The Great Divide | CSS-Tricks
Let’s say there is a divide happening in front-end development. I feel it, but it’s not just in my bones. Based on an awful lot of written developer sentiment, interviews Dave Rupert and I have done on ShopTalk, and in-person discussion, it’s, as they say… a thing.
The divide is between people who self-identify as a (or have the job title of) front-end developer, yet have divergent skill sets.
On the other, an army of developers whose interests, responsibilities, and skillsets are focused on other areas of the front end, like HTML, CSS, design, interaction, patterns, accessibility, etc.
I think we need to move away from the term myself. We should split into UX Engineers and JavaScript Engineers. They are different mindsets. Most people are not amazing at both JavaScript and CSS. Let UX Engineers work closely with UX/Design to create great designs, interactions, prototypes, etc. and let JavaScript Engineers handle all the data parts.
I heard it called an identity crisis for the first time in Vernon Joyce’s article, “Is front-end development having an identity crisis?” He points to the major JavaScript frameworks:
