What Is Full-Stack Web Development

by Anna Khrupa on Jun 23, 2022

Any software solution, whether a website or an application, has two sides. One side is visible to the users and another one is invisible — all operations happen there. These sides are called frontend and backend correspondingly. We need this understanding to answer the question of what is full-stack development definition.

Full-stack web development means building both sides of the software and the database as well as ‘middleware’, libraries, and auxiliary tools that may be required.

Thus, a full-stack development deals with every aspect and detail visible to the users, and those they interact with, and also refers to the internal architecture that is unseen to the clients, but drives the software solution from within.

Full-stack can be compared to a movie, where the front end is all the inviting hall and the comfortable seating area where the visitors enjoy the film. While the project room, equipment, and staff operating it make up that “back end” that is hidden away from the spectator’s view.

But what does full-stack mean in web development in 2022?

Nowadays, when asked what full-stack development is, some experts explicitly include operating systems, vendor storage components, and much more into the notion.

However, it’s not always enough to define full-stack development as mere programming of the client- and server- sides. For example, when it comes to cloud software, the full technology stack becomes much more complex and diverse. Cloud software as a service development requires dealing with multiple microservices, understanding of business processes, management, and security system integration. Thus, it requires more expertise on the part of the developer.

Skills required for Full Stack Development

Speaking about full-stack development, it’s vital to touch upon the expertise that is required and should be searched for.

A full-stack developer should have a holistic vision of multifaceted development areas and the capacity to look at various aspects of product creation.

So, an expert in the full-stack sphere needs to be proficient in:

Designing,
Frontend development,
Backend development,
Handling databases,
Web servers’ operation,
Dealing with APIs,
Testing,
Version control.

In full-stack development, a single person develops both the front- and the back-end, as we’ve stated above. Thus, the tech stack of a specialist should be rather extensive to work on both sides and understand what is going on when building a software solution.

Let’s check what is included in full-stack development in this aspect.

Technologies Applied in Full Stack Development

Since the full stack incorporates building both client and server frameworks as well as debugging to make the software operation seamless, expertise in both fields is essential.

The knowledge of design, prototype and UI/UX, is vital for future coding.

To develop the frontend and the backend, the following technologies are the basics:

Frontend	Backend
HTML JavaScript CSS	PHP ASP C++ Python NodeJs

Additionally, the knowledge of frameworks, third-party libraries, and databases is also needed.

Frameworks	Libraries	Databases
ReactJS AngularJS Vue JS	jQuery Express Ruby Django Rails	Oracle MySQL Redis MongoDB Microsoft SQL Server

Experience with web servers like Apache and Nginx & IIS as well APIs became important in course of the time as well.

To ensure the quality of your product and be able to make the appropriate changes to the code base, one should know version control systems, like Git repositories : GitHub, GitLab, SourceForge, Azure DevOps Server, Bitbucket etc.

Most Popular Technology Stacks for a Full Stack Development

Each project requires certain technologies for its successful development, and they are often united in stacks according to the project type. The most widely-used full stack tech stacks are the following:

LAMP Stack

The stack stands for Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP/Perl/Python. These technologies are enumerated in the respective order because they deal with the development of the operating system, web server, database management system, and application programming language.

MEAN Stack

MEAN stack comprises MongoDB database, Express.js web application framework, AngularJS a web framework, and Node.js to code JavaScript into HTML. This stack includes JavaScript frameworks, which is a great advantage since JavaScript makes development much more smooth and more convenient.

Another advantage of this stack is its independence from an operating system, which results in higher solution portability.

MERN Stack

MERN includes MongoDB, Express.js, Node.js. and React.js instead of AngularJS. Thus, it’s also a popular collection of JavaScript frameworks allowing to develop both native mobile and hybrid applications.

As we can see, full-stack requires lots of expertise and skills. Now let’s find out what are the advantages of full-stack development. Why does it gain popularity?

Benefits of Full Stack Development

A full-stack developer takes the idea and provides the customer with a finished product, developing all of the 3 well-known layers of web development: the presentation layer, the business logic, and the database layer. Here comes the key benefit.

Saving time and budget

Multiple developers building each subsystem separately complicate the process of a new software product creation and make it expensive. A full-stack specialist in his turn has end-to-end visibility and more profound insights into business development as well. As a result, full-stack development solves complex problems in less time and with a lower budget. Time is saved because a developer is able to troubleshoot all the problems that set in on their own, without waiting for anybody else.

Lower expenses are also a result of the reduced contractual and operational costs required for a single person who has a full spectrum of capabilities to perform on all levels.

Increased business efficiency

Another significant benefit of full-stack development is that software solutions are created and deployed more quickly and easily. More than that, with full-stack development businesses can quickly react and adapt to the changes in the market and respond to new opportunities quicker, gaining a competitive advantage over their rivals.

What is more, a rounded solution developed has, as a rule, fewer bugs and higher efficiency. Thus, testing the product and debugging it when it’s necessary becomes a relatively easy task.

Faster time to market

A smooth process of development and a shorter stage of testing due to fewer bugs results in the quicker launch of a new product to the market. It allows businesses to outperform their competitors, who spend more time on project development.

Complete ownership

When a full-stack developer builds a new software solution, they bear full responsibility for the overall process and product, unlike shunting responsibility in a team between the backend and frontend when a bug is detected.

Improved scalability

Scalability is important in the modern world because with business development, the traffic handled by corporate software increases, not to mention the innovations that are frequently required to meet the needs of the users and keep their loyalty.

Full-stack development allows quick and smooth scalability, adding new features and functionality, due to the robust and flexible architecture of the solutions created.

Enhanced customer experience

Full-stack developers have a holistic vision of the products they develop from A to Z, so they are able to create seamless experiences across all channels and devices. It is vital for providing a flawless customer experience and allows the creation of user-friendly products with a significant advantage in terms of user experience.

Conclusion

We have touched upon the key aspects and technologies in modern full-stack development, but we should also underline that it also allows the building of powerful and seamless solutions by a single expert and becomes a constant stream of innovation.

In the modern world of rapidly-growing and constantly changing technology, full-stack development becomes an increasingly precious resource to benefit from.