The process of building a website is divided into front-end and back-end development. 

Building the front end of a website focuses on developing the user interface using coding languages like HTML, CSS and JavaScript and various frameworks and libraries like React or Vue.

Front-end programming languages and frameworks play a huge role in web development, making it necessary for developers to keep up with the latest trend in the industry. 

What are the top front-end languages in demand? This article discusses client-side development and the popular front-end programming languages and frameworks developers can use to build the visual components of a website. 

Key Points

• Front-end languages are computer languages developers use to build website user interfaces.
• A front-end developer is an expert that builds the client side (that part of a website you interact with) of a website. 
• While the front end deals with the visual elements and widgets on a website, the back end deals with what you can't see, like the server and database. 
• HTML, CSS and JavaScript are three popular client-side development languages you can use to build a website. 
• Front-end developers are skilled in using frameworks like Bootstrap and Vue to build the client side of websites. 

What Is Front-End Development? 

A website's front-end is everything you see and interact with when you click into it using a browser. 

The front end of a website is made up of tools you use on the internet every day. For example forms, buttons, navigation and images you see every day. 

Those elements define the website's layout and serve as the interface where users can engage with the site and the business. 

Front-end development is building a website's visual components or user interface using coding languages like Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), Cascade Style Sheet (CSS) and JavaScript (JS). 

What Is a Front-End Developer?

A front-end developer is a professional that uses markup languages like HTML and CSS to build the structure of a website and JavaScript to add functionalities to the site. 

Here are a few of the key client-side roles: 

• Use web technologies like HTML, CSS and JavaScript to develop the various components of a website like buttons, navigation, forms, drop-downs, etc.
• Work with web designers and UX specialists to design the website. 
• Build a responsive website that is easy to navigate on mobile devices. 
• Optimise the website following SEO guidelines to increase performance.  

Here are some of the skills needed for a front-end developer to successfully develop a website:

• Knowledge of responsive website development. 
• Expert knowledge of coding languages like HTML, CSS and JavaScript. 
• Proficient in CSS frameworks like Bootstrap and JavaScript libraries and frameworks like React, Vue and Angular. 
• Excellent problem-solving skills to turn ideas into code. 
• Search engine optimisation (SEO) skills to make the website user-friendly. 
• Debugging skills to fix errors in code. 

At times, client-side web developers may reach into back-end code like PHP or Python to connect data with the front end of a website. Let's briefly look at the back end before diving into the top 6 front-end languages. 

What Is Back-End Development?

A website's back end consists of a server and a database that stores information; that part of the website you cannot see.

Back-end development is creating the server-side software that powers the website. This responsibility falls on the server-side developer who uses back-end programming languages like Python, PHP, NodeJS, etc., to build the site's code. 

Aside from that, back-end developers ensure that the website runs smoothly, using their skills to create server-side logic, application programming interfaces (APIs) and databases that power the website. 

What Are Front-End Languages?

Now that you know client-side development, it is time to learn more about the various client-side languages programmers use to build a website. Front-end coding languages are computer languages programmers use to develop websites. 

They have syntax, rules and structure that distinguish them and make developing a website possible. Examples of the top front-end languages are HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. 

1. HTML

HTML, which is short for Hypertext Markup Language, is an easy-to-use language web developers can use to create the structure of a web page. It is considered a markup language, not a programming language, because it can't create dynamic functionalities. 

HTML is that markup language that ensures that text, images, videos and other components on your website appear in the right place. 

Also, it makes it possible to define the structure of sections, paragraphs and links on a web page using tags and attributes and allows users to navigate the site painlessly. 

HTML is a blueprint that tells the web browser how to assemble the pages of your website based on the building block established in the code. 

An HTML page is a file that ends with a .HTML extension. The average website has several HTML files that define the markup of the various pages like the home, about and contact pages. Below is an example of an HTML code.

This Is an HTML Heading

This is an HTML paragraph.

A web browser like chrome will read each HTML file and render or display the content (text with embedded images or videos), so the user can view it. 

Features of HTML

• It is a beginner's friendly markup language because it is easy to understand with simple syntax. 
• Developers can easily integrate HTML with other programming languages like PHP or NodeJS when building a dynamic website. 
• It runs natively on all browsers; it does not need an exceptional operating environment. 
• Since HTML is widely used, it has lots of support and a large community. 
• Programmers can use HTML to build anything from forms to buttons and navigation menus. 

Note that HTML alone is not enough to build a fully functional website. While it handles the structure, you need CSS to add decor to the website and JavaScript to add functionalities. 

2. CSS

In web front-end development, HTML is insufficient to design an aesthetically pleasing website. To add style and taste to a site, you need CSS. What is CSS?

CSS, an acronym for cascading style sheets, is a language developers use to style HTML elements.  

While HTML defines the structure (which on its own isn't very visually appealing), CSS specifies the page layouts, colours, fonts, text decoration, image sizes, etc., everything that makes the website attractive. 

You can think of HTML as the skeleton of a website while Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is the skin and muscles that define a persons characteristics. 

Cascade Style Sheets work using simple English-based syntax, which is pretty simple, with a set of rules that govern it. 

The syntax has a selector, which points to the HTML you want to style, and a declaration block that includes a CSS property name and value separated by a semicolon. 

Below is an example of CSS syntax that styles an HTML element. 

This is an HTML paragraph