What is Full-Stack Web Development?

Full stack web development is the process of programming and coding the client-facing (front end) and server-side (back end) aspects of a digital application. Full stack web development involves utilizing several different programming languages and frameworks to build the interactive elements of a webpage and the hidden processing elements that handle things like server connectivity and database queries. Since both sides of the process are required to build a functioning digital application, full stack development reflects an all-purpose, complete coding skill set. In this overview, you’ll learn more about what full stack web development is, what it can do, who uses it, and how to learn it to determine how to add this skill to your professional toolbox.

What Can You Do with Full Stack Web Development?

Full stack web development is a beneficial skill to have because it teaches you every element of the technical side of running a webpage or application. You will learn to use languages like HTML/CSS and JavaScript to create stunning, visually evocative web pages. You’ll learn back end languages or frameworks, like Python or the MERN stack, to build the server-side infrastructure that allows webpages to function. Thus, learning full stack web development will teach you how to find work building any aspect of a web application or system. It will set you up for future success in fields adjacent to these programming languages, like data science, cybersecurity, or machine learning. With Full Stack Web Developers being in high demand, learning these skills is a great way to break into a high-paying, diverse career field.

For students not looking to pivot to a new career, learning full stack web development is an ideal way to begin building your own web presence. Whether you are starting an advocacy organization, building a small business, launching a new product idea, hoping to create vibrant personal projects, or just starting a freelancing career, learning full stack web development will let you take care of every aspect of the web development process. The internet offers various creative and professional opportunities for you to take advantage of. Learning how to handle every step of the development process is an ideal way to ensure that the digital presence you are building works the way you want it to work.

How Do You Get Full Stack Web Development Tools? How Much Does it Cost?

As with most computer programming specializations, full stack web development utilizes programming languages that are open source, meaning they are free to use for anyone who wants to use them. The same is true of any programming framework or library.

There are several tools that many Web Developers use, such as code editing applications. like Virtual Studio Code and other efficiency tools, such as Git. Most commonly used code editing applications are either free or have large-scale freeware versions. The only reason you will need to pay to use a code editing program is if you want to use a specific version with an attached fee or if you want to donate to support independent software developers. Tools like Git are free to use, though some, like a few commonly used database applications, have fees associated with storing or archiving huge amounts of data.

Anyone looking to host their webpage will need to pay a hosting fee to whatever company provides the hosting platform, though this is often negligible for small users. Anyone interested in full stack web development for building mobile applications will need to pay a fee to make their finished products available on an application marketplace.

What Are the Benefits of Learning Full Stack Web Development?

Every second, three webpages are launched to the public. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, web development jobs are expected to grow by as much as thirty percent this decade. Full Stack Developers are in high demand because they can handle all the complex aspects of building and maintaining a web application. Large firms and organizations will want to employ Web Developers who can handle any aspect of a web development project, and they will want to keep these employees on staff to handle the important maintenance work associated with hosting a webpage. The average Full Stack Developer makes over $100,000 a year, and large companies will pay senior developers as much as $200,000.

Learning full stack development is also a fantastic way to build your own personal or professional web presence. Learning full stack web development means you won’t need to contract out someone else to build and maintain webpages for your organization, business start-up, or non-profit. These opportunities make learning full stack web development a useful and versatile skill for professionals and advocates working outside of the field of computer programming. Whether you want to start your own business or work in freelance web development, mastering full stack web development will pay long-term dividends.

Read more about why you should learn full stack web development. 

Full Stack Web Development Careers

Given the ever-increasing importance of a digital presence for brands and organizations, web developers, and Full Stack Web Developers, in particular, are in high demand. Full Stack Web Developers can find high-paying jobs in virtually any industry, and you’ll be able to find work in the private or public sector. With base salaries beginning near $100,000 a year, this is both a rewarding and profitable career path. A few jobs requiring full stack development skills include:

Full Stack Web Developer: Full Stack Web Developers are all-purpose web development specialists responsible for building and maintaining web applications. Some Full Stack Developers will be employed by studios that receive design contracts to build web applications for other companies. In contrast, others will be employed as in-house developers working on a specific company’s many projects. Some positions will require developers to focus more on one side of the development process than the other, though they will still be expected to understand both front end and back end programming tasks. In the US, Front End Web Developers average a salary of $89,000 a year.

Software Engineer: Software Engineers take their full stack development training and apply those skills to more projects. While many Web Developers only work on web and digital applications, Software Engineers build and maintain the consumer software programs we utilize daily. These applications can range from consumer software applications like office programs, video games, and commercial operating systems to more niche software applications like heavy machinery automation and SEO machine learning programs, or smart devices. As software development and digital integration becomes the norm across industries, Software Engineers will continue to be in high demand. In the US, Software Engineers command an average salary of $106,000 yearly.

Java Developers: Java Developers a specialized class of Full Stack Developers who utilize frameworks and libraries such as MongoDB, Express.js, React, and Node.js to build full stack applications using only the JavaScript programming language. JavaScript frameworks are especially useful for creating applications and software that runs JavaScript web programming without needing to access a web browser. This language is commonly used to create applications like mobile devices, streaming platforms, and personal digital assistants. Almost all of the internet of things operates on full stack JavaScript programming, so if you want to work on the cutting edge of smart device technology, this is an ideal career path for you. Java Developers average a little under $100,000 a year in the US.

How to Learn Full Stack Web Development

Students interested in learning full stack web development have a few options available to receive their training. They can enroll in a live professional training seminar, which can either take place at a dedicated training facility or in a live online classroom. Students can also take asynchronous, self-paced lessons through many different service providers. Finally, students can begin their journey towards a web development education by exploring free resources and training options. No matter what kind of full stack web development classes you are looking for, there are a great many options available.

