Guidance

Frontend developer

Find out what a frontend developer does and the skills you need to do the job.

• From: Central Digital and Data Office
• Published: 3 December 2020

This describes the role of a frontend developer and the skills required, including:

• an introduction to the role, telling you what you would do in this role and the full list of skills
• a description of the levels in this role, from apprentice frontend developer to head of frontend development, specifying the skills you need and the corresponding skill levels (awareness, working, practitioner, expert)

This role is part of the Digital, Data and Technology Profession in the Civil Service.

Introduction to the role of frontend developer

A frontend developer designs, builds and improves website software that meets user needs.

In this role, you will:

• be responsible for writing clean, accessible code following a progressive enhancement approach
• create code that is open by default and easy for others to reuse
• design software which meets user needs and creates meaningful interactions and relationships with users
• have an understanding of the three fundamental frontend technologies (HTML, CSS and JavaScript)

Skills needed to be a frontend developer

You will need the following skills for this role, although the level of expertise for each will vary, depending on the role level.

• Accessibility. You can create accessible user interfaces that put user needs first. You can test components and pages against accessibility standards.
• Communicating information. You can communicate effectively across organisational, technical and political boundaries. You can make complex and technical information and language simple and accessible for non-technical audiences. You can work effectively with others.
• Community collaboration (frontend developer). You can contribute to the work of others and can build, motivate and empower teams. You can create the right environment for teams to work in and can create the best team makeup depending on the situation. You can give and receive constructive feedback, enabling the feedback loop. You can recognise and deal with issues.
• Leadership and guidance (frontend developer). You can interpret a vision to lead on decisions. You create a collaborative environment and maintain a good service. You can understand and resolve technical disputes across varying levels of complexity and risk. You can solve issues and unblock problems.
• Modern standards approach (frontend developer). You can apply a modern standards approach throughout development, automation and testing.
• Programming and build (frontend developer). You can use agreed standards and specifications to design, create, test and document new software, or to make changes to existing software.
• Prototyping. You can apply technical knowledge and experience to create or design workable prototypes, both programs and physical outputs. You can understand parameters, restrictions and synergies.
• Strategic thinking. You can take an overall perspective on business issues, events and activities, and discuss their wider implications and long-term impact. You can determine patterns, standards, policies, roadmaps and vision statements. You can effectively focus on outcomes rather than solutions and activities.
• Systems design (frontend developer). You can design system components which meet business needs. You can solve problems and understand technical and business complexity.
• Systems integration (frontend developer). You can integrate and test user interfaces, systems and programme components.
• User focus (frontend developer). You can understand users and identify who they are and what their needs are, based on evidence. You can translate user stories and propose design approaches or services to meet these needs. You can engage in meaningful interactions and relationships with users. You can show that you put users first and can manage competing priorities.
• Web performance optimisation. You can understand how web performance can impact users. You can solve problems to improve performance. You can use different sources of data to monitor and identify performance issues.

Apprentice frontend developer

An apprentice frontend developer attends certified training and develops skills on the job.

At this role level, you will:

• spend a substantial portion of time shadowing others
• work with other developers to write code and tests
• write code that follows web standards
• build your understanding of accessibility
• build your knowledge
• develop software which meets user needs

Skills needed for this role level

• Accessibility. You can understand accessibility and that users have different accessibility needs. You can help fix accessibility issues under the direction of others. (Skill level: awareness)
• Communicating information. You can listen to the needs of design and business stakeholders and interpret information. You can take part in discussions within a multidisciplinary team. (Skill level: awareness)
• Community collaboration (frontend developer). You can understand the work of others and the importance of team dynamics, collaboration and feedback. (Skill level: awareness)
• Leadership and guidance (frontend developer). You can follow agreed good practice for the team. You can show an awareness of the importance of team dynamics and collaboration. You can understand the importance of feedback. (Skill level: awareness)
• Modern standards approach (frontend developer). You can explain the importance of adopting a modern standards approach. (Skill level: awareness)
• Programming and build (frontend developer). You can design, code, test, correct and document simple user interfaces using the right standards and tools under the direction of others. (Skill level: awareness)
• Prototyping. You can explain what prototyping is, and why and when to use it. You can understand how to work in an open and collaborative environment (by pair working, for example). (Skill level: awareness)
• User focus (frontend developer). You can show an understanding of user experience analysis and its principles. You can explain the purpose of user stories and the focus on user needs. (Skill level: awareness)
• Web performance optimisation. You can understand the basic principles of web performance, and why web performance is important. You can support activities to improve web performance under the guidance of others. (Skill level: awareness)

Junior frontend developer

A junior frontend developer learns on the job by delivering software components.

