Back-End Web Developer Salary in 2024

Back-End Web

What does a back-end developer do?

A back-end developer is in the back end of a more or less invisible system of unseen work, but vital all the same to web development. Back-end developers make sure the website or application works how it should. They have to deal with servers, databases, and application logic. They develop systems and processes. They maintain databases. They deal with bugs. They interface with APIs. They make security systems work correctly.

Specifics differ from firm to firm, but on the back end a back-end developer might oversee some, most, or all of the following:

• Developing the systems and processes to meet the application’s specified requirements
• Maintaining databases, including data storage and retrieval, organization, backups, and security
• Finding and fixing bugs in the back-end code
• Managing any APIs the company uses to integrate applications, both externally and internally
• Conducting performance optimization to increase efficiency and improve the user experience
• Building and managing libraries of code for reuse by developers across the business
• Helping develop the overall architecture of the application’s back-end
• Securing the application from cyberattacks

Back-end developers also work together with front-end developers to transform their function into user-facing content in the app interface. Back-end developers often deal with managers, architects, designers, researchers, IT security and so many others to make web applications work.

In the end, front-end developers aim to make the interface fun, playful, and interactive while back-end teams build up the invisible structures that power the front-end.

Back-end Developer Skills

Ok, so we now know what a back-end developer does (mostly). But what does she need to know in order to do it? In this part, we’ll be looking at the primary skills to look for if you’re hiring a back-end developer, or if you’re hell-bent on becoming one.

Programming Languages

Web developers use a multitude of languages to build the servers, databases, and application logic on servers. Here is the list:

Python

Python is a general-purpose programming language, commonly used for building the non-public, or ‘back-end’, part of software programs and web applications currently charging you for breakfast, dinner, or that retro toy you ordered on a whim on a marketplace site last night. It is a powerful language that is enjoyable to write in, and able to operate well for any purpose you throw at it. Every back-end programmer should at least have a basic level of knowledge about it.

Java

Java, another general-purpose language, is often used in the back-end of application development for the same reason. It’s deployable across many environments and flexible enough to power very large, complex, high-performance software projects.

PHP

PHP is a so-called server-side programming language – this basically means, you create a website using PHP which dynamically loads content at the demand of the user (or the browser requesting the page). PHP dynamically builds the page on the server from content of housed databases. The opposite of this is a static website – which means you create a website, and it’s stored completely on the servers and therefore presented exactly the same to all visitors – even if, in PHP, the display can be different.

Other Languages

True, there are many other programming languages that back-end developers might prefer. There’s Ruby, a high-level language that allows one to build both web and mobile applications in a quick and effective manner, there’s C, a lower-level language (and the most popular language in the world), and there’s .NET, a framework provided by Microsoft to build websites and web apps.

Furthermore, a back-end developer might write code in SQL (Structured Query Language) or JSON (JavaScript Object Notation), programming languages that are geared towards database management.

Front-End Languages

Although it’s often the case that the back-end developer works almost exclusively on the server-side in a language like PHP or Java, some basic knowledge of front-end languages such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript will still come in handy when you work on a web-based project. In general, there are three technical languages that you learn on the front end:

• HTML (HyperText Markup Language): Codes content (text and links) and structure of a web page. All web pages are built with HTML, and its file names always end in .html.
• CSS (Cascading Style Sheets): Because Cascading Style Sheets are a programming language that describes how pages should look – without it, the web would be filled mostly with seas of block text and images with no layout or style. CSS is also the reason that web page content adapts to fit different browser sizes and devices.
• JavaScript: Often abbreviated as JS, developers use it to change animations, dynamically update page content, and on websites run scripts without having to ask the back-end.

These languages will make it easier for you to work with front-end developers and designers and, if there is a bug that uses both front-end and back-end resources, it will help you to diagnose it faster. They are also good skills to learn in general, especially if you want to learn design or become a full-stack developer.

Database Management

Moving data in or out of the application database, a significant part of the back-end developer’s work, comes under the scope of modern database technologies.

Databases can be divided into two types: relational databases and non-relational databases. Relational databases store related data points like a customer such as name, and email or account ID. Relational Databases are data arranged in a tabular manner with relata in the same row and the language used to interact with it is SQL.

Then, in contrast to relational databases, non-relational databases (or NoSQL databases) don’t typically store data points based on their relatedness (though they might relate the data nonetheless). Instead of rows in tables, non-relational databases store their information in Extensible Markup Language (XML) and/or JavaScript Object Notation (JSON). Useful knowledge about NoSQL database programmes, such as Redis and MongoDB, can go hand-in-hand with SQL on the back-end.

Server-Side Software

Back-end developers get process versions in server systems. You should be familiar with standard server software such as Apache, Nginx, Microsoft IIS, and Linux-based operating systems. You should know how web servers receive and handle requests for web pages on websites, how they store the data they get, and the basics of keeping them scalable and safe.

APIs

An API – an application programming interface – is a set of definitions and protocols that allows two applications (or pieces of software) to talk to and share data with each other. An API goes out and listens for incoming requests from another application, and then responds by carrying out that request (which could be requesting or modifying some chunk of data in the database of the other app). Every time you see one piece of software reused in another, APIs made it possible. Apps such as Facebook, YouTube, Google and Spotify make tons of their data available through public APIs.

There are plenty of APIs in existence today, the most prominent of which are REST APIs. If you want to be a web developer, you’ll need to have a working knowledge of REST APIs (and possibly SOAP ones), a technology that ties together not only different applications owned by different vendors, but also individual back-end services.

Data Structures and Algorithms

In contrast to other, more concrete technologies that will be discussed below, data structures and algorithms are highly conceptual but still incredibly important. A competent back-end developer must have a decent understanding of these areas to perform his or her job, which is why they appear in the academic curriculum of computer science.

Making a picture in the mind: a data structure is a pattern we use in a computer to organise data. The above examples were arrays, linked lists, trees, and tries; hash tables, heaps, stacks, and queues – the back-end developer will run into most or all of these at some point in their career.

Broadly, an algorithm is a defined process to solve a problem. Every back-end developer is familiar with the foundational algorithms of computer software: you’ll use some form of sorting algorithm; you’ll write some kind of search algorithm for searching texts or databases; you’ll parse and compare strings; you’ll hash stuff to make comparisons between string lengths easier; you’ll use recursive algorithms, or code that’s essentially a textual expression of how a function repeats itself.

Other Important Skills

There is also much more that you can learn in the domain of back-end programming than just those core skills, as listed above. Here are some more skills that you will find useful as a back-end programmer:

• Experience with a version control system — likely Git, as well as familiarity with GitHub
• Knowledge of orexperience with server management
• Communication skills, and an ability to explain complex technical topics to non-experts
• Time management skills, as you’ll likely be balancing several responsibilities at once
• Understanding of cloud computing and hosting
• Understanding web accessibility best practices
• Understanding cybersecurity best practices