Want to build a great web presence or a new web application? A lot of work goes into creating websites and apps. It’s important to either fully understand the complexities of it—and have a mastery of the skill required to do it on your own—or hire a company that can do it for you so everything goes off without a hitch.
Let’s discuss why it’s crucial to have knowledgeable full stack development on your side when launching your web app, and why your best option may be to enlist expert assistance.
Article Contents
What Is Full Stack Development?
Make sure you have a true full stack developer on your side throughout your project. They’re trained to handle the art and computer science of front end, back end, server management, and database management. In many cases, a classic professional developer may only know one or two of these areas very well.
In essence, when someone says “full stack,” they’re talking about the full set of components and skills needed to pull off your project. Someone who has that valuable combination of digital competencies can get projects done faster, more securely, and with confidence in their capabilities—not to mention lower costs (and stress) for you.
Web-based technologies are ever-evolving, so your website or application’s structure will need a refresh at some point. We’re quickly heading toward a future where the front end and back end are more intertwined, so hiring a programmer with strong knowledge of the entire tech stack will future-proof your business.
A talented full stack developer sees how all the pieces of the puzzle will or won’t fit together—and this is what gives you an edge over your competitors who don’t make use of one.
Diving Deeper — Front End, Back End, What Does It All Mean?
Here’s a breakdown in layman’s terms if you’re just learning what full stack development is. After all, you should know what you’re signing up for.
Front End Development
The front end is the visible part of a website or web application that is responsible for a pleasant user experience. This one’s more about the look and feel, since the user is directly interacting with the front end portion of the platform. This also means you should make it as clear and user-friendly as possible.
A highly skilled full stack developer can make a website easier to navigate so it’s not confusing or frustrating for the user. A negative experience could cause you to lose a potential customer, possibly tarnishing your brand’s reputation. If the front end is built properly, the user will enjoy faster loading and a more enjoyable time on the platform.
Back End Development
When it comes to the back end, things get a bit more technical. “Back end” refers to the server-side development of a web application or website, with a primary focus on how the website works behind-the-scenes. It is responsible for managing the database through queries and APIs (Application Programming Interface—a set of instructions, requirements, or standards that helps a piece of software function) through client-side commands.
Your back end application can also create faster loading times, but a well-built back end is especially critical for scalability. Working with an experienced developer can ensure the platform is built efficiently with these things in mind from the start. A developer uses libraries, frameworks, and languages like PHP, Java, Python, and Ruby to create a back end.
Think You Can Skimp on This? Why Full Stack Development Is Crucial
A strong web presence establishes trust with a company’s target market, builds authority in the industry, and raises brand awareness. That’s all well and good, but as critical as it is to have a great website, some people overlook the need for full stack development in mobile apps. The abundance of do-it-yourself tutorials and platforms available makes it seem easy enough to have an employee figure it out in-house.
What you need, though, is someone who can execute an entire complex app or website without issue. That job is likely too large and involved for one team member to handle on their own. Professional full stack developers have seen it all and know how to troubleshoot effectively. If your employee is still learning the ropes, there’s a good chance something will break.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
With so many moving parts and variables—from the code itself to server connections—there are countless places something could go wrong. And when things go wrong with your platforms, there’s a measurable impact on your bottom line, stakeholders, and customers.
Your business might be entirely reliant on this application, so selecting the right technology, framework, and strategy can and will affect how it performs. Full stack development can provide a mobile application so you can automate push notifications, track users and their application use, and much more.
All of this offers you the chance to understand your platform, users, and business better (not to mention the fantastic intel it provides to fuel your marketing and sales efforts).
Full stack development, done right, looks like this:
- Well-planned discovery and design at the beginning of the project, straight from the start—cutting waste.
- A front end and back end framework that is built with the business strategy, user flow, user traffic, and incoming scalability in mind (for example, you might build a prototype for your first phase of work and then take what you learn into the stage-one version of the application).
- A load-tested application for apps that plan to see a lot of traffic—ideally, yours will.
- A server and database environment that is built to scale horizontally or vertically depending on the required needs of the application—make sure you’re adaptable to changing times to stay ahead of the curve and outpace the competition.
- A beautifully designed application (that functions even better).
- A platform that builds brand awareness, gets more leads, gains more website traffic, and sees more organic traffic, too.
- A platform that leads to more closed deals, and in turn, more revenue.
How Uhuru Can Help
Curious about what makes us different?
The Uhuru Way When It Comes to Full Stack Development
We have a design and development team that will bring years of experience to your project. Through the vast experience of our specialists on the team, we have truly seen it all. We can approach tasks with a bird’s eye view, seeing the bigger picture—acting as a consultant where needed, and preventing problems from popping up along the way. That experience means our developers are proactive and safer in their approach.
Full stack development can generally be done in two ways. You can hire an in-house team of developers, designers, project managers, product owners, development operators, and more (that’s a mouthful, we know).
Or you can hire an agency team that already has all these resources in one friendly, convenient package. We provide a group of experienced team members that cover everything from the initial planning and application design to development and ongoing dev ops.
Your “something” is a dream, a concept, a vision, a solution. Our goal is to help you bring that something to life.
We start with the discovery process, allowing us to determine what your project is and the best way to build it out. Next, we move to the custom design phase, because we believe no two businesses are the same, and should not be treated as such. We’ll be in touch about the look and feel of your project so you can collaborate in the process—we have a “no surprises” policy. Once we have your go-ahead, we’ll start building your website or iOS, Android, or web application.
Along the way, we have a daily routine and mission to keep design, logic, and usability top-of-mind.
So, what makes us the best choice?
- Our system and process: because we employ an agile scrum-based approach, we can get your project done faster and with more input from you so can stay in the driver’s seat as much as you’d like.
- The extent of our experience and knowledge: we have a lot of it—so far, we’ve launched over 100 fully-functioning custom designs.
- No cookie-cutter jobs: your business needs are unique, and your brand is sacred. You’ll always get a personalized and tailored experience with us.
- A focus on the full scope of the project: we look at your application from a business perspective, as well as design and development perspectives.
- Regular, built-in update meetings: at no additional charge.
Examples of Full Stack Development Work We’ve Done So Far
We are especially proud of a customized data collection application we completed for a worldwide agriculture client of ours. To tackle this feat, we took on the following:
- Web and mobile application.
- Design, development, and ongoing dev ops.
- Ongoing buildout aligned with their internal ops and strategy team.
- Proprietary company information that moved from a world of spreadsheets to an infinitely scalable and easy-to-use application.
- Tracking and advanced insights that the company didn’t have before.
Another one of our favorite projects was a custom web-based application for a multi-location string of restaurants. Here’s what we did to make their dream reality and exceed their goals:
- Web application optimized for desktop, tablet, and mobile use.
- Design, development, and ongoing dev ops.
- Easy-to-use, fully customized content management system for managers and location-specific employees to use.
- Modern and fresh design.
- Fast-loading website to avoid frustrating prospective users.
- Website integrated with API custom-built to their internal company database.
- API integrations with restaurant industry standards in the delivery, beer, and location-specific third-party options.
Let’s Make It Happen for You—Schedule a Business Assessment
Just because another vendor may say they’re offering custom builds doesn’t mean they code from scratch like our pros do. We enjoy it. Partnering with us will never be boring because we don’t do templates—and you’ll never find your project broken.
As you learned, there are countless benefits to hiring a full stack development service to take your project from ideation through launch and beyond. We won’t ditch when you need us, either. We believe in continuing support for those who partner with us.
Full stack developers have the experience and qualifications to add cutting edge features to your product that will excite your market. Real experts will manage the whole stack from the ground up, so you don’t have to worry about a thing.
Skilled full stack developers are always up-to-date on the latest technological innovations. They know what smart features to implement that will make the client side more responsive and enjoyable. They’re versed in every stage and aspect of development, and can identify problems (and implement long-term solutions) to keep everything running smoothly. And since they stay on top of every part of the job, you won’t need to worry about staffing a team of developers for one single project.