Websites have become the most important thing in our lives because they provide us with the relevant information that we look for. Even though these are the encyclopedias of the future, they need to have more than just content to capture users’ attention, which can only be done with an easy-to-use website and attractive layouts.
Users’ eyes are drawn to these tasteful layouts and elegant designs, which keep them interested in the content. Nowadays, a lot of websites use designs that draw a huge audience, allowing them to maximize their business goals. They have a specialized team known as UI front end developers who work on these design aspects.
The best option for web development has always been UI front-end development because it improves the user experience and provides seamless interaction by user-friendly design. If you are curious and a fan of web or front-end design, then this article might satisfy your needs as our guide on UI front end developer will cover key aspects of web and front-end development, its jobs, salary, and more.
UI Front End Development
User Interface (UI) front end development focuses on optimizing the website by building and representing minimalistic user interfaces with intuitive design layouts for smooth user interaction.
UI front end developers carry out these tasks by studying numerous aspects of the front end part. The term “UI front end development” is a combination of two different terms, i.e., the UI and the front end.
The UI focuses more on building user interfaces and representing the design layouts for smooth user interaction, while the front end focuses on optimizing the website by working on design layouts according to the backend codes.
1. UI
A user interface (UI) is a crucial component of design representation that establishes the framework for interfaces to display design layouts for fluid user interactions. If you have a device that has a screen, no matter how old it is, it contains a user interface that allows you to interact with the device and access its numerous features.
2. Front End
The front end is the design representation of backend codes that allows users to interact with the website easily. such as clicking on the search bar or any icon that directs the user to access some information.
What is a UI front end Developer?
To keep it simple, a UI front end developer optimizes a website by developing and designing a minimalistic user interface containing web pages and layouts for easy user interaction. The developer precisely structures the front end portion in accordance with the backend codes that define how a web application functions.
A UI front end developer functions as both a front end developer and a UI developer, giving them an advantage over both. It benefits companies as they hire only one developer that provides both services, and for this reason, companies always consider these roles whenever hiring remote talents.
Difference Between UI Developer and Front-end Developer
Many people, including some IT professionals, frequently mistake both roles as being the same. To help clarify the situation of UI developer vs front end developer, we’ll try to mention a few aspects of each role so you can understand how each one operates and what they stand for.
1. UI Developer
Unlike a UI front end developer, a user interface (UI) developer only works on the interface’s design. They create user interfaces that are simple to use and facilitate easy user interaction. To make it possible, they use a variety of different design tools, such as Adobe XD and Figma, to create intuitive graphical representations for the UI. So if someone wants to begin his journey into UI development, he should get well versed with these tools as most companies enlist these in UI developer job description.
The UI developers utilize every other feature of the design software to create and user friendly graphics, illustrations, infographics, and layouts. These developers focus on the aesthetics of the design, its user flow, and design principles to appropriately create a graphical representation according to the brand’s needs.
Moreover, these expert designers carry out their operations by glancing at different design aspects such as input control, navigational components, informational components, and containers.
2. Front-end Developer
A front-end developer is responsible for keeping the website well optimized for flawless user interactions by working on various design aspects and interfaces. They work on the front end part by using popular programming languages such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
The front end part needs regular administration, support to increase the performance of the web application and provide users with the best user experience. Front end developers optimize the website performance by eliminating bugs in the front end codes that represent the cohesive visuals.
Is UI Developer A Good Career?
In this digital age, every device we see today has an inbuilt screen that allows you to interact with the device and use its special features and functionalities to fulfill your objectives. But how do you access these features? Well, the obvious answer would be through the designed interface, which was primarily built to allow users to interact with the device.
From computers to mobile phones and smartwatches, billions of devices are manufactured every year. And to use these devices, we need a user interface for each software that can tell us where to look for which features and functionality, such as accessing a camera app on a smartphone. UI developers solely work on these interfaces to make them available for a particular software running on a device. Since these devices and software are built in billions each year, there is a huge demand for both UI developers and UI front end developers in every corner of the world.
