A Guide to Website Developers. Which One Is Right For Your Business Needs?

A lot of people know they need a website made or redesigned, but sometimes they don’t exactly know who to hire to make that happen. From front-end to back-end development, which one is right for your website needs?

We know that every business owner may not know exactly what a web developer does, and we also know that trying to figure out what kind of developer you need can be overwhelming. So we created this website developer guide to help you decide which kind of developer you need for your website and how to hire the one that’s the right fit for the job.

So whether you need a website built from scratch or a website redesign in Dallas, TX, San Diego, CA or anywhere else in the US, Rocket Park can help.

Our team of developers can create a custom solution to take your business and website to the next level. You can learn more about hiring a website developer below or contact us today to get a free consultation.

Why you need a website developer

Web developers work on content management systems like Craft CMS or Wordpress where they code your website using languages like CSS, PHP, and HTML.

Whether you need a new website or to update your current website, you will probably need a web developer.

So let’s take a look at some reasons why you would need to hire a developer.

• Adding a shopping cart for your eCommerce store
• Creating a custom image slider
• Embedding videos on your website
• Creating or fixing buttons or forms on your website
• Creating a redirect for a page on your site that you no longer need
• Creating or optimizing site navigation
• Fixing server issues

As you can see a web developer is responsible for a lot of the functionality of your website.

And just a quick note here, if you have needs that are more cosmetic like an aesthetic prototype created in a design program like Photoshop or Adobe XD, then you would need a web designer.

We are not going to get into what a web designer does in this post, but you can read more about when you might need a web designer on our blog, Website designer versus website developer.

Different kinds of website developers

So now that you know developers handle how your website functions, it’s important to note that there are different types of web developers

I know…

Confusing, right?

But not to worry because we are here to help you understand the difference between them so you know exactly which one you need.

Front-end developer

Front-end developers handle everything to do with the user's interaction with the website itself. This means that they bring to life the website prototype that the designer created by coding it and making it functional. On the front-end, developers are responsible for the look and feel of your website.

Front-end developers can create static websites that are the most basic type of websites and have fixed content. This means that static sites do not need to upload new data to interact with the information stored on the database to function.

So think of a static site as a website for a small business or restaurant. They use static sites because they usually have a fixed amount of content and do not require large amounts of monitoring and updating.

Back-end developer

Back-end developers, sometimes called programmers, are more focused on how everything works on the back-end (hence the name back-end developer). The “back-end” refers to the application that communicates with the database and server.

Back-end developers monitor the functionality and make changes and updates to optimize a site’s responsiveness and speed. Sites that need constant updating and monitoring like Facebook are called dynamic sites. Dynamic sites require web programming and database design and usually require innovative back-end development.

Full-stack developer

Lastly, there’s the full-stack developer. A full-stack developer is someone who can do both front and back-end development. Using a full-stack developer has its pros and cons.

Full-stack developers are considered by some as more “generalists” and may lack in-depth knowledge on the front-end or back-end.

However, there are some really great full-stack developers that have the right tools to fully do both the front and back-end, and do them both well.

And at Rocket Park, we offer both front-end and back-end web solutions so there’s never any disconnect between the development teams, making your project easier to manage.

Website development for eCommerce

We just covered some in-depth website development info, and trust us, we know it can all be a bit overwhelming and maybe even a little confusing.

So let’s go over a quick example.

Let’s say you have an eCommerce store that you need some help with. A front-end developer will bring the website prototype to life by coding it and optimizing it for user experience. Think of the front-end as taking all the images, designs, color choices, etc that the designer used in their prototype and actually creating a website with them.

So now that the front-end developer has coded your eCommerce site, let’s say someone lands on your website and clicks on a product. What happens next is a great example of what happens on the back-end.

So behind the scenes, the browser will make a request for that product page, and the server then communicates with the database to get information on the product. That information is then shown to you as a "product page".

Hiring Rocket Park for all your website needs

Depending on your specific website needs, you’ll probably need both a website designer and website developer.

But the good news is that you don’t have to hire two different people.

You can actually hire a website design and development agency like Rocket Park to handle everything for you, making your website project a breeze. And because we are a full-service agency, we also offer paid advertising, SEO, branding, and social media support as well.

You see, your business needs a great online presence to be successful. So you will need more than just a website. So why not let Rocket Park handle all your needs for you?

We offer innovative web solutions and awesome digital marketing strategies that will ignite your online presence, making your business really stand out from the competition.

To see if Rocket Park is a fit for you, you can check out our work here or feel free to give us a call at (214) 225-2011 to see how we can help you create the perfect website for your unique business needs.