9 Front-End Programming Languages You Should Learn Right Now

Depending on what you want to do, different programming languages find different uses in coding. Those of you considering a career in front-end development or full-stack development should learn languages specific to your tasks: graphical, textual, and formatting.

While web developers, software engineers, and other types of programmers may use front-end programming languages daily, the same can be said for UX and UI designers, marketers, e-commerce managers, or those who want to create visual elements for any customer-facing assets.

So what does it mean to be front-end? Which programming languages are best to learn and how to learn them? And how do front-end languages fit for people who work outside of tech? Let's break it down.

What is Front-End Programming?

The front-end of software is what users interact with, whether it's a mobile app or a web page. Through this interface, users perform key actions: clicking, scrolling, or viewing. Front-end programming languages help the developer create various functional features and sections of the website for users. Front-end developers create what is called the user interface (UI) of an application or site. Everything from image placement to text alignment is part of the front-end developer's job.

Back-end programming, on the other hand, uses a different set of languages to fulfill user requests and take them where they want to go. Essentially, back-end brings front-end to life.

Front-end developers must understand the creative side of how websites and applications will look, since that's what users see and interact with. They also need to understand how pages appear on different devices, such as a desktop compared to a phone or tablet. Front-end developers are not graphic designers, but they must understand how various elements of web design and app creation work together.

Together they create a seamless experience for the user. Although full-stack developers typically master both front-end and back-end languages, some developers and engineers specialize in one or the other. For more creatively minded people, front-end development is a great career path.

Most Popular Front-End Languages

There is a huge number of programming languages. Not all of them are suitable for front-end development. We have listed 6 of the most popular languages to help you get started as a front-end developer. If you come from a back-end background and want to become a full-stack developer, these languages will help you.

HTML

HTML, or HyperText Markup Language, is the language used to create pages on the Internet. It is a simple language that almost everyone understands.

Every web page in some form contains HTML, and it is an integral part of browsers for loading text and other elements. HTML is the language that tells the code what to do with fonts, sizes, headings, colors, etc. However, it is less reliable for displaying dynamic content and creating dynamic pages.

HTML is not only easy to learn and use but also makes users' work easier. Of all programming languages, both front-end and back-end, HTML is significantly less complex, which is why it is so popular among web developers.

CSS

CSS is often used in conjunction with HTML and other languages. It is used to transform documents into a form that is convenient for the audience, allowing them to be delivered visually, for example, to screens, printers, or projectors. CSS gives a presentable look to documents created in HTML.

Like HTML, CSS is standardized for most web pages and browsers. So it can be written once and used many times. In simple terms, if HTML is a group of letters that form words, then CSS is the sentence structure.

JavaScript

JavaScript is one of the most widespread and popular programming languages for both front-end and full-stack developers. It is often called the "icing on the cake" because it allows you to make page elements even more dynamic. JavaScript has incredible functionality that allows you to create rich, user-friendly interfaces. Anything that plays video, displays graphics, or uses interactivity in any way can use JavaScript.

JavaScript is one of the most in-demand skills for technical roles, but it can also be especially useful for designers and people who work with customer-facing assets, such as game designers.

React

Facebook developed React as a way to help developers quickly build user interfaces. It is a framework, not a language per se, which means it simplifies the language used (more on this below). React can be used to create visual user interfaces and render data in browsers. React is simple, and those who know JavaScript can easily learn React. It is one of the largest JavaScript libraries for building front-end applications and content.

Swift

Swift is an open-source language created by Apple specifically for Apple products and systems, such as iOS. Although it is fairly easy to learn and use, it can only be applied to Apple systems. Swift has a Playgrounds feature that allows developers to experiment with code and immediately see results in a visual environment. Despite being used exclusively for Apple systems, this language is popular among developers.

JQuery

JQuery is a simple yet flexible and fast language built on the JavaScript library. JQuery is very popular now due to its ease of use and cross-browser support. (It can even be added to older systems!) Developers like it because it can be added to an existing script without needing to learn new syntax.

AngularJS

Anything ending in "js" relates to JavaScript. Angular is a front-end framework for JavaScript. (Node is a back-end framework for JavaScript.) It is a powerful open-source framework that works in single-page applications. It is backed by Google and loved by JavaScript users worldwide.

Vue

Vue is another JavaScript-based framework that is actually built on JS. It integrates easily with back-end code, providing a more reactive and interactive user experience and optimizing the code it works with. It is very similar to React, so if you are familiar with that framework, you can easily pick up Vue.

SASS

SASS is not only a fun name for a language, but also an acronym for something even more fun: Syntactically Awesome Stylesheets. As you might guess from the name, SASS works with CSS. It is compatible as an extension with all versions of CSS. SASS's job is to make your CSS better, faster, and stronger.