According to Google Trends, similar to UI front end developers, the demand for UI developers has been on the rise for the past few years and is growing continuously. Additionally, recruitment sites such as Indeed, Glassdoor, and Monster are frequently filled with a few thousand UI developer jobs, so it’s safe to say that UI development is an ideal career to pursue and rely on.
UI Developer Skills and Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information technology, graphics design, or in any circitual branch.
- In depth knowledge of programming languages such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
- Robust understanding of different UI design aspects.
- Hand on experience in using UI design tools such as Adobe XD, Figma and Illustrator.
- Robust prototyping and wireframing skills.
- Strong analytical and problem solving skills.
- Excellent communication skills.
What are the roles of a UI front end developer?
- Work on the web pages and designs to decide their structure.
- Create web pages according to markup languages such as HTML.
- Implement methods and strategies that elevate user experience.
- Optimize websites for mobile devices.
- Collaborate with backend developers and discuss backend logic for various designs.
- Work on reusable codes that can help in future projects.
- Get well aware of trending front end technologies.
Skills and Requirements to Become a UI Front End Developer
- Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information technology or in any circitual branch.
- Robust front end knowledge.
- Good knowledge of front end programming languages such as HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
- Hands-on experience in using various web frameworks.
- Proficient in understanding the aesthetics of design and layouts.
- Basic knowledge of SEO methodologies.
- Deep knowledge of the work functions of a web application and its development procedures.
- Basic understanding of OOP concepts.
- Strong problem solving and analytical skills.
- Excellent communication and other soft skills.
UI Front end Developer Jobs
Many are huge fans of web development practices and want to pursue web development and its related domains for better career opportunities. And as UI front end developer roles and backend developer roles provide the best salaries, there is an ongoing hype to pursue these domains.
You might ask, is UI developer or front end developer a good career? Well, they are absolutely the best career a developer would pursue. According to a survey, there are more than 1.15 billion websites operational in 2022, which means more than 170 websites are created every minute. This demonstrates how far technology has come and how many business operations are being conducted online.
Moreover, as these websites are created at such an immense rate, they require skilled UI front end developers who can optimize the website to gain huge traction among audiences.
Additionally, if you take a look at the demand for these roles, then online recruitment sites such as Indeed and others have shown continuous and steady demand for these roles. Hence, it is safe to say that UI developers and UI front end developer jobs are still in demand and are still considered the ideal career option.
UI Front End Developer Salary
The only thing that will entice talented developers to work for your company, aside from a positive company culture, is a sizable salary. And considering the high demand for UI front end developers, salaries offered for these roles are much higher as compared to other development roles.
For instance, in the USA, the average median salary of a UI front end developer is around $114,000 per year.
Whereas in Europe, the average median salary of a UI front end developer is around $60,000 to $70,000 per year.
In Asian countries, however, the salary of a UI front end developer changes. For instance, in India, the average median salary for this role is about $6000 to $7000 per year, whereas in Singapore, the average median salary for a UI front end developer is around $40,000 to $50,000 per year.
UI Front End Developer Interview Questions
An interview is where the developers are tested, and to qualify they have to put a lot of effort into studying different aspects of their respective domain. To make this a bit easier, we have enlisted some of the UI front end developer interview questions that will help you out in your interview round.
What skills does a UI front end developer need?
- What are HTML metatags?
- Define user centric design.
- What is a template?
- What is the use of reactJS?
- How is the UI rendered by a browser?
- Define grids system in CSS.
- Explain clickjacking.
- Why should we use webpacks?
- How can we reduce page load time?
- How to optimize the front end page?
Conclusion
UI front end development is an excellent career choice for both beginners and experienced developers because of its perks. As more and more web applications and software need an interface, UI front end developers are in high demand. Besides, as it is a growing industry, it will be stormed by new technological enhancements that will again boost its popularity.
If you are one of the aspirants who has a keen interest in both design and development, then the UI front end developer role suits your needs, and with the help of this guide, you will understand its essentials and some of its key aspects to get your development journey started.
