What Skills Should I Learn To Be a Full Stack Developer?

Jessica Dave
3 min readJan 22, 2021

In the modern world, if we talk about professional versatility, there’s no one better than a Full Stack Developer to represent the term “versatile.” Well-versed in both frontend and backend web development, Full Stack Developers are the multi-talented professionals that every company and brand covets.

To fully comprehend the role of a Full Stack Developer, you must first understand the components of web development. Essentially, web development has two parts — frontend and backend development. Thus, every web or mobile application includes two parts, a frontend, and a backend.

Both the frontend and backend combine to create the Full Stack. A tech stack comprises an operating system, a server, a database, and other vital tools like libraries, frameworks, environments, and so on. When multiple such tech stacks are layered and run together, they create a Full Stack.

As we mentioned, a Full Stack Developer boasts of a wide variety of skills. Here are Full Stack Developer skills that are non-negotiable!

1. HTML/CSS

While HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language, CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets. HTML is used for adding web content, and CSS is a personalization tool for designing and styling a website. Both HTML and CSS determine the look and feel of a website, which ultimately plays a major role in attracting prospective customers.

2. JavaScript

When it comes to web and software development, JavaScript is a mandatory Full Stack Developer skill. The object-oriented scripting language is mostly used for adding behaviors using HTML. It is one of the most widely used languages for writing frontend and backend code for servers. Furthermore, JavaScript is the only programming language that can run natively in the browser and on the server-side (Node.js).

3. Git and GitHub

Every developer, as well as aspiring developers, has heard of Git. It is an open-source “distributed version control system” that can handle all your development needs. It promises speed and efficiency for both small and large-scale projects. With Git, developers can seamlessly manage all the changes made to applications, codes, websites, documents, and other information associated with software/application development. Professional developers usually have a GitHub profile, which is compulsory if working in a team.

4. Backend languages

While we’ve covered the two most critical frontend languages, HTML and CSS (along with JavaScript), the other pivotal part of an application or software is the backend. While backend development is a whole different game, there’s plenty of programming languages to choose from.

5. HTTP and REST

Both HTTP and REST serve two unique purposes. HTTP is the protocol used for facilitating communication with the client, whereas REST is an interface between systems using the HTTP protocol to gather data or perform different operations (in various formats) on the data. So, REST acts like a translator between the frontend and the backend.

6. Database storage

All web applications need a database where all the data will be stored. This is to ensure that developers can access the data later. Database storage calls for an experienced and skilled Full Stack Developer who knows relational databases and database storage inside-out. Full-stack developers must be adept in database management — they should be able to design, understand, and manipulate database queries. They must also know how to work with f XML and JSON.

Conclusion

To conclude, Full Stack Developers are highly skilled experts who can handle everything related to web development. These Full Stack Developer skills are what distinguishes them from Frontend and Backend Developers.

I hope this helps!

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Jessica Dave

I’m passionate Web Developer & Data Analyst. I like to read and write about emerging technologies.