What is a Full Stack Developer: Required Skills and Responsibilities

Currently, the growth of technology in Indonesia is increasing rapidly. More and more businesses and companies need full stack developer roles. So, the income opportunity is undoubtedly tempting.

However, being a full stack takes work. You must have higher skills than programmers in general. Curious why it could be like that.

This article will explain what a full stack developer is all about and what skills are needed. Come on, see!

Full Stack Developer

A full stack developer is a person who does both front-end and back-end developer work at the same time.

Not only that, but full stack developers will also play a role in developing applications, debugging, troubleshooting, and even creating new features.

That way, the analysis capabilities of a full stack developer can be extensive when working on a project. Both from a design and technical standpoint. It also makes project work run effectively with the help of this type of developer.

Full stack developers must continue honing their skills to get the best results.

Full stack developer is a term for developers who deal with all sides of website or web development, both front-end and back-end.

A Full Stack Developer is someone who works with the Back End — or server side — of the application as well as the Front End, or client side. Full Stack Developers have to have some skills in a wide variety of coding niches, from databases to graphic design and UI/UX management in order to do their job well. They are something of a swing, ready to assist wherever needed in the process. You can learn Full Stack Developer Course online.

Some of the responsibilities of a Full Stack Developer include:

  • Helping with the design and development of software
  • Testing and debugging software to keep it optimized
  • Writing clean code for the front and back end of the software
  • Designing user interactions on the web application itself
  • Creating servers and databases for the back end of the software
  • Ensuring cross-platform compatibility and optimization
  • Testing and maintaining the responsive design of applications
  • Working with graphic designers to design new features
  • Developing APIs and RESTful services
  • Keeping up with technological advances to optimize their software
  • Communicating effectiveness of emerging technologies to decision makers
  • Considering security, maintenance, scalability, and more when developing

Required Skills

1. Understand HTML and CSS

The fundamental step to becoming a full stack developer is mastering HTML and CSS. HTML is used to build the website structure. Meanwhile, CSS functions to design and arrange website pages to make them look attractive.

Mastering both is more straightforward than one might imagine. Moreover, HTML and CSS are not included as programming languages. But more to a structured language that has simple commands.

Especially now that there are also many online media that offer free workshops or guide articles for learning HTML and CSS. One of them is our article → Learn Complete HTML for Beginners.

In general, several things are considered by companies when recruiting a full stack developer are:

  • Mastering HTML semantics.
  • Be able to explain what CSS Box Model is.
  • Understanding of CSS preprocessors. No need to understand its usage too profoundly. The most important thing is knowing what it does and how it works.
  • Get to know CSS Media Queries to create responsive CSS on various devices.
  • Bootstrap is the most popular framework for easy and fast website development.

2. Master JavaScript

JavaScript continues to evolve with the latest tools, libraries, and frameworks. This is what makes it the most popular programming language among developers.

JavaScript is beneficial for making websites/applications interactive. He can create simple and complex functions, such as buttons, layouts, and popups.

For beginners who want to learn JavaScript, you can immediately read our guide → JavaScript Learning Guide for Beginners. However, if you want to become a full-stack developer, you must also master the following JavaScript material:

  • Understand how to use the DOM (Document Object Model) and JSON (JavaScript Object Notation).
  • Understand essential language features such as functional composition, prototypal inheritance, closures, scope, and callbacks.
  • Mastering module bundles to combine JavaScript files such as Webpack, Browserify, or builder tools such as Gulp.
  • Mastering at least one to two JavaScript frameworks such as AngularJs, React, and others.

3. Understanding Programming Languages

Menguasai front-end saja tidak cukup untuk menjadi full stack developer. Back-end juga perlu dikuasai. Salah satunya diawali dengan memahami bahasa pemrograman.

Sama dengan front-end yang wajib memahami HTML, CSS, dan JavaScript untuk membuat struktur website, di back-end bahasa pemrograman sangatlah penting untuk memahami: cara kerja database, user authentication, application logic dan mengintegrasikan segala fungsi yang ada di front-end.

Dari sekian jenis jenis bahasa pemrograman, beberapa diantaranya yang sering digunakan adalah JavaScript, Phyton, Java, Ruby, PhP dan C++.

4. Understand Database and Web Storage Performance

Every application or website will require a database to store data. As a full stack developer, it is at least mandatory for you to master one or two database management systems and how they work.

Some currently popular database management systems are MySQL, MongoDB, Redis, Oracle, and SQL Server. Also, learn how to use web storage to store sessions, cache, and cookies.

5. Know How HTTP & REST Works 

Full stack developers also need to know how HTTP and REST work. HTTP is a network protocol that transfers documents, files, images, and videos between computers.

Meanwhile, REST (Representational State Transfer) is a standard communication method that uses the HTTP protocol and is often applied to website development. The purpose of REST itself is to make the website system work quickly and easily.

These two components are essential for those who want to become full-stack developers because both can help you create optimal and responsive website performance.

After you understand the basic concepts of both, you also need to understand some other important theories, such as:

  • What is REST, and why is it essential for HTTP and web applications?
  • Find out the best practice for using the API and the various methods.
  • Also, understand Chrome DevTools.
  • What is an SSL certificate?
  • What are HTTP/2 and HTTP/3?

6. Know How To Use GIT

Whenever you work on a website or application project, a full stack developer doesn’t change the code once or twice. So, so that these changes can be appropriately tracked, using GIT is very helpful.

In short, GIT is defined as version control (Version Control System) to record every file change in which there is code made by the developer.

Besides GIT, you also need to know how to use GitHub. GitHub is a web-based application where you can store every GIT code file.