possibility of a single developer taking charge of the entire application. It eases the communication among the stakeholders of the project Moreover, since a single developer is capable of creating the application it also eases the process of resolving issues present in the project as the developer is aware and adapted to the technologies used in it. 

This article discussed several approaches a person must keep in mind while developing the entire application to leverage its development experience. Some popular tools and technologies for full stack development are MEAN stack and MERN stack. The key feature behind their implementation is that they are easy to learn and use in production. They are backed by solid community support which eases the journey as we advance in it.