As technology evolves and customer demands change in the blink of the eye, software development companies are forced to keep hiring. Recruitment, employee engagement, and retention have become crucial determinants of success in the technology game. Companies are always looking to attract the best talent from the market. They want to staff their teams with people who have the capability of incorporating the best-in-class features and capabilities into the products they develop.

However, in a bid to get resources on board as soon as possible, many organizations may be hiring wrong. Not all skills are interchangeable. And not all the skills you thought were proxies for each other fit that bill any longer. This is an age when hiring one of a kind when you need another could derail your development.

One example of this is when software companies hire web developers when they actually need a full-stack developer.
Is your organization also doing the same? Maybe it’s time for a reality check!

Why hiring a web developer is not enough

Given that the expertise required for web development is abundantly available and the technology is settled, web developers are easier to find despite the great demand. With a deep knowledge of HTML and JavaScript and the experience of building responsive designs that are SEO-optimized, web developers can be a great asset to your software team when you:

• Realize the importance of having a website to expand the reach of your business and want to make the most of the skills of a web developer to create a unique and visually appealing website.
• Want to optimize your existing web application for speed (or load) and leverage the capabilities of web developers to improve security, navigation, and user experience.
• Already have a large development team in place and want to capitalize on the skills of specialized web developers who can handle specific critical aspects, so you can increase the quality of your web application.

While there’s a lot that web developers can bring to the table, they aren’t always what you need in your development efforts. Sometimes, what you need is a full-stack developer with proficiency across a range of technologies, development methodologies, languages, and more.

Why you need a full-stack developer

A full-stack developer brings along specialized knowledge across a range of aspects of software development including programming languages, front-end and back-end development, mobile capabilities, server operations, and more. According to Stack Overflow’s 2019 Developer Survey Results, more than 50% of the surveyed respondents identify themselves as full-stack developers.

Hiring a full-stack developer not only helps organizations save having to hire a specialized individual for each technology but it also allows them to build quality products and bring them to the market faster. Hiring a full-stack developer makes sense when you:

• Are starting with a new project and want to leverage the skills of a “gun” resource to kick-off the development of the project while coordinating work across areas.
• Want to validate your ideas, turn them into fully functional prototypes, and bring a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) into the market quickly.
• Want to make critical product decisions and seek the advice of full-stack developers to understand business requirements, engineering needs, and development priorities.
• Want to leverage specialized knowledge across different technologies and development processes, while improving product quality and saving costs.
• Have a development team in place and want a resource who can act as a technical lightning rod to coordinate all tasks, put all elements of development together, and ensure everything works together properly.

What benefits does a full-stack developer offer?

Full-stack developers are often all-in-one developers. They are much sought-after specialists who can bring a lot to the table. They:

• Understand the core concepts of application development and all the nitty-gritty that comes with it including the hosting environment, workflows and wireframes, user interface design, and more.
• Work on a range of technologies and apply their knowledge on aspects that matter.
• Choose the right system infrastructure, install the right OS, and develop functions that are modern and intuitive.
• Evaluate specific technical requirements, document architecture, handle the project timeline, address issues and bugs, and ensure the timely release of the application.
• Work equally well with both front and backend aspects of a website or application and handle projects that involve complex databases and programming requirements.

Make the right hiring decision

A full-stack developer has the potential to bring together a holistic picture of the business, deep understanding of client requirements, and a robust project plan that incorporates tools, processes, and technologies that are modern and innovative.

When bringing a full-stack developer on board, it is important to first understand the requirements of your product or application and the technology expertise you need. This will help you determine if a web developer would fit the bill or whether those skills would fall short. Once you are clear about your requirements, you need to look for the resources with the experience that matches your needs.

Look for someone with knowledge of the technologies in question as well as experience of curating DevOps and Agile processes. If you ask us, we tend to choose professionals who have successfully helmed projects in the past and who can build products that can outshine and outlast the competition. Resources that have a broad knowledge of the different layers of the technology stack can see the big picture and devise solutions that are all-encompassing and ideal for your business.