To some people, the development phase is so mysterious, it may as well be magic. However, it doesn’t have to be that confusing. You shouldn’t need to understand a single line of code to get a peek at how someone builds your app. After all, the entire point of a development partner is to collaborate on a project, not to unceremoniously reconvene at a later date. However, not enough development companies explain how they build their applications. At Fyresite, we want to make the process so transparent, you can see right through it without any software experience. That’s why we divided the development phase into three distinct areas: front end, back end, and infrastructure development. Each area comes with its own unique procedures and challenges. Here’s what we tackle in each area of development.

The app development phase is an important part of the overall app-building process. To find out what happens before we begin coding, read about the design and prototyping process. To find out what happens after, read about the quality assurance process.

Front End Development

Front End Development - a graphic of a painting on an easle

After the UI has been signed off, we begin converting each asset into CSS, HTML, and JavaScript. We call this process design conversion. One of the most important tools for design conversion is React.js. React is an open-source JavaScript library that simplifies frontend development for single-page and mobile applications. We frequently use React to convert design assets into app components, though it also yields several other benefits. Whenever your data changes, react renders and updates only the exact components that need changing, which improves performance and the overall quality of your interface. Learn more about how React works and what makes it so useful.

However, front end development is not limited only to design conversion. As the name suggests, front end development focuses on anything at the “front” of your application. Additional front end work may include optimizing technical features of the UI or validating input that gets sent to the infrastructure. All the scripts that users directly interact with fall to the front-end developers.

Back End Development

Back End Development - a graphic of text on a computer screen

While our frontend developers work on the part of the code that users engage with, our backend developers connect the “face” of the app to the infrastructure. In other words, they build all the moving parts behind the scenes. This part of the process depends heavily upon the size and scope of your project. That’s why the spec sheet process is so important for maintaining transparency and communication.

Part of the backend development process is establishing a data flow between the infrastructure and the front end. Every time a user calls a database, the request needs to be sent to the backend and processed before data can be retrieved. The job of a back end developer is to build the necessary API routes and functions to make the system work properly. Backend development frequently overlaps with infrastructure development because of how closely backend developers work with the AWS architecture.

Infrastructure Development

Infrastructure Development - a graphic of architectural blueprints

Fyresite builds on AWS, so our developers must properly connect the appropriate Amazon services to the environment. While the exact details of your AWS architecture will vary depending on your spec sheet, many apps will require S3, EC2, DynamoDB, CodePipeline, or Lambda Functions. These services will become the foundation for database and security infrastructure in your application.

AWS Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) provides several benefits. First of all, AWS facilitates scaling. Since Amazon uses a pay-as-you-go model, your application will always use the exact amount of resources it needs. As a result, your project becomes more cost-effective. Without the massive overhead and maintenance expenses of on-premise servers, you can redirect resources to more important work.

Certified AWS Partner

Fyresite is a Certified Partner of Amazon Web Services offering development, migration, and maintenance on AWS infrastructure. If you need any help moving your software infrastructure to AWS, please drop us a line through our contact form or call us at 888.221.6509.

AWS Partner Network