What is web development

Now, let's drive right into the course. A good place to start is understanding what web development is.

Web development is the process of building and maintaining websites and web applications. This process involves transforming visual designs into fully functional websites that are accessible on the internet. Web development can range from building simple static pages to developing complex web applications such as social networks (e.g. Facebook) and e-commerce sites (e.g. Amazon).

A person who works in the web development industry is known as a web developer, or a developer.

Web development is typically divided into two main areas:

• Front-end development
• Back-end development

Let’s explore each area in more detail.

Front-end development

This encompasses everything the user sees and interacts with directly in their web browser. The layout, the colors, the buttons that respond when you click them. The front-end is responsible for both the User Interface (UI) and the User Experience (UX).

Using a car as an analogy, the front-end represents the dashboard, steering wheel, comfortable seats, sound system, and paint color. It relies on three core technologies:

• HTML provides the structure — headings, paragraphs, images.
• CSS provides the styling — fonts, colors, spacing.
• JavaScript provides interactivity — what happens when you click, scroll, or type.

Frontend code runs in your browser. When you load a page, the server sends the code to your browser, and your browser executes it.

Developers who work on the front-end are called front-end developers.

Back-end development

This is the “engine room” of a website—the part users don’t see. The back-end runs on a remote computer called a server and is responsible for all logic not handled in the web browser.

Returning to the car analogy, the back-end is like the engine, fuel injection system, and transmission.

Some of its responsibilities include:

• Processing and storing data in a database.
• Managing user accounts, logins, and permissions.
• Executing the business logic of an application (e.g., processing a credit card payment).

Back-end development uses languages such as Go, Python, Ruby, or PHP to enable the front-end to be fully functional. It's the engine behind the scenes.

Developers who work on the back-end are called back-end developers.

How they connect

Front-end and back-end work together on every interaction. When you submit a login form, the front-end handles what you see and type. The back-end receives that data, checks your credentials, and sends a response. The front-end then updates the page based on that response. Neither side works without the other.

Some developers specialise in one area. Others build across both — these are called full-stack developers, and they're responsible for the entire system, from what users see to where the data lives.

This course focuses on front-end development. The front-end is where the user experience lives — a perfectly organised back-end means nothing if the interface is confusing. Starting here also gives you immediate feedback: you change something, refresh the browser, and see the result. That tight loop makes it the right place to build your foundation.