A Deep Dive into Back-End Development: What You Need to Know

Without back end development, the internet would offer very little. As you engage with a website, what you’re seeing and interacting with is the front-end. But there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to a website – and that’s where back-end development comes in.

What is back end development?

Back end development (often called the “server-side” development), is the creation of everything that goes on behind the scenes of a website or application that the user can’t see. 

Data is collected from external servers and applications and filters this information back into the website to process user requests. If you’re buying something online, you enter your information into the website. That information will then be stored in a database that was created on a server and will be processed to purchase your item. All of these stages are part of backend development.

The back-end normally consists of an application, server and database. As you interact with a site by entering information, this information is stored in a database that resides on a server. Results are then returned to you to be displayed on the site as front-end code.

What does a back end developer do?

Backend developers are responsible for building the technologies that host these database interactions and user requests. They ensure the smooth and efficient functioning of a website or an application. 

A back end developer creates and includes things like business logic, calculations, database interactions, and performance in the server-side of an application or webpage.

Behind the pretty face developed by the front-end code is the back-end developer’s code that makes the application or web page work – creating a dynamic site that changes and updates in real-time.

An example of back end development

One example of back-end development at work is the scenario of buying a plane ticket on a website. Everything you see on the site is the front-end. After you enter your request for flight options, the back-end takes over by sending the request to the database to look up the flight information, then puts together a web page that lists all the flight options and sends this page back to you. Once the data reaches your computer, the information is passed to the front-end to be displayed on the site.

All the information you entered is stored in the database on the server, where it can be accessed and changed at any time. For instance, if you decide to change the date of the flight or cancel the order, the items in the database are changed to reflect this. If you log back into the application later on to print your ticket, all your information will still be there in your account.

Back end developer programming languages

The server, application, and database all need to communicate smoothly in order for a function, like buying a plane ticket, to work. To build applications, back-end developers use server-side languages like;

• JavaScript
• Python 
• Ruby
• Java
• PHP
• C
• C++
• C#
• Perl 
• Swift
• Go 
• F#

Back end developers use various tools to connect to the database to find, save, and modify the data that is sent back to the user. These tools include;

• MySQL 
• SQL
• MongoDB
• Node.js
• and Oracle 

As a back-end developer, you’re responsible for building and maintaining the technologies around the application, server, and database – ensuring that what the user interacts with on a site actually performs the functions it’s designed to do.

Back end developer salary

Back end developers are in huge demand around the world and as a result, they are well compensated for their work. Here we look at average salaries in various countries. 

• The UK:
  Taking all levels of experience into account, the average developer salary in the UK is circa £48275, with salaries ranging between £28k for entry-level back end developers and £77k for seniors, according to recruiters Robert Half. 
• The Netherlands
  According to Honeypot.io,  the median salary for a back end developer in the Netherlands is circa €51,000, with new back end developers starting out at approximately €42k and seniors reaching beyond €62k. 
• Sweden
  In Sweden, Payscale indicates that a back end developer will earn circa 420,000 SEK per annum on average. 
• Ireland:
  According to Indeed, the average back end developer salary in Ireland is €62,568.
• Germany
  In Germany, Honeypot.io tells us that the average salary for back end developers is circa €63,000.

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