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Ask HN: Is it worth a back-end developer's time to get into web-design and HTML/CSS

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Re: Ask HN: Is it worth a back-end developer's time to get into web-design and HTML/CSS

#41
as a very proficient front-end designer/developer, and a competent but generally average backend person, the short answer is a resounding YES.

whether or not it's worth your time depends on why you want to learn and to what extent you want to be proficient at it.

here are the best reasons why i think you should delve into the front-end:

- you want to be able to bootstrap reasonably well a site from front to back - you don't want to be completely reliant on a front-end person - you want to become a better back-end person by learning the needs of the front-end - you want to fully appreciate the value a front-end person brings to the table - you want to have more control over how users directly interact with and perceive your product

if you agree with any of those reasons above, you should certainly consider delving into the front-end. however, let me get to my second point.

if you're going to jump in, i recommend you afford yourself the time to really get deep into the subject matter. why? because we've seen a tremendous diversity of front-end design patterns/methodologies sprout up in the last decade; all of which can have a sizeable effect on how the back-end is designed.

Re: Ask HN: Is it worth a back-end developer's time to get into web-design and HTML/CSS

#42
post #29
post #7

omg, this question is painful. HTML and CSS are skills that are worth your /time/. Forget the money. You can improve your /own/ life with HTML and CSS. The more you know, the more powerful you are! Have you ever been approached by someone from the front end who said, "Man, it's hard to build this page the way I want it because the backend doesn't do XYZ?" and you look at them like, "figure it out!" You only do that b…

I disagree. It's useful to be able to do a full prototype so a superficial understanding is useful, but I don't think there is significant value really learning HTML / CSS. There is a huge body of information about which version's of which browsers work with which feature. This is one of those cases where specialization pays huge dividends and working with someone who keeps up with this field is really useful. Think…

Our full prototype is earning revenue. Javascript is extending into desktop applications through Webkit and I'd say HTML/CSS/Javascript is the core GUI skillset for anyone who wants to work on next-gen cross platform applications.

If you're working for other people be a specialist. If you're working for yourself you have to be a generalist. Very difficult to effectively manage and coordinate something you don't really understand.

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