The back-end side of a website is the behind-the-scenes functionality that powers the website and mainly consists of three parts: an application, a server, and a database. According to this informative post, PHP is one of the best and most popular languages that Laravel developers use for back-end development thanks to its complex functionalities with few lines of code.
In this article, we are going to look at the roles of a backend-end development team, whom it consists of, and you might also learn a thing or two on how to use Laravel.
Who Is a Back-end Developer?
A back-end developer is tasked with creating websites that fully utilize the multiple Laravel features to augment both the development and user experience once the website is deployed to production.
They also build and maintain the much-needed technology to power various components that activate a website’s user-side. Furthermore, back-end developers are also in charge of maintaining, testing, and debugging the entire back-end. This includes core application logic, API, databases, application integration, and many other back-end processes.
The Demand for Laravel Developers
Laravel PHP Framework has been touted as one of the best PHP frameworks to build solid, maintainable code. As of 2018, more than 473,782 live sites are using Laravel while historically, an average of 1,084,131 websites have been built using the same.
These numbers are just an indicator as to why Laravel is the framework of choice for premium back-end web development. And this success has spawned in multiple other areas within the ecosystem. For instance, the Laravel market share continues to grow currently standing at 25.7%.
In terms of demand for backend developers, online platforms like Indeed.com, Upwork, Glassdoor, and Linkedin have over the last 3 years seen an increase in the number of Laravel development job postings. It shouldn’t then come as a surprise that even Google Trends recognizes that Laravel is way ahead of Zend, Yii, and CodeIgniter in terms of online searches.
Stack Overflow which is without a doubt the most visited website by developers has also hinted that most of the tags on different PHP frameworks clearly puts Laravel ahead of the pack.
Why Should a Company Hire Laravel Developers?
There are many key advantages of hiring back-end developers. The first reason is to help them build the “server-side” of a web application. The server-side is language and code that runs behind the curtains on the back-end whereas the front-end developers help create the client side.
Secondly, back-end developers work in tandem with their front-end peers to create harmony between the server-side logic and client-side web application elements. In other words, they help create the logic that allows the web application to function properly, and they do this using server-side scripting languages such as Ruby or PHP.
On top of, breathing functionality to these web applications, backend developers are also tasked with optimizing the same for speed and efficiency. Moreover, they also assist in creating data storage solutions with a database, which is an important component for all web applications as they this is where they store information.
What Constitutes a Back-end Development Team?
Creating a contemporary and functional web application requires a multivariate team effort approach. Each member of the development team is generally an expert in their respective niche and has their fair share of professional authority. This type of approach allows faster product implementation without compromising on the end-quality– which is an unqualified advantage for the product owner.
The list below might surprise you as it contains many occupations. Nevertheless, it’s just an illustration of the basic backend development staff. Otherwise, larger projects may need to involve a much larger team. With that said, development practice dictates that the leaner the team, the faster and better the final product.
Here’s what the back-end development team usually looks like:
Project Manager
He is at the helm of the team and helps coordinate the workflow in a team. In particular, he helps keep the project operating within the parameters of the working schedule and the set budget.
Software Architect
The software architect is responsible for making crucial project decisions regarding its internal structure, software system, and the technical interfaces. He also chooses the development tools for the project and formulates various developers’ activity scenarios.
Project Lead
He/she is tasked with managing the performance of developers in relation to their experience, competency, and authority.
QA Engineer
A QA engineer ensures that the end product quality meets the clients’ expectations. They also help in preparing the testing environment, particularly for the hardware platforms and browsers compatibility.
Backend Developer
This is the specialist in charge of building all the server part components for a web app. They mostly work with PHP, Java, Ruby, and others.
Database Administrator
While working on a large web development project with a complex architecture, you require a database administrator to oversee databases interaction.
Testing Expert
The testers are responsible for checking the correspondence between the technical requirements and the actual web app. In case, they detect any issue, they revert the product to developers for fixing.
Still, under PHP development, there are other auxiliary positions that are still crucial as you build a website:
Content creation experts: They help in putting together attractive website elements together with your web design and development team.
SEO experts: After deployment, they can help you in promoting your website rankings.
Copywriter: A web app or site without well-formulated copies will always perform dismally. A copywriter is a go-to person who can help you create such website copies.
Primary Skills and Technological Expertise for a Back-end Developer
Using the back-end developer job description as a reference, here are a few must-have skills for a back-end developer. They not only have a bearing on the type of company these professionals attract but also determine their web developer salary.
- Ability to manage and work with hosting environments like database administration as well as be able to scale apps to accommodate load changes.
- Deep understanding of front-end technologies like CSS, HTML, and JavaScript for purposes of communicating the front-end developers.
- Cloud computing integration.
- Proficient knowledge in back-end programming languages and PHP frameworks
- Accessibility and security compliance knowledge.
- Vast version control experience.
Final Thoughts
Any web development company must be prepared to cope with a super-complex employee hierarchy. However, with an extended development team, the ultimate performance of the staff is boosted. It is for this reason that most successful organizations in the software and web development industry are seen to be constantly widening their staffs and even opening new positions to take up new experts. After all, a properly formulated team create competitive and high-quality products in the shortest time possible. And with technologies like Laravel framework, the development lifecycle will continue to reduce giving developers ample time to deal with serious technical issues like debugging to improve website speed.
Going ahead, the Symfony vs Laravel battle will be an interesting one. This is because the two frameworks have continued to shine thanks to their amazing features respectively. However, PHP as a back-end will continue to dominate as its one of the best programming languages in building a wide range of web applications.
Infographic source: mobilunity.com