What is backend development?

Backend development is the powerhouse behind every website and app that you've ever used. You click a button on a website, and your ice cream order gets delivered to you – that’s thanks to backend development.

In more technical terms, backend development involves managing databases, writing programmes, and building website architecture. It ensures that data is stored and retrieved efficiently, that a website responds correctly to inputs, and that the system doesn’t crash if ten of your friends all order ice cream at once.

By the end of this pathway, you’ll understand exactly how the backend works, and know what happens behind the scenes every time you use a website or app. This knowledge is important for everyday web users – and it’s also the perfect place to start for anyone looking to launch a career in this field.

The existence of backend development suggests, of course, frontend development. They’re two sides of the same coin: frontend development covers anything a user can see and interact with, while backend development covers everything behind the scenes.

Basically, when you push a button on a website, that’s part of the frontend. After you push the button, the backend takes over, processing your input and generating the right response.

A useful analogy is ordering food from a menu. When you select a hamburger from the menu, that’s the frontend. When this prompts a series of actions, like the waiter taking your order to the chef, the chef preparing your burger, and the waiter bringing it out to you, that’s the backend.

A website without a backend would be like a car without an engine. It might look good on the outside, but it wouldn't be able to move. When a user pushed a button, nothing would happen. There’d be nothing behind the scenes.

More specifically, without a backend, every website and application would be a static page with no way to process user inputs or data. They’d basically act like digital brochures with nothing to click or interact with.

On the other hand, a website with a powerful backend would be dynamic, interactive, and data-driven. It could respond to user inputs in real-time, update its content based on changing data, and perform complex tasks such as data analysis and prediction.

The backend doesn't just pop into existence of its own accord. Instead, it needs to be built and maintained by specialist Backend Developers.

It's a job in high demand. There are 1.88 billion websites in the world right now – not to mention all the apps and video games – and none of them could exist without Backend Developers working behind the scenes. From one-man e-commerce shops, all the way to behemoths like Microsoft or Google, millions of companies need Backend Developers to keep their companies afloat.

With so many different opportunities out there, Backend Developers need a versatile set of skills. At any given moment, they might find themselves optimizing a database for faster performance, ensuring the security of a website, scaling a game to handle increased traffic, or doing a hundred other jobs besides. This demand for versatility makes backend development a challenging field, but a rewarding field too.