Full-stack development encompasses a whole lot more than people tend to believe. Two such developers won’t be alike. They vary on two main factors, 1) knowledge of any specific tech stack 2) the mastery of specific layers of said stack.
In a broader sense of the concept, a full-stack software engineer is a specialist who is capable of creating and maintaining all the necessary components integral to run web application; whether it is front or back end layers or DevOps activities, a full-stack web developer has command over all this.
The Need for Full Stack Developers:
If you go through the Angel list, you will find over 5000 companies and startups looking to hire full-stack engineers. There is an upward trend for a reason. With contemporary developments in tech, for example with javascript, developers are increasingly able to apply principles they are acquainted with, throughout the rest of the stack. If you want to scale, then you should read on to learn the tips to hire smart.
Hire Smart:
A true full-stack developer is one who can build and deploy a whole application in totality. This is the highest level they can achieve; taking care of front-end, back-end, databases, systems, cloud and also test their work ably. As opposed to specialists in any given language who stick to their language of preference throughout the entirety of their career. This limits the specialists while letting the full-stack engineer take advantage of the variety of solutions s/he can offer. This is because they are indifferent to using any particular language. Their principal focus is on solving problems and building robust solutions.
Such programmers have the edge of being exposed to and working with newer technologies, as and when they are developed and transition between codes with ease. For them switching between languages is not a hassle. For startups particularly, this comes in handy when specialists stick to technologies they are familiar with and comfortable with – whether it be the right solution for your project or not – while full-stack developers look at the project more holistically and give a better solution which takes into account the optimal performance.
What to see when hiring a full-stack web developer
Layers in Full-Stack Development:
There are three vital elements in web solutions
- Front-end
- Back-end
- DevOps
Not all are required on every project and a good full-stack engineer would guide you through your needs and let you know what components are necessary and what can be let go of.
How to hire full-stack developers
Several places now help recruit remote software engineers and the edge Gaper.io gives to its clients is that they are able to place a number of globally vetted top 1% of software engineers within 48 hours.
With free project management on a team of 5 and above it is so much it has to offer organizations and startups to get up and running on their web development.
Why hire a full-stack web developer
It is prudent to know what your needs are and when and why to hire one and at what stage. The Do It Yourself route is good up to an extent, after that to scale you have to look for experts who can augment your operations and development.
a) From the Get-Go:
The best way to go about it is when you start a new web project. Hire a single full-stack developer who can then create solutions from get-go and layout all application components where they need to be, thereby, creating basic software architecture.
Once the foundation is laid you can then grow your team and hire specialized developers as your need increases and/or changes.
b) Good Technical Leads:
Full-stack developers make for good technical leads. As earlier mentioned, they would be able to chalk out the framework of where you stand, and how to implement a process that would take you to where you want to be. A snapshot of needs puts everything into perspective.
c) Budgetary Constraints:
Limited budgets call for tweaking what best you can get out of it and stretch the dollar. Those with a specialized skill-set do come at a price, and if you are able to wait it out till your financials allow you, a full-stack developer can work for you just as well.
d) Full-stack Developer for CTO
As a full-stack developer has a broader technical knowledge, s/he is able to understand a wider number of coding languages. This helps when you need a CTO who can spearhead and overlook things when creating a minimum viable product.
These are a few tips that can help you navigate the technical landscape when hiring a full-stack web developer. It pays to be able to have someone at your disposal to look after all the technical side of operations and being able to get your product right.
