Back-End Developer

What Does a Back-End Developer Do?

Back-end development means working on server-side software, which focuses on everything you can’t see on a website. Back-end developers ensure the website performs correctly, focusing on databases, back-end logic, application programming interface (APIs), architecture, and servers. They use code that helps browsers communicate with databases, store, understand, and delete data.

On a team, back-end developers collaborate with front-end developers, product managers, principal architects, and website testers to build the structure of a website or mobile app. Back-end developers must be familiar with many kinds of tools and frameworks, including languages such as Python, Java, and Ruby. They make sure the back-end performs quickly and responsively to front-end user requests.

Back-end developer tasks and responsibilities

Back-end developers are required to have technical expertise, analytical thinking, and excellent collaboration skills. As a back-end web developer, you should be able to work independently to design the web infrastructure. 

Here’s what many back-end developers do on a day-to-day basis:

• Build and maintain websites: A back-end developer’s main responsibility is to use various tools, frameworks, and languages to determine how best to develop intuitive, user-friendly prototypes and turn them into websites. This requires an understanding of cross-platform functionality and compatibility.

• Write high-quality code: To produce sustainable web applications, developers must write clean and easily maintainable code.

• Perform quality assurance (QA) testing: Create and oversee testing schedules to optimize user interface and experience, ensuring optimal display on various browsers and devices.

• Assess efficiency and speed: Once a website is up and running, and during updates and edits, developers need to assess its performance and scalability, adjusting code as necessary.

• Troubleshoot and debug: Be able to troubleshoot issues and resolve them, while communicating them to project managers, stakeholders, and QA teams.

• Train and support: Maintain workflows with client teams to ensure ongoing support, along with leading training and mentorship for junior developers.

What tools do back-end developers use?

Web developers use a variety of tools to develop, test, and maintain web applications. Some common tools for back-end developers include:

• Programming languages:
  • Python
  • PHP
  • JavaScript
  • Ruby
  • Java
  • C#
• Frameworks:
  • Laravel
  • Django
  • Spring
  • Ruby on Rails
  • Meteor
  • Node.js
• Databases:
  • MongoDB
  • MySQL
  • Oracle
• Servers:
  • Apache
  • NGINX
  • Lighttpd
  • Microsoft IIS