What is a full stack developer?
A full stack developer builds both the front end (what users see) and the back end (servers, databases and APIs that power it). You do not need to master everything. Employers value depth in one area and solid working knowledge of the other.
How the web works
- You type a URL in the browser.
- The browser asks DNS for the server's IP address.
- It opens a secure connection (HTTPS) to that server.
- It sends an HTTP request:
GET /notes/html. - The server runs code, may query a database and sends back a response (HTML, JSON, images).
- The browser renders the response using HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
The layers of a full stack app
| Layer | Examples |
|---|---|
| Front end | HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React |
| Back end | Node.js, PHP, Python, Go, Java |
| Database | MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB |
| Tools | Git, GitHub, Docker, Postman |
| Hosting | VPS, cloud platforms, static hosts |
A realistic roadmap
- HTML and CSS (4 to 6 weeks): our HTML and CSS courses.
- JavaScript (6 to 8 weeks): our JavaScript course.
- Git and GitHub (1 week).
- A front-end framework, React is a common choice.
- One back-end language and a framework, for example Node.js with Express, or PHP.
- SQL and a database.
- APIs and authentication.
- Deployment.
- Two complete projects with live links.
Tip: Build something at every step. A small finished project teaches more than ten tutorials.
Practice
Draw the journey of a request when you open a website you use daily. Label the browser, DNS, server and database.