At this role level, you will:

• work independently, with guidance from more senior developers, to identify user issues and needs
• write clean code that follows web standards
• build your understanding of accessibility
• build your knowledge
• develop software which meets user needs

Skills needed for this role level

• Accessibility. You can understand users have different accessibility needs. You can build user interfaces that meet accessibility standards and fix accessibility issues under the direction of others. (Skill level: working)
• Communicating information. You can listen to the needs of design and business stakeholders and interpret information. You can take part in discussions within a multidisciplinary team. You can be an advocate for the team externally, and can manage differing perspectives. You can shape and share communications relevant to the audience. (Skill level: working)
• Community collaboration (frontend developer). You can contribute to the work of others. You can motivate and empower teams. You can create the right environment for teams to work in, and can identify the best team makeup depending on the situation. You can recognise and deal with issues. (Skill level: working)
• Leadership and guidance (frontend developer). You can follow agreed good practice for the team. You can show an awareness of the importance of team dynamics and collaboration. You can understand the importance of feedback. (Skill level: awareness)
• Modern standards approach (frontend developer). You can explain the most important principles of a modern standards approach and how they apply to the work you are undertaking. You can apply these principles under guidance. (Skill level: working)
• Programming and build (frontend developer). You can collaborate with others to understand and review software requirements. You can design, code, test, correct and document user interfaces using the right standards and tools under the direction of others. (Skill level: working)
• Prototyping. You can understand when to use a specific prototyping technique or method. You can show the value of prototyping to your team. (Skill level: working)
• Strategic thinking. You can explain the strategic context of your work and why it is important. You can support strategic planning in an administrative capacity. (Skill level: awareness)
• Systems design (frontend developer). You can assist as part of a team in the design of components of larger systems. (Skill level: awareness)
• Systems integration (frontend developer). You can show an awareness of how to build static assets from source code. You can explain how browsers use and present static assets to the end users, and how different versions of an interface can be delivered for different browsers and devices. (Skill level: awareness)
• User focus (frontend developer). You can show an understanding of user experience analysis and its principles. You can explain the purpose of user stories and the focus on user needs. (Skill level: awareness)
• Web performance optimisation. You can understand the basic principles of web performance, and why web performance is important. You can support activities to improve web performance under the guidance of others. (Skill level: awareness)

Frontend developer

A frontend developer builds software components, primarily in the form of user interfaces.

At this role level, you will:

• collaborate and work closely with other disciplines to develop designs and working prototypes based on user needs and in support of organisational aims
• develop software components that form part of a product to meet user needs
• write clean, well-tested code that follows web standards
• coach and mentor more junior colleagues

