Hire Front-End Developers: All You Need to Know
To build a visually striking app, you need experienced front-end developers. These professionals use web languages like CSS, HTML, and JavaScript to create memorable user interfaces (UI) and user experiences (UX). They can also test, debug, and deploy UI and UX for various devices and browsers.
Read on to learn more about front-end programmers and their responsibilities. We'll also provide tips for hiring front-end developers.
What Is a Front-End Developer?
A front-end developer creates the UI and UX of a mobile or web app. Their main responsibility is ensuring visitors can easily interact with the page or app.
To accomplish this, front-end developers use the following programming languages:
- HTML: Short for Hypertext Markup Language, HTML is the standard markup language for webpage creation. Coders can use HTML to denote headings, lists, paragraphs, quotes, and other items.
- CSS: CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets, and it describes how HTML elements are shown on screen. Front-end experts can use CSS to define styles for web pages, including design and layout variations for different screen sizes and devices. Developers can also use CSS to control the layout of multiple pages simultaneously.
- JavaScript: Often abbreviated as JS, JavaScript is one of the core technologies of the internet, along with CSS and HTML. Front-end devs can use JavaScript to create dynamically updating content, animate images, and control multimedia.
- Python: Front-end experts can use Python to connect data with the back-end of the site or app.
Front-end devs also use the following:
- Frameworks: Front-end devs frequently use frameworks to create, test, and deploy UI and UX. Frameworks are powerful pre-written app structures for devs to build on top of. They typically contain boilerplate code, design principles, and directory structures. Examples include:
- jQuery: jQuery is a lightweight, feature-rich JavaScript library that works on many browsers. Devs use it to simplify HTML DOM manipulation, event handling, and CSS animation.
- Angular: Angular is a rewrite from the same team that created AngularJS. Many devs use it to build single-page client applications using TypeScript and HTML.
- React: A JavaScript library for creating UI, React is maintained by Meta and a community of companies and developers. Developers can use it to create single-page, server-rendered, or mobile applications with frameworks such as Next.js.
- Foundation: A free responsive front-end framework, Foundation is semantic, completely customizable, flexible, and readable. It provides a responsive grid and CSS and HTML UI components, code snippets, and templates.
- Bootstrap: Bootstrap is a front-end toolkit with powerful JavaScript plugins and pre-built components. It contains CSS, HTML, and JavaScript-based design templates for forms, navigation, typography, and other UI components.
- Graphic design tools: Front-end experts use graphic design tools to create prototypes of their apps. They can use these prototypes to test UI and UX before writing the actual code. Hot graphic design tools include:
- Sketch
- Photoshop
- Figma
- Illustrator
- Balsamiq Mockups
- Code editing tools: These tools are used by devs to write and edit code. Unlike text editors, code editors have features specifically designed for programming, such as auto-completion, indentation, and syntax highlighting. Top code editing platforms include:
- Sublime Text
- Atom
- Visual Studio Code
- CoffeeCup HTML Editor
- TextMate
- NetBeans
- WebStorm
- Nova
Roles and Responsibilities
Front-end developers have different roles and responsibilities depending on their company and project. However, most are responsible for:
- Designing and implementing highly performant, scalable, and reliable layouts
- Collaborating with UI/UX teams to implement pre-existing Photoshop templates and designs
- Ensuring that the layout is intuitive and streamlined for the user
- Adhering to the team's design and architectural standards
- Contributing to integration and functional testing
- Performing code reviews to streamline and accelerate the process of software development
- Using Angular, jQuery, Typescript, JavaScript, HTML, and CSS to support rich web applications
- Debugging external frameworks as needed
- Reviewing and creating technical and code documents
- Working closely with other teams as needed
Junior/Entry-Level Front-End Developer Salary and Skills
Junior or entry-level front-end programmers have under three years of experience. They're usually fresh boot camp or college grads with little to no professional experience.
As a result, they tend to have lower salaries. As of July 2022, the average annual salary for a U.S.-based junior or entry-level front-end developer is $64,241.
Most employers expect junior and entry-level developers to have the following skills:
- Some experience with CSS, HTML, and JavaScript
- Strong note-taking skills
- Strong written and oral communication skills
- The ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously
- An eye for detail
- Some knowledge of Git
Senior Front-End Expert Salary and Skills
In contrast, senior front-end experts have over three years of real-life experience. They're usually expected to lead and mentor a team of front-end developers.
As of July 2022, the average U.S.-based senior front-end expert earns $109,138 annually.
