Web Development
What's the difference between frontend and backend?
Quick answer
The frontend is everything users see and interact with in the browser: the layout, text, buttons, and design, built with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The backend is the server side they don't see: the databases, logic, and APIs that store data and make the app work. Most products need both.
Frontend developers focus on the interface and experience, making sure a site looks right, adapts across devices, and responds smoothly to clicks and taps. Backend developers handle the server, database, authentication, payments, and business logic, the machinery that processes and stores information securely.
The two connect through APIs: the frontend requests data and the backend sends it back. A full-stack developer works across both. For a simple brochure site the frontend is most of the work, but for apps with accounts, orders, or live data, much of the complexity lives in the backend.
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