Full stack development or specialized developers – dilemma of this sort has taken most of tech businesses and software development companies for a swing! As per the recent LinkedIn career surveys, the job availability for full stack developers have begun to scale-pivot-shoot up to the sky (up to 35% yearly growth) since 2015, and the growth curve will continue to expand in the years to come. On the other hand, specialized development has galore benefits to offer, too!
And, amidst all this, the confusions between full stack and specialized development have become even more rife! Well, are you confused, too, between these two? Time to steer clear of your doubts, and learn about the variables, benefits, skill-sets, and usages of each of these development variants to make a more informed decision for your specific business needs.
But before you do a deep-dive into the intricate details pertaining to specialized and full stack development service, first gather an understanding of what these really are and what sets them apart from each other.
Have a look –
Specialized Development and Full Stack – What They Are?
Specialized development refers to expertise in a singular discipline. The specialized developers are specialized in either Back-End development or the Front-End. Regarded as the “Jack-of-all,” the full-stack developers on the other hand hold expertise in both Back-End (server-side), as well as, Front-End (client-side) development. Owing to such proficiency, the professional full-stack developers understand well every layer and phase of software development.
There’s no denying that the significance of specialized development is paramount, but the success of the intuitive, robust and hyper-personalized software solutions largely depends on full-stack competence of the experts.
Now, those of you, who have no inkling of what back-end or front-end development is, should know that the former pertains to an application’s server-side, while the latter is involved in the visual or aesthetics parts of an app.
Skillsets Required by Full Stack and Specialized Developers
Cognizance with different programming languages, and multiple layers of UX design, app/web/ software development should top the priorities of full-stack developers. But, when it comes to a greater proficiency in any complex web or mobile app development project, the specialized developers always take the cake! While the specialized development teams specifically focus on a particular domain, the full-stack experts should be versed with a mishmash of different frameworks and programming languages including, Front-End languages (HTML, CSS, Javascript, etc.), Front-End frameworks (Vue.js, Angular, React.js, etc.), Back-End language (Python, Ruby, PHP, Java, C++, Javascript, etc.), Back-end frameworks (Ruby on Rails, Laravel, Node.js, Django, Spring, Flask, etc.), and the likes.
Full-Stack Vs. Specialized Development – Know the Difference
The tug of war between full-stack vs. specialized development won’t come to an end anytime sooner. But the variant that you choose must be based on your business goals and requisites. However, prior to making any final decision, evaluate both of these options, and gain a thorough understanding of their benefits and drawbacks from the followings –
Some of the Biggest Perks of Full Stack Development
- Instant Identification
Thanks to their familiarity with different stage of development, the professional full-stack development experts can identify and resolve any issue with a product almost in an instant. It saves a great deal of time, which is otherwise consumed in fixing problems or errors of a product.
- Agile Learning
It’s not exaggerating to state that the experts skilled at full-stack development are comparatively quicker in learning new concepts. Plus, their agility is praiseworthy, when it comes to getting trained for new concepts, etc.
- Lower Cost
A skilled full-stack developer would hold a breadth of expertise which more than one specialist would generally fill. For companies that are stringent on their budget, having a small team of full-stack developers would be more rewarding than hiring a cluster of specialized experts.
- Reduced Time in Development
Backed by their comprehensive skill-sets and diverse adroit, the full-stack developers tend to accomplish the lesser complex projects in a relatively shorter time-span. Plus, they can swiftly make a switch between their tasks – from server-side to client-side. Besides reducing the overall development time, it cuts down the doubts between both ends.
A Glance at the Set-Backs of Full-Stack Development
- Lack of Expertise in Latest Technologies
In a bid to gain expertise across multiple fields, sometimes the professional full-stack developers end up lacking adroit in the latest technologies, trends, etc.
- A Lag in Project Tracking
Instead of working on any small or a specific project, the full-stack developers tend to work on large chunk of development projects. And, it might hinder them from tracking or identifying their projects’ progress, etc.
- High Attrition Rates
The High attrition rates could be a big hazard in full-stack development.
- Availability Could be an Issue
Finding a large number of full-stack developers could be challenging. Often, it seems better to work with a team of dedicated developers, courtesy the scarcity of full-stack developers in the market.
The Core Benefits of Hiring Specialized Developers
- Premium Work Quality
The experts offering specialized development services have expertise in their specific fields, and the technologies required for their projects. Hence, you can expect more premium outputs compared to the full-stack solutions.
- Knowledge in Latest Technologies
Unlike the full-stack developers, the specialized developers stay abreast of the latest technologies and trends. Their cognizance with cutting-edge technologies enables them to improve the overall quality of their products.
- Seamless Allocation of Responsibilities
The allocation of different work responsibilities is always easier with a team of specialized developers. The bigger work responsibilities could be divided into multiple smaller tasks, and subsequently delegated to the specialized experts.
- Hiring Specialized Experts is Easier
It is always easier to hire the specialized developers as there is no dearth of experts available in today’s market. Thanks to such abundance of options, you can always analyse, as well as, zero in on only the best of professionals for your project.
Some of the Shortcomings of Specialized Development
- A Very Costly Affair
Unlike hiring a full-stack developer, it always entails quite a great deal of money to hire specialized developers for multiple areas. A full-stack expert can shoulder in a number of responsibilities, and hence, it becomes an economic option to hire an expert with full-stack skill-sets rather than vouching for the specialized skills.
- More Co-dependency, More Chaos
The specialized developers tend to have greater dependency on each other. Excessive co-dependency could sometimes be a hindrance to the overall progress of a project.
- Time Consumed in Coordination
When it comes to a project run and operated by a team of specialized experts, a seamless coordination should be paramount. To ensure a smooth and seamless execution of the project, a good understanding and coordination should be forged among every team involved in the development project. To improve understanding or coordination, a company should schedule regular meetings, discussions, etc. And, this might be a time-consuming affair!
Full-Stack or Specialized Developers – Who Should You Vouch For?
Honestly, we are committed to seeing that your business and teams perform effectively with more informed decisions, better productivity and new avenues aplenty. And, to be able to bring bigger and better changes in your projects and to the lives of your clients, you should pick the right team of experts. To help you make the right choice between full-stack and specialized development, we have carved out a detailed analysis on why or when you should hire which of these experts.
Take a look –
Full-stack development should top your priority, if you have a small or less complex project, a stringent budget, or time constraints.
You should tilt in the favour of Specialized development if you have a large project, a complex project or a project demanding top-notch quality.
Some of the Most Frequently Asked Questions
- Who are full-stack developers?
The developers who can work on Front-end, as well as, Back-end of an app are called full-stack developers. They have the necessary knowledge and skill-sets to work on every aspect involved in web or mobile app development.
- Who are specialized developers?
Developers with specialization in either Back-end or Front-end development are referred to as specialized developers.
- When should you choose full-stack development?
Hiring full-stack developers could be beneficial to you if you want to translate an off-beat idea into a successful project, sans having to involve any large team. Start-ups with low budgets or time constraints could be largely benefited by this sort of development.
- When should you vouch for specialized developers?
For those, who have a highly complex project or a project that might run on a long-term basis, should opt for specialized developers. Backed by their specialized expertise and skill-sets, they can pull off any high-demanding project with utmost proficiency.
- How can you hire the best experts?
The right experts play an instrumental role in ensuring the overall success of a web or mobile app development project. From the reliable networks such as LinkedIn, Clutch, Upwork, etc., you can pick the best of experts.
