If you’re looking for a career that spans creative, user-centred design and technical expertise, you might consider becoming a UI developer. Not sure what that is? Keep reading.
You’ve heard of UI design: the process of crafting beautiful, functional interfaces for websites and apps. You’ve also heard of frontend development: the process of coding those designs into fully working products.
At the intersection of these two disciplines, you’ll find UI development.
A UI developer is responsible for the design and implementation of digital interfaces. They take care of both the creative and technical aspects of bringing an interface to life—and, as such, they require a broad and diverse skill set.
If you’re curious to learn more about what a UI developer does, consider this your ultimate guide. We’ll explain:
- What is a UI developer?
- What’s the difference between a UI developer and a UI designer?
- What’s the difference between a UI developer and a front-end developer?
- What does a UI developer do?
- What are the most important UI developer skills?
- What is the average salary for a UI developer?
- How to become a UI developer
- The takeaway
Let’s start with a definition of this burgeoning role.
1. What is a UI developer?
When it comes to building a website or an app, there are many different considerations to make—and a variety of experts involved in the process.
First, there’s the user experience (UX) designer. They think about the core purpose of the product and how it should function, defining the specific user problem it should solve and how it can do that most effectively. The UX designer maps out the overall structure and architecture of the website or app.
Next, there’s the user interface (UI) designer who considers the product’s visual and interactive properties. They determine how the interface should look, feel, and behave when the user interacts with it.
Then there’s the front-end developer, a technical expert who turns concepts and designs into a working product. They do this by writing code to ensure that the product looks and functions as specified.
Now, in addition to these more traditional roles, we’re seeing the emergence of a new role: the UI developer.
A UI developer spans both UI design and front-end development. Just like UI designers, they are well-versed in user-centred design and the fundamental principles of visual and interactive design. Just like front-end developers, they have the technical expertise (i.e. coding knowledge) to develop the product.
We’ll take a more in-depth look at the role of a UI developer shortly. First, let’s further distinguish between UI designers, front-end developers, and UI developers to avoid any confusion!
2. What’s the difference between a UI developer and a front-end developer?
The key difference between a UI developer and a UI designer lies in their technical knowledge.
A user interface (UI) designer focuses on what the user will see, hear, or encounter when they use a digital product. They do need to understand the importance of responsive design and factor this into their design process. However, they are not required to write code—nor to understand, in any great depth, the technicalities of coding a website or app.
They are responsible for creating wireframes and prototypes, applying colour theory to choose appropriate colour palettes, designing interactive elements such as buttons, icons, and animations, and making choices regarding typography—essentially everything that shapes the user-facing layer of the product (the user interface).
UI designers rely on the technical expertise of developers to bring their vision to life. UI developers, on the other hand, possess this technical knowledge themselves. They are able (and required) to both design the user interface and code it into being.
You can learn more about user interface (UI) design and the role of a UI designer with these guides:
- Everything You Need to Know About UI and UI Design
- A Complete Guide to UI Designer Tools, Skills, and Processes
- UI vs. UX Design: What’s the Difference?
3. What’s the difference between a UI developer and a frontend developer?
At first glance, you might think that “UI developer” is just another fancy term for a front-end developer. Indeed, many companies will use the terms interchangeably. Unfortunately, the world of tech job titles is never so clear-cut in reality, no matter what technical distinctions we can make on paper.
Still, there are some subtle yet important differences that separate the two roles.
First and foremost, UI developers possess extensive UI design knowledge. Their ability to understand both the creative and technical aspects of the product development process is what sets them apart. Frontend developers, on the other hand, aren’t typically required to be UI design experts beyond their ability to translate designs into working code.
It’s also important to note that UI development is a specialised area within the broader field of front-end development. As such, UI developers have a much narrower focus. They’re primarily concerned with the technical implementation of a user interface, as specified in the designs.
Frontend developers, by contrast, take on a broader range of tasks and responsibilities. In addition to UI-related tasks, they may also handle the overall structure, functionality, and behaviour of the entire front end—including client-server communication, application logic, and data handling.
Both UI developers and front-end developers must be proficient in front-end programming languages and technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. But, given the broader scope of their role, frontend developers will require a much deeper understanding of frontend architecture.
We’ve established that the UI developer role is a standalone position, separate from UI designers and front-end developers. Now let’s take a closer look at what the role entails.
4. What does a UI developer do?
UI developers are responsible for designing, developing, and maintaining all the visual and interactive components of a digital product interface. Their tasks span user interface design, coding, testing, and optimisation, as well as ongoing documentation.
Here are the main tasks and responsibilities you can expect to find in a UI developer job description:
- Create wireframes and prototypes for websites, mobile apps, and software
- Design and implement interactive features such as buttons, forms, navigation menus, and animations
- Write code using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to create responsive and user-friendly interfaces
- Ensure cross-browser compatibility for a seamless user experience
- Develop and maintain style guides and component libraries to ensure a consistent design language
- Collaborate with backend developers to integrate the frontend with server-side logic and databases
- Conduct usability testing and analyse user feedback to make continuous improvements
As you can see, the role is both creative and technical. And, like all design disciplines, it is highly user-focused. You can’t design great products without factoring in end user needs, goals, and expectations. As such, you’ll find plenty of crossover between UI design, UX design, and UI development.
5. What are the most important UI developer skills?
UI developers require a good mix of design and technical skills, combined with a deep understanding of user experience (UX).
Here are some of the most important UI developer skills:
- Thorough knowledge of user experience (UX) and user-centred design principles such as usability, accessibility, consistency, hierarchy, and learnability
- Mastery of visual and interactive design principles such as colour theory, typography, layout, feedback, and responsive design
- Knowledge of UI design software and tools such as Sketch, Figma, and Adobe XD
- The ability to create wireframes and prototypes of varying fidelity
- Proficiency in frontend languages and technologies, namely HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
- Knowledge of frontend frameworks and libraries such as React, Angular, and Vue.js
- Knowledge of version control systems such as Git, Subversion, or Mercurial
- Familiarity with browser developer tools for debugging and optimisation
- The ability to conduct usability tests and analyse the data gathered in order to make improvements to the product interface
In addition to these job-specific skills, UI developers must demonstrate excellent collaboration and communication skills, great attention to detail, and strong problem-solving and analytical capabilities.
6