Many students find that the most effective way to learn a new skill is with guided professional instruction in a live classroom setting. Students who want this direct assistance and guidance should consider enrolling in a live in-person or live online web development training course. These classes place students in dedicated learning environments where they can work directly with professional instructors who are prepared to help guide them through the process of learning full stack web development skills. These classes offer students the opportunity to work alongside professionals and receive feedback and assistance in real-time, offering them significantly more guidance in their full stack development training.

Students who need more flexibility in their schedules or who need to be able to work on their training at an inconsistent pace will want to consider enrolling in an on-demand web development course. These classes let students learn at their own pace, allowing them to pick up and put down their lessons as their schedules allow. This can be incredibly important for students with work or family commitments that make attending a live training session difficult or even impossible. These classes can also be less expensive than live training seminars, but since you won’t have assistance from a live instructor, you may need to spend even more time resolving difficulties if problems arise during your training.

Finally, for students who aren’t sure if full stack web development is right for them, there is a wide range of free, introductory material and resources available. These tools won’t be a replacement for professional skills training. Still, they are perfect for getting your feet wet with full stack web development skills in anticipation of enrolling in more advanced training. You don’t want to enroll in a coding career certificate program only to learn that you don’t much care for coding. Noble offers free training resources, including a collection of articles in their Learn Full Stack Development hub, and free seminars including a comprehensive Intro to Front End Development seminar. Beyond this, Noble offers free seminars in subjects such as JavaScript, Node.js, HTML/CSS, and React. 

Read the full guide on how to learn full stack web development.

Comparable Fields

Full stack web development is best compared to the two elements of web development it combines: front end and back end development. Full Stack Developers will need to learn the fundamental and advanced skills involved in both of these processes, so understanding how they work separately and complement each other is a useful way to determine if you want to learn full stack development or specialize in one of its component parts.

Front end web development is concerned with a web application's client-facing elements. This side of programming focuses on the visual elements of the page and the interactive elements that users engage with. Front End Developers will learn programming languages like HTML/CSS and JavaScript. They are more likely to deal with the creative side of web design since they will develop the parts of the web application that users see and interact with. Front End Developers may learn more complex frameworks for programming languages like JavaScript that will allow them more control over the back end functionalities of a web application. To learn more about front end web development, consider exploring the free resources available at Noble’s Learn Front End Development page or check out their selection of Front End Web Development classes.

Back end web development concerns the invisible infrastructure that allows webpages to function. This aspect includes programming that deals with server operations, database integration and querying, and other elements such as collecting data on user traffic and documenting user activity. This work is often done with programming languages like Python, SQL, or R. These languages are also important for several different data sciences and machine learning functions since they tend to handle database collection, organization, and querying. To learn more, please visit Noble’s Learn Back End Development page or look at the Back End Web Development classes offered through Noble.

Learn Full Stack Web Development with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

Becoming a full stack developer will take a decent amount of time and energy since it will require students to learn many different programming languages. While these languages all complement one another and learning one will make learning another easier, students will still need to spend a decent amount of time training as programmers. One of the best ways to learn a complex set of new skills is by enrolling in a professional training program, such as those offered by Noble Desktop. In these classes, professional instructors will provide students with guided instruction and give them hands-on experience in all aspects of full stack development. These classes are available in-person and live online classrooms, and regardless of the delivery method of the course, class sizes will remain small. Students will be able to work directly with their instructors. Noble also offers a free retake option for all of its courses, meaning that after you’ve completed a seminar, you can retake that course for additional training anytime in a calendar year.

Noble’s most comprehensive training option is its Full Stack Web Development Certificate program is its comprehensive training option. This course is designed with programming novices in mind, meaning you don’t have to have any programming background to succeed in this course. Students will learn how to program the front-facing aspects of a webpage using HTML/CSS and JavaScript, and they will receive hands-on experience working with common developer tools like VSC and Git. After this, students will learn the important JavaScript frameworks and libraries like React, Node.js, and Express.js that give JavaScript full stack development capabilities. In addition, every student who enrolls in this course will have the opportunity to take an SQL course, which will teach them the basics of programming functionalities into databases.

Noble also offers a wide array of shorter, more skills-focused bootcamps that will teach students one or more elements of the full stack development process. This training can include narrow career-certificate programs, like the Front End Development Certificate program, which will cover lessons in HTML/CSS and the interactive elements of JavaScript, and the Python Developer Certificate program, which teaches students how to use the Python programming language to build back end server and database infrastructure. 

These classes are ideal ways to learn significant elements of the full stack development process, though students should know that some of these courses have requirements. For example, Noble’s JavaScript Development Certificate program is a great way to learn full stack web development skills using JavaScript, but it will require students to know HTML/CSS to enroll. Students looking for a slightly more accelerated lesson that is still beginner-friendly may want to consider enrolling in Noble’s Software Engineering Certificate program, which provides training in all of the elements of full stack web development and compliments that training with lessons in Python so that developers can utilize back end languages other than JavaScript frameworks.

Regardless of your goals or prior experience levels, Noble Desktop is here to assist you with a full stack web development class built to suit your needs.

Key Insights

• Full stack web development refers to the process of building both the client-facing and server-side functionalities of a web application. Since both are required to make a digital application function, full stack development represents a complete kind of web development.
• Web Developers primarily use open-source technologies to develop web applications, meaning that aside from a few incidental costs, full stack development is free.
• Full Stack Developers are in high demand as public and private sector companies and organizations are paying top dollar to hire experienced developers who can improve their digital presence or help them build consumer software.
• Once you are committed to learning full stack web development, Noble Desktop is here to help by providing comprehensive training options, offered in-person at Noble’s Manhattan campus or in live online classrooms.