Skills needed for this role level

• Accessibility. You can build user interfaces that meet a predefined set of standards. You can champion accessibility to internal stakeholders. You can offer design feedback to mitigate the risk of failing accessibility testing. You can offer recommendations on the best tools and methods to use when accessibility testing. (Skill level: practitioner)
• Communicating information. You can work collaboratively in a group and build relationships with others. You can identify issues through Agile ‘health checks’ and work with others to address them. You can manage stakeholder expectations. You can be flexible and capable of proactive and reactive communication. You can host or moderate difficult discussions within the team or with senior stakeholders. (Skill level: practitioner)
• Community collaboration (frontend developer). You can work collaboratively in a group, actively networking with others. You can adapt feedback to ensure it’s effective and lasting. You can use your initiative to identify problems or issues in the team dynamic and rectify them. You can identify issues through Agile ‘health checks’ with the team, and help to stimulate the right responses. (Skill level: practitioner)
• Leadership and guidance (frontend developer). You can understand the impact of decisions and can make decisions characterised by different levels of risk and complexity. You can resolve technical disputes between wider peers and indirect stakeholders, taking into account all views and opinions. You can make decisions characterised by medium levels of risk and complexity, and can recommend decisions as risk and complexity increase. You can contribute to best practice guidelines. (Skill level: practitioner)
• Modern standards approach (frontend developer). You can competently apply a modern standards approach and guide others to do so. (Skill level: practitioner)
• Programming and build (frontend developer). You can collaborate with others when necessary to review specifications. You can use the agreed specifications to build, test and document user interfaces of medium to high complexity, using the right standards and tools. (Skill level: practitioner)
• Prototyping. You can approach prototyping as a team activity, actively soliciting prototypes and testing with others. You can establish design patterns and iterate them. You can use a variety of prototyping methods and choose the most appropriate. (Skill level: practitioner)
• Strategic thinking. You can work within a strategic context and communicate how activities meet strategic goals. You can contribute to the development of strategy and policies. (Skill level: working)
• Systems design (frontend developer). You can translate agreed designs into working user interfaces following modern standards. You can manage and document technical complexity to make sure work is easily maintained and reusable. (Skill level: working)
• Systems integration (frontend developer). You can build static assets from source code and test that the resulting user interface works as expected when delivered over the internet. You can work on integration tests and support configuration of the network part of the system as part of a wider team. (Skill level: working)
• User focus (frontend developer). You can collaborate effectively with user researchers and interaction designers to represent user needs internally. You can champion user research to focus on all users. You can prioritise and define approaches to understand the user story, guiding others in doing so. (Skill level: working)
• Web performance optimisation. You can show an awareness of the principles of web performance, and how poor performance can negatively affect user experience. You can support activities to improve web performance. You can identify and help resolve issues. (Skill level: working)

Senior frontend developer

A senior frontend developer is an experienced developer who works with minimal support and can influence and mentor others.

At this role level, you will:

• help set direction and embed good practice within teams
• make decisions based on research
• plan and lead development on sets of related stories, working with other disciplines to understand what needs to be built
• have an understanding of the whole system
• teach and mentor others

Skills needed for this role level

• Accessibility. You can build user interfaces that meet a predefined set of standards. You can champion accessibility to internal stakeholders. You can offer design feedback to mitigate the risk of failing accessibility testing. You can offer recommendations on the best tools and methods to use when accessibility testing. (Skill level: practitioner)
• Communicating information. You can work collaboratively in a group and build relationships with others. You can identify issues through Agile ‘health checks’ and work with others to address them. You can manage stakeholder expectations. You can be flexible and capable of proactive and reactive communication. You can host or moderate difficult discussions within the team or with senior stakeholders. (Skill level: practitioner)
• Community collaboration (frontend developer). You can work collaboratively in a group, actively networking with others. You can adapt feedback to ensure it’s effective and lasting. You can use your initiative to identify problems or issues in the team dynamic and rectify them. You can identify issues through Agile ‘health checks’ with the team, and help to stimulate the right responses. (Skill level: practitioner)
• Leadership and guidance (frontend developer). You can understand the impact of decisions and can make decisions characterised by different levels of risk and complexity. You can resolve technical disputes between wider peers and indirect stakeholders, taking into account all views and opinions. You can make decisions characterised by medium levels of risk and complexity, and can recommend decisions as risk and complexity increase. You can contribute to best practice guidelines. (Skill level: practitioner)
• Modern standards approach (frontend developer). You can competently apply a modern standards approach and guide others to do so. (Skill level: practitioner)
• Programming and build (frontend developer). You can collaborate with others when necessary to review specifications. You can use the agreed specifications to build, test and document user interfaces of medium to high complexity, using the right standards and tools. (Skill level: practitioner)
• Prototyping. You can approach prototyping as a team activity, actively soliciting prototypes and testing with others. You can establish design patterns and iterate them. You can use a variety of prototyping methods and choose the most appropriate. (Skill level: practitioner)
• Strategic thinking. You can define strategies and policies, providing guidance to others on working in the strategic context. You can evaluate current strategies to ensure business requirements are being met and exceeded where possible. (Skill level: practitioner)
• Systems design (frontend developer). You can translate agreed designs into working user interfaces following modern standards. You can manage and document technical complexity to make sure work is easily maintained and reusable. You can work with well-understood technology and can identify appropriate patterns to make effective use of technologies’ best features. (Skill level: practitioner)
• Systems integration (frontend developer). You can define the static assets build. You can co-ordinate all aspects of the integration and take responsibility for the tests around the user interface. You can configure the part of the system that uses the network and test that it works as expected. (Skill level: practitioner)
• User focus (frontend developer). You can collaborate with user researchers and interaction designers to represent user needs internally. You can explain the difference between user needs and the desires of the user. You champion user research to focus on all users. You can effectively prioritise and define approaches to understand the user story, guiding others to do so. You can offer recommendations on the best tools and methods to use. (Skill level: practitioner)
• Web performance optimisation. You can identify and fix web performance issues. You can collect data from various tools to monitor and fix web performance issues. You can understand that poor web performance has a negative effect on user experience. You can offer guidance on the best tools and methods to use. (Skill level: practitioner)

