What is a Full Stack Web Developer?

We talk about Full Stack development on our website quite often, but what in the world does it mean?

A website stack is all the technology and hardware that make your site run. This includes the server it’s hosted on, the database it uses, the programming language it’s written in, and what the site looks like. For short, full stack development means that your developer take care of EVERY aspect of your website. For us, it means it’s all built by Mindshare Labs.

This likely differs from other agencies who may use online services like WIX or Squarespace. They’re handing over part of their development process to a 3rd party service. Using these services is not necessarily bad, in fact it can be very cost effective for clients that have very small budgets, or short-lived sites. Using these services is quick, it’s easy, but there are also HUGE limitations as to what your site can do on these platforms.

Here at Mindshare Labs we build everything from the ground up. This ensures that your getting the features, functionality and design that suit your business, without limitation. 

Here is a quick list of everything a full stack developer takes care of:

1. Server, Network, and Hosting Environment: We’ll work with  you and your business to determine exactly what kind of hosting environment best suits your needs. This means that you can rest assured that your website will stay up and running even with a large traffic increase, but you wont be paying large amounts of money for services you don’t need.
2. Website Design: Unfortunately, services like WIX and Squarespace advertise that their services are fully customizable, giving the user (or developer) full control over the design. Truthfully, this is not the case. A website developed by a full stack developer is customizable even down the the coding language it’s written in. This means that literally any tweak, change, color, font, or layout is possible. (Although not always recommended.)
3. User Interface: Everyone should be able to see and use your website or mobile application without directions or guides. A full-stack developer ensures the user interface is easy to use for everyone.
4. Data Modeling: Organizing your companies website data is very important. A properly organized database ensures that your website can scale and that the data is available for future developments, like iPhone and Androids apps.
5. User Experience: Your site or application just needs to work. It needs to give concise and easy to understand error messages, confirmation messages, and user feedback. When someone sends you a message through your website, they need confirmation that it worked. When someone makes a purchase, they need to see the purchase details. A full stack developer understands the phycology of your users and creates experiences that works for them, not against them.
6. Understanding what the customer and the business need: Technology evolves. What was standard practice 5 or 10 years ago may not be such a good idea anymore. Business needs online have evolved just as user needs have evolved. We understand that your business is unique, and therefore has unique requirements and needs.