Most companies expect senior front-end programmers to have the following skills:
- At least three years of experience with front-end development
- At least three years of experience with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
- At least two years of experience with jQuery, Angular, and Typescript
- At least two years of experience leading and managing a development team
- At least two years of experience using continuous integration (CI) and continuous deployment (CD) for front-end development
- Experience using Agile methodologies like Kanban and Scrum
- The ability to mentor junior and entry-level developers
- Strong collaboration, problem-solving, and communication skills
What Does a Dedicated Front-End Developer Do?
A dedicated front-end developer works full-time for a specific project. As such, you have full control over their schedule, software development methodology, and tech stack. Dedicated front-end experts can also continue maintaining your apps after deployment.
Hiring dedicated front-end developers offer many advantages. For one, they're much more budget-friendly than in-house hires. Think about it: you only have to pay dedicated developers for their time. Meanwhile, you're required to pay in-house employees monthly salaries and benefits whether or not they finish their projects on time.
Dedicated front-end programmers are also more flexible to hire. As with freelancers, you can hire them from any city, state, or country. If you don't have enough resources to hire U.S.-based front-end devs, you can cut costs by hiring from other nations, such as Chile, Argentina, and Cuba.
The quickest way to onboard dedicated front-end talent is through talent marketplaces. Unlike traditional employment sites, talent marketplaces match pre-vetted programmers with appropriate projects and companies, so you don't have to test and vet applicants yourself.
All you have to do is tell the talent marketplace team about your goals and requirements. In a few days, they will send you a list of the best front-end experts for your project. Depending on your needs, they may also help you hire other dedicated team members, including:
- UI/UX designers
- Back-end and full-stack developers
- Business analysts for evaluating project requirements and analytics
- Quality assurance testers
- Scrum Masters and Product Owners for leading Scum dev teams
How To Recruit the Best Front-End Programmer
As you can see, skilled front-end developers can create striking visuals and UX for your site or app. However, not every front-end programmer is the right pick — only a handful have the skills, personality, and experiences to integrate with your team.
Here's what you need to do to recruit the best front-end programmers for your team:
How to Find and Hire the Best Front-End Programmer?
First, you must choose a suitable place for finding and hiring the best front-end programmer. Popular locations for recruiting devs include:
1. Tech Hubs
Tech hubs are cities, offices, and suburbs that promote innovation for tech companies. Some of the most famous U.S. tech hubs include:
- Silicon Valley in California
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Austin, Texas
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Chicago, Illinois
Unfortunately, front-end talent from these hubs usually demand sky-high salaries. Case in point: the average front-end developer in Pittsburgh earns a whopping $92,936 with cash bonuses of $5,000 per year.
To cut costs without sacrificing quality, consider hiring budget-friendly front-end programmers from Latin American tech hubs, such as:
- São Paulo, Brazil: The tech powerhouse of Brazil, São Paulo is home to 60% of all tech startup investments in Brazil. As a result, tech giants like Amazon, Uber, and Spotify have chosen the city as their Latin American base.
- Monterrey, Mexico: Monterrey is Mexico's most Americanized city. It boasts over 100 innovation parks and 320 information technology (IT) companies. The city is also home to Mexico's biggest corporations, including Banorte, Cemex, Femsa, and Soriana. U.S. companies like Coca-Cola and Femca have also established bases in this city.
- Guadalajara, Mexico: Mexico's answer to Silicon Valley, Guadalajara has 600 tech companies, including WePow, Ooyala, Voxfeed, and Kueski, and 75,000 tech professionals.
- Buenos Aires, Argentina: The capital of Argentina is home to 90% of Argentina's tech startup activity. Mercado Libre, the Amazon of Latin America, was founded in Buenos Aires.
2. Online Communities
If you don't have the time or resources to fly to Latin American tech hubs, a cost-effective alternative is sourcing talent through online communities. Sites like Stack Exchange and Reddit have thousands of first-class front-end coders. Here's how you can recruit them for projects:
- Use keywords to locate questions and threads about front-end development, such as "front-end development," "user interface," and "user experience." Relevant frameworks, such as jQuery and Bootstrap, will also give you good results.
- Look at the most popular threads and note the most impressive answers.
- Contact the authors of the best answers. Tell them why you liked their answer and ask them whether they're interested in joining your company. Attach a short description of your project or job.
- Interview and hire candidates that fit your requirements.
3. Job Sites
Another way to hire front-end programmers is through job sites like LinkedIn and Indeed. These platforms offer a multitude of tools for onboarding quality candidates.
For example, Indeed for Employers offers the following platforms for sourcing candidates:
- Indeed Hiring Platform: This powerful tool lets you connect with job-seekers across Indeed, Glassdoor, and other sites in Indeed's Trusted Media Network. All you have to do is post your job. Indeed will automatically screen and schedule quality candidates for interviews.
- Indeed Resume: This tool provides access to over 8.5 million resumes and over 25 search filters for identifying relevant talent. You can also use it to organize your talent pipeline and manage subscriptions at the recruiter level.
- Company Pages: Fill in your Indeed Company Page to help potential employees find you. Profiles with company information, social accounts, logos, photos, and positive reviews are more likely to attract cutting-edge applicants.
4. Talent Marketplaces
Tech hubs, online communities, and job sites are great ways to locate first-rate developers. However, they can eat up a lot of time and resources. To hire candidates from these places, you must manually vet and test candidates for their English proficiency, experience, skills, and personalities. If you have specific requirements and a large talent pipeline, this can take weeks or even months.
Luckily, there's a way to reduce time-to-hire — by hiring through a talent marketplace. Unlike other options, talent marketplaces provide access to pre-vetted front-end talent. To start building, just tell the marketplace about your project. In a few days, the marketplace will send you a list of the best programmers for your team.
Write a Detailed Project Ad
If you decide to recruit front-end talent through tech hubs, online communities, and job sites, you need to write a detailed project ad to attract cutting-edge applicants.
Your ad should include the following at a minimum:
- A clear and concise job title like "Remote Senior Front-End Mobile App Developer"
- A short company bio
- Duties and responsibilities
- Required skills
- Compensation and benefits
- Working schedule
Here's a sample front-end app developer project ad:
Remote Senior Front-End Developer — Revelo
We are looking for a Remote Senior Front-End Developer from the following time zones:
- Eastern Standard Time (EST)
- Mountain Standard Time (MST)
- Central Standard Time (CST)
- Pacific Standard Time (PST)
Company Bio:
Revelo is Latin America's leading tech talent marketplace. We match tech companies with FAANG-caliber programmers who have been rigorously pre-vetted on hard and soft skills. Check out our website to learn more.
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Design and implement reliable and scalable web apps
- Perform code reviews to streamline and accelerate software development
- Spot and analyze defects and create solutions
- Review technical documents and code
- Investigate production issues
- Port and restructure existing tests
- Implement REST API services and third-party interfaces
- Collaborate with back-end developers to deliver tasks on and ahead of time
Required Skills:
- Over three years of front-end development
- Over three years of experience with jQuery, Angular, and Typescript
- Experience using charting libraries like Chart.JS, Plotly, and PrimeNG
- The ability to develop web apps for a wide range of browsers, including Chrome, Safari, Opera, and Edge
- Capable of debugging and resolving issues quickly
- Experience developing using Agile software development methodologies like Kanban and Scrum
- Experience supporting quality assurance
- Familiar with version control tools like Git
- Strong verbal and oral communication skills
Compensation and Benefits:
- $107,000 to $112,000 per year, depending on experience
- Dental care
- Work from home
- Vision care
- Tuition reimbursement
Working Schedule:
- Eight-hour shift, any time between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. EST
- Monday to Friday
Ask the Right Interview Questions
Once you've posted your project ad, you will start receiving applications. If you have limited time for processing resumes, consider using an applicant tracking system (ATS). ATS platforms can scan resumes for relevant keywords and create a list of the candidates to interview.
To learn more about these candidates and what they have to offer, ask engaging interview questions that reveal their experiences, personalities, and skills. Here are some examples:
- What drew you to front-end development?
- Are you familiar with full-stack development? If yes, why do you prefer front-end development?
- Have you worked with back-end programmers before? What was the most difficult part of collaborating with them? What was the easiest?
- Have you collaborated with UI and UX designers before? If so, how did you find the experience?
- What's your experience creating apps for different browsers?
- How did you learn HTML, CSS, and JavaScript? Which of the three do you prefer and why?
- Do you use any other programming languages? If so, which ones and why?
- What are your favorite frameworks for front-end development and why?
- In your opinion, what are the best graphic design and code editing tools for front-end development?
- What is the hardest thing about being a front-end expert? What is the easiest thing?
- Are you familiar with Agile methodologies like Kanban and Scrum? Which is your favorite and why?
- Have you worked on a Scrum or Kanban team before? How was the experience?
- Have you worked in a Waterfall development environment before? How did you find it?
- Where do you see yourself in five years?
- What was the proudest moment in your career?
- How do you approach testing and quality assurance?
- What do you like the most about mentoring junior and entry-level developers?
- What role has constructive criticism played in your career?
Start Hiring Front-End Programmers With Revelo
Front-end programmers can create engaging animations, menus, and other UI elements for web and mobile apps. They can also test UI and UX for bugs and lags.
If you're interested in hiring front-end talent, contact Revelo today. We offer access to 300,000 rigorously pre-tested programmers in U.S.-adjacent time zones.
Contact us today to start hiring FAANG-caliber front-end talent.