Lead frontend developer

A lead frontend developer is an expert practitioner who influences and mentors others.

At this role level, you will:

• set direction and assure the quality of development across teams
• lead multiple or highly complex services
• contribute to the community, providing technical leadership, coaching and mentoring
• promote knowledge sharing and adoption of good practice
• be proficient in a wide range of technical systems and able to identify appropriate technology and approaches

Skills needed for this role level

• Accessibility. You can show a strong understanding of accessibility and be an advocate for users with accessibility needs. You can build user interfaces that meet a predefined set of standards. You can champion accessibility to internal and external stakeholders. You can offer design solutions to mitigate the risk of failing accessibility testing. You can recommend the best tools and methods to use when accessibility testing. (Skill level: expert)
• Communicating information. You can mediate between people and mend relationships, communicating with stakeholders at all levels. You can manage stakeholder expectations and host or moderate discussions about high risk and complexity, even within constrained timescales. You can speak on behalf of and represent the community to large audiences inside and outside of government. (Skill level: expert)
• Community collaboration (frontend developer). You can work collaboratively in a group, actively networking with others. You can adapt feedback to ensure it’s effective and lasting. You can use your initiative to identify problems or issues in the team dynamic and rectify them. You can identify issues through Agile ‘health checks’ with the team, and help to stimulate the right responses. (Skill level: practitioner)
• Leadership and guidance (frontend developer). You can change organisational structures to fixable and sustainable designs. You can lead on the strategy for the whole organisation, marrying business needs with innovative analysis. You can make and justify decisions characterised by high levels of risk, impact and complexity. You can build consensus between organisations (private or public) or highly independent stakeholders. You can solve and unblock issues between teams or departments at the highest level. You can understand the psychology of a team and have strong mediation skills. You can coach the organisation on team dynamics and conflict resolution. (Skill level: expert)
• Modern standards approach (frontend developer). You can demonstrate a strong understanding of the most appropriate modern standards and practices, and how they are applied. You can coach and guide others in these standards. (Skill level: expert)
• Programming and build (frontend developer). You can advise on the right way to apply standards and methods to ensure compliance. You can provide technical advice to stakeholders and set team-based standards for programming tools and techniques. You can collaborate with others when required to review specifications. You can use specifications to build, test and document user interfaces of high complexity, using the appropriate standards and tools. (Skill level: expert)
• Prototyping. You can approach prototyping as a team activity, actively soliciting prototypes and testing with others. You can establish design patterns and iterate them. You can use a variety of prototyping methods and choose the most appropriate. (Skill level: practitioner)
• Strategic thinking. You can lead the design and implementation of strategy, directing the evaluation of strategies and policies to ensure business requirements are being met. (Skill level: expert)
• Systems design (frontend developer). You can translate agreed designs into working user interfaces following modern standards. You can manage and document technical complexity to make sure work is easily maintained and reusable. You can work with well-understood technology and can identify appropriate patterns to make effective use of technologies’ best features. (Skill level: practitioner)
• Systems integration (frontend developer). You can define the static assets build. You can co-ordinate all aspects of the integration and take responsibility for the tests around the user interface. You can configure the part of the system that uses the network and test that it works as expected. (Skill level: practitioner)
• User focus (frontend developer). You can collaborate with user researchers and interaction designers to represent user needs internally. You can explain the difference between user needs and the desires of the user. You champion user research to focus on all users. You can effectively prioritise and define approaches to understand the user story, guiding others to do so. You can offer recommendations on the best tools and methods to use. (Skill level: practitioner)
• Web performance optimisation. You can identify and fix web performance issues. You can collect data from various tools to monitor and fix web performance issues. You can understand that poor web performance has a negative effect on user experience. You can offer guidance on the best tools and methods to use. (Skill level: practitioner)

Head of frontend development

A head of frontend development is an expert practitioner with broad industry experience. They are an expert in many technical areas, or specialists with very deep knowledge in a particular technical area.

At this role level, you will:

• define and assure best practice while influencing, leading and mentoring others
• influence and develop organisational strategy and priorities, collaborating with counterpart colleagues across government
• ensure the right conditions and environment for frontend developers to work effectively
• develop departmental capability by facilitating internal mobility, shaping career paths and recruiting talent

Skills needed for this role level

• Accessibility. You can show a strong understanding of accessibility and be an advocate for users with accessibility needs. You can build user interfaces that meet a predefined set of standards. You can champion accessibility to internal and external stakeholders. You can offer design solutions to mitigate the risk of failing accessibility testing. You can recommend the best tools and methods to use when accessibility testing. (Skill level: expert)
• Communicating information. You can mediate between people and mend relationships, communicating with stakeholders at all levels. You can manage stakeholder expectations and host or moderate discussions about high risk and complexity, even within constrained timescales. You can speak on behalf of and represent the community to large audiences inside and outside of government. (Skill level: expert)
• Community collaboration (frontend developer). You can solve and unblock issues between teams or departments at the highest level. You can coach the organisation on team dynamics and conflict resolution, while also building and growing the community. (Skill level: expert)
• Leadership and guidance (frontend developer). You can change organisational structures to fixable and sustainable designs. You can lead on the strategy for the whole organisation, marrying business needs with innovative analysis. You can make and justify decisions characterised by high levels of risk, impact and complexity. You can build consensus between organisations (private or public) or highly independent stakeholders. You can solve and unblock issues between teams or departments at the highest level. You can understand the psychology of a team and have strong mediation skills. You can coach the organisation on team dynamics and conflict resolution. (Skill level: expert)
• Modern standards approach (frontend developer). You can demonstrate a strong understanding of the most appropriate modern standards and practices, and how they are applied. You can coach and guide others in these standards. (Skill level: expert)
• Programming and build (frontend developer). You can advise on the right way to apply standards and methods to ensure compliance. You can provide technical advice to stakeholders and set team-based standards for programming tools and techniques. You can collaborate with others when required to review specifications. You can use specifications to build, test and document user interfaces of high complexity, using the appropriate standards and tools. (Skill level: expert)
• Prototyping. You can use a variety of prototyping methods. You can share best practice and coach others. You can look at strategic service design end to end. (Skill level: expert)
• Strategic thinking. You can lead the design and implementation of strategy, directing the evaluation of strategies and policies to ensure business requirements are being met. (Skill level: expert)
• Systems design (frontend developer). You can design systems characterised by high levels of risk and technical complexity. You can manage and document technical complexity to make sure work is easily maintained and reusable. You can select the appropriate standards, methods and tools, and make sure they are applied effectively. You can ensure others follow relevant technical strategies, policies, standards and practices. You can work with well-understood technology and can identify appropriate patterns to make effective use of technologies’ best features. (Skill level: expert)
• Systems integration (frontend developer). You can define the static assets build. You can co-ordinate all aspects of the integration and take responsibility for the tests around the user interface. You can configure the part of the system that uses the network and test that it works as expected. (Skill level: practitioner)
• User focus (frontend developer). You can collaborate with user researchers and interaction designers to represent user needs internally. You can explain the difference between user needs and the desires of the user. You champion user research to focus on all users. You can effectively prioritise and define approaches to understand the user story, guiding others to do so. You can offer recommendations on the best tools and methods to use. (Skill level: practitioner)
• Web performance optimisation. You can act as a recognised expert and advocate for web performance optimisation best practices. You can coach and guide others. You can actively collect data from various tools to monitor and fix web performance issues. You can understand that poor web performance has a negative effect on user experience. (Skill level: expert)

Read more

• Civil Service Jobs
• Blog: why you should hire a frontend developer

Published 3 December 2020