Essentials for hiring the front-end development company

The internet has taken the world over, but in a good way. The global digital population is now 59.5% of our planet's human beings, and that's 4.32 billion. It's pretty understandable that due to this high demand, websites and web platforms are growing fast. And the task of creating and improving the various sites lies on the shoulders of the front-end development company.

The guys from the firms dedicated to creating and evolving sites in today's world are essential. They are thinking through the layout of all the elements on the page, dealing with performance issues, comfort, and speed of loading information. Undoubtedly, if we did not have such specialists in our lives, we would have to wait forever for the necessary page loading. Instead of a beautiful and user-friendly interface, the screen would be a chaotic arrangement of text and buttons.

Reasons for the popularity of front-end technologies

Front-end (FE) is often described as part of the user interface of a site, SaaS, or any other software for the client. Sometimes it seems that FE experts work exclusively with projects for desktop devices. That was once the case. However, with the rise of the mobile internet, people using smartphones for web surfing have skyrocketed.

According to Statista, 92.6% of internet users are people who use cell phones. This fact has also led to business owners, startups, and entrepreneurs having to take care of the FE components of their projects for smartphones. Mobile versions of web products need to be just as handy, attractive, and fast. Otherwise, no one will want to access the services and products offered.

The highest percentage of internet users is in the United Arab Emirates. In this part of the world, 99% of the population uses this technology. The second place is occupied by South Korea, where 98% of the population uses the internet. Also, the medical crisis of recent years significantly accelerated digitalization, which also affects the demand for FE professionals.

That is why a front-end development company has more work, and the demand for talented FE devs is constantly growing. Without their participation in the creation of web projects, people would have a hard time. 

Imagine, if a website or web application is uncomfortable, it's like walking in two-left shoes – weird, not practical, and unclear why. Metaphorically speaking, a front-end development company turns one of the left shoes into the right one. This way, the boots (your web project) look better and are more comfortable to walk (use the site).

What technologies should a good front-end development company use?

You will never meet an excellent professional who does not utilize specific tools in their work. No matter the sphere and specifics of a person's profession, they necessarily use at least one instrument to solve their assigned tasks. It is not so critical whether it is a hammer or the skill to speak clearly – this tool is always in the hands of an expert.

A front-end development company also has such a toolkit, which helps it become a superman in the world of software creation. Only unlike repair people, programmers use virtual hammers, nails, and planks.

What solutions are most often found in the arsenal of an excellent FE firm:

• the latest versions of HTML5 (5.1, 5.2 and 5.3);
• CSS3;
• JavaScript programming language and, if necessary, TypeScript;
• frameworks for web projects and products ReactJS, AngularJS;
• testing solutions (Karma, Jest, etc.);
• frameworks for mobile projects React Native and Ionic;
• CI/CD;
• deployment technologies (AWS, Heroku, Azure).

Also, a bonus will be that a front-end development company, if necessary, connects to the back-end development of projects and uses BE technologies.

Valuable skills of a front-end programmer

Because the core of any front-end development company consists of programmers, it is important to pay attention to the employees' skills when choosing a third-party partner. In the 21st century, technologies have reached their peak, so it is vital for an expert to know as many tools as possible and to remain flexible. Despite the shortage of IT professionals in the IT industry, firms should not hire the first person who fits the job. Writing code is no longer a competitive advantage these days.

Besides hard skills, it is essential to consider other abilities of a professional that will help a business become competitive on the market and differentiate itself from other businesses. It doesn't mean that a developer should know everything from the basics of marketing to creating layouts. Still, a FE specialist should understand the fundamentals of UI/UX design, the audience's needs, and be aware of trends in various industries.

Why does a programmer need these skills? If a pro has at least a basic idea of all these little things, they create a more effective, productive, and attractive solution for users. Furthermore, a well-rounded individual can openly express an opinion and object to a colleague if they see that the suggestion will not be helpful for a particular product.

The list of soft skills that make a talented programmer a rock star:

• time management – when a specialist can distribute his or her time correctly, there is no need to control or worry about deadlines strictly. Such a person easily copes with tasks and is better than others at estimating the time needed to implement various jobs;
• curiosity – this skill enhances the expert's involvement in the project allows them to interact with colleagues and get any necessary information. So, the pro always stays on track and can use the latest tools and solutions;
• openness – a programmer who possesses this skill easily expresses an opinion, resolves conflicts, and honestly says that a particular decision will not work;
• responsibility – the advantage of this soft skill is that the developer will never fail. Only a trustworthy specialist can be held accountable for his or her mistakes, correct them, and not shift the responsibility to the shoulders of others. The work goes easier with such a person;
• learning ability – professionals never stop learning. More and more instruments, solutions, and technologies speed up the process of project creation. If a programmer does not learn, their technical decisions lag far behind, and the relevance of the product drops.

Magic happens when you succeed in finding a firm whose programmers live their work and have the listed soft skills. Such devs can breathe life into your project and contribute immediately to the growth of your project in different ways. 

What difficulties you may face when looking for a front-end development company

Even though the profession of FE programmer is widespread, it is not easy to find the right employee in many countries. According to Indeed.com data, there are nearly 42,000 job openings for this position. Still, the number of pros with relevant experience and necessary soft and hard skills is tiny. Is it worth mentioning how difficult it is to find a suitable front-end development company in such a situation?

Difficulties SMBs face when searching for third-party partners:

• a long search and hiring process – in today's environment, these two phases are not divided into 3-4 steps, as they used to be, but instead into 7-10. The reasons for this are that technology has become more complex, and the cost of a specialist's error is more expensive for the business;
• the high price of services – when searching for a suitable employee through recruiting agencies, the firm has to pay up to 30% of fees. If you hire a team of experts, these numbers come out to the annual salary of one FE programmer. For small companies, this is a vast sum of money;
• few experts with an excellent technical background – you only need rock-stars of code on your crew to create a cool product. However, colleges and universities do not yet have time to produce enough specialists. For this reason, some firms are forced to retrain professionals from other fields or hire self-taught people;
• lack of specialists in-house – according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2030, the employment of specialists in IT will grow by 13% annually. At the same time, there will be a severe shortage of top-notch professionals. In these regions, it will be complicated to recruit a specialist in-house; it will be necessary to use the services of a front-end development company remote or by outstaffing model;
• the use of outdated technologies – only pros who regularly upgrade their qualifications and take courses can use modern solutions in their work. That's why one of the first interview questions should be how often the third-party partner employees get training.

It is a core list of challenges that many business owners face. Don't think that you are alone in this world and no one else has passed through the circles of hell when hiring employees.

Signs that a front-end development company is not suitable for you

1. Your third-party partner is on the other side of the world, and you don't even have a few hours a day to get your workflow up and running.
2. A front-end development company has no examples of work, or its specialists have never worked with products in your industry.
3. The culture of your country is very different from that of the firm you're working with. This point is particularly relevant when choosing a model of cooperation.
4. The chosen front-end development company cannot properly deal with employee time management and constantly blows off deadlines.
5. Third-party partners do not have reviews and do not give contacts of firms they have worked with before. A credible team usually provides case studies or can provide contacts of at least one of their former clients.

Signs that a front-end development company is the best for you

1. The mentality of third-party partners is not very different from yours, so it is easier to find common ground with the team.
2. You have several hours during the day to discuss project details, development progress, and other issues of importance with the firm. 
3. Your partner has experience with your niche and can provide examples of past projects.
4. A front-end development company allows you to contact programmers directly to discuss product features. You get the project manager only for routine tasks, and all the ideas and suggestions are submitted directly to the programmer.
5. Each team member has excellent time-management and communication skills. It helps to establish a smooth product creation flow and also allows you to free up time that used to be spent on project management. 

Often, organization problems arise with freelancers running multiple jobs simultaneously or people who don't know how to prioritize tasks.

These were probably all the bare essentials for you to find and hire the perfect front-end development company. Besides general recommendations, be always guided by your feelings. If you enjoy interacting with the firm, its employees understand what you need and have excellent knowledge, and you've done everything correctly. The main thing is to think about what's best for the final result and the users of your product.

FAQ

What is front-end development services?

It is not so simple to give an exact answer to this question. A front-end development company usually has several technologies and provides different categories of services. However, more often than not, firms provide the following types of professional services to their clients:

• HTML/CSS and JavaScript development;
• adaptive and mobile design creation;
• AngularJS and ReactJS development;
• UI/UX design implementation;
• use a variety of technical tools;
• connecting back-end specialists for those projects where it is necessary;
• creating custom applications;
• building cross-platform projects, etc.

Sometimes a front-end development company offers migration from one platform to another, like migration from AngularJS to Angular.

Do front-end developers get paid well? What is the average annual salary of such programmers in the U.S.?

This category of experts has a pretty high annual salary, not counting bonuses and other benefits. At the moment, on average, such a developer in the U.S. earns $103,800. Depending on the state, this sum may vary. The minimum salary for this category of professionals is $81,800, and the maximum salary is $136,500. 

It is not easy to hire such a specialist to work on projects. That is why small and medium-sized businesses more often deal with a front-end development company. In the case of cooperation with a third-party partner, firms pay as they go.