Comments on: Why front-end developers are so important to the future of businesses on the web

By: Barney

Barney — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:01:50 +0000

Your article highlights some interesting aspects of a familiar problem. I’m sympathetic, and will continue to champion people such as myself (user interaction expertise won’t get you anywhere in a large business; using ‘champion’ as a verb will).

Couchoud, I see where you’re coming from too. What makes front-end deselopment different is that it is not a craft or profession born out of institutions. There was never a rulebook, or (crucially) a career ladder. Good front-end developers are good because they immersed themselves in an emerging science/art/society and learnt/intuited/invented the craft of their own ingenuity. No classroom or career adviser could’ve convinced them with remote certainty this was a good idea for their professional development.

As a result it’s especially important for front-enders to champion themselves in the present, and to consider their futures carefully. This isn’t because the world has a vendetta against them ‚Äî it’s simply because in this trade the onus is on us to champion our values and shape our profession.

By: Why front-end developers are so important to the future of businesses on the web | Juan Carlos Pontaza

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:09:30 +0000

[...] good friend and colleague sent me this article, and it describes very well the difficulties that a UI guy has to live with. I do agree with most [...]

By: Why front-end developers are so important to the future of businesses on the web | Bloggink

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 10:40:21 +0000

[...] A very interesting article, written by Paul Carvill. [...]

By: Chandra

Chandra — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:55:32 +0000

Great article. In India, there are still not many specific job postings for front-end developers. Usually java/php/asp guys learn a bit of html/css/javascript and clutter the web pages with hell lot of code. And these front-end technologies are usually ridiculed. But, the situation is slowly changing. Lets hope they realize the importance of front-end engineering in the enterprise web apps.

I wish many of the project managers who recruit people for web based projects, should read your article.

By: couchoud

couchoud — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:53:57 +0000

As a front-end developer with 10-years experience I agree with most of what your saying here, but I wonder sometimes if this viewpoint is an attitude and expectation problem from us. I think if you were to ask most people, in any position, at any company they will tell you that they are undervalued and that their job is one of, if not the most important. That their voices don’t matter and that things would be so much better if company ‘X’ did things the right way. That’s not to say we shouldn’t give up the fight of fighting for our relevance, but I feel that some roles are what they are. Nothing more, nothing less.

By: Weekly Web Roundup: The Thumbnail Edition #20 | Hi, I'm Grace Smith

Weekly Web Roundup: The Thumbnail Edition #20 | Hi, I'm Grace Smith — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:28:27 +0000

[...] Why front-end developers are so important An interesting article on how traditional businesses who have moved to the web regularly undervalue their front-end web developers, and are worse off because of that. [...]

By: What is a user experience or interaction designer? UX, IxD, UCD — Nathanael Boehm

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 23:42:16 +0000

[...] You might also want to read Peter Carvill’s recent article Why front-end developers are so important to the future of businesses on the web. [...]

By: arpit

arpit — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 20:13:43 +0000

FANTASTIC article. As a front end developer working for a big company, I have seen this first hand. Hopefully more articles like these will change the perception of front end developers being “pixel pushers”

By: Notable Tech Posts – 2009.10.04 | The Life of Lew Ayotte

Notable Tech Posts – 2009.10.04 | The Life of Lew Ayotte — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 16:02:23 +0000

[...] Why Front-End Developers are So Important to the Future of Businesses on the Web [...]

By: Stef

Stef — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:30:54 +0000

“Simon Willison says: I think this attitude is beginning to change with the growing importance of HTML as an application platform”

Well, there are already tons of solutions to make web apps… The fact that Google is pushing HTML5 is the only reason while it has a ‘growing importance’. Technically, there’s no need for anything more than what already exists. Take Flex or JS and you’ve got everything you need on the client side.

The revolution discussed here is, in my opinion, a revolution in development teams minds. They still don’t get the fact that other humans than themselves will use their product.

I can understand it’s frustrating for an hardcore developer to see that phenomenon, as they think front-end is basically a Picasso drawing that doesn’t mean anything. And users that aren’t not power users are dumbasses.

At the end of the day, a web business is a real life business. Users needs to love it.