Top 10 Skills You Will Need to Develop to be a Backend Developer

Backend developers work behind the scenes on some of the most crucial components of an app, system, software or operating system. If you open up software or an app, you may pay close attention to the interface, but it’s just a small portion of what’s really happening behind the scenes.

A backend developer needs several skills if they plan to be a good developer:

1. Knowledge of Frontend Systems

You don’t need to master all of the frontend technologies and languages, but a general knowledge will help you discuss how the backend and frontend will connect. Knowing the frontend will help with everything from healthcare development to app development.

Knowing HTML, Javascript and CSS, or any language used for the frontend, will be beneficial for you as a developer.

2. Knowledge of Security Norms and Compliance

Security testing should occur before a product reaches market. You'll want to have security checks for websites, apps, software and everything else you code. If you know security compliance and norms, you can code with security in mind.

If you don’t code with security in mind, you may find that you have to go back to your code and make corrections in the future. When or if a security breach occurs, if it was a common issue that wasn’t corrected, you may be held responsible.

3. Version Control

Your code is valuable, and as changes are made, it’s important to have a repo that allows you to revert to previous code or to have a trail of changes that you’ve made. Learning version control and continually using the version control throughout your code changes will be an invaluable skill to learn.

4. Knowledge of the Environment

Backend developers have to work off of the environment that they’re coding in. If you’re an Android app developer, you have to have a good understanding of how the Android OS operates.

But if you’re building websites, you should know how the hosting environment works and how to leverage everything from the database to scripting.

5. Scaling

Scaling has become drastically easier with widespread cloud usage, but it’s a concept that every coder should understand. You will need to be able to write concise code that is able to scale on the platform of your choice.

Scaling may include spinning up new cloud servers, caching databases or other options.

6. Database Knowledge

Databases allow for the quick storing and retrieval of data. You should have a thorough understanding of databases that you’ll come across as a backend developer. If you plan on building large-scale websites, you may opt to learn SQL because it’s the most common database used for web development.

Knowing how databases work and how to connect to them as a developer is a must-have skill.

7. Application Programme Interface (API)

An API allows you to receive and send information and connect to some of the world’s best platforms. You can connect to PayPal or other platforms with an API to send invoices directly to clients or to send out batch payments.

Learning the basics of REST and API will make you a more desirable programmer.

8. Popular Frameworks

If the language you code in has frameworks, you’ll want to know how to use the top one or two frameworks. PHP developers may decide to learn Laravel or another framework because it enables you to work on more projects and become an even more valuable member of your team.

9. Code Optimization

It’s easy to write code that is inefficient, but it’s difficult to write optimized code. You also don’t want to make the code so complex that no one will be able to actually read or understand the code.

Code optimization is learned through a lot of practice, and it involves testing.

You may not have to optimize all pieces of code, but code that has to connect to databases or APIs can cause bottlenecks, so optimization here can save time and resources.

10. Testing

Code testing is going to provide you with a basic understanding of whether your code works or not. You may test user input to make sure it’s clean, or you may run a test on your database to determine how many connections can be made before failure.

You don’t need to be a master of testing, but knowing the basics is definitely recommended.

The basics can make you a stronger coder and allow you to write code that requires fewer changes and tweaks.

Every developer must build a long list of skills to enter the field and advance through their career. While these ten skills are important, they’re not the only skills that a backend developer will need to know. Never stop learning or lose your passion for coding and you’ll be able to have a long career as a backend developer.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTime