Front-of-the-front-end

What is and what isn't a programming language? Twitter can't decide. Each week the never-ending debate rages on. I have no plans to fan those flames here.

I'm a designer who codes but I've never been comfortable using a label of 'developer' to describe what I do. Recently, I've noticed a couple of new terms have begun circulating on social media and I'm a fan:

• Front-of-the-front-end
• Back-of-the-front-end

Brad Frost has written an excellent post on how these labels provide a much-needed distinction between the types of web development that take place.

A succinct way I’ve framed the split is that a front-of-the-front-end developer determines the look and feel of a button, while a back-of-the-front-end developer determines what happens when that button is clicked.

These labels are great and I feel completely comfortable using front-of-the-front-end as a title because it is a much more accurate representation of my skillset.

Like this post? Got a question?

Reply via: Email, Bluesky, Mastodon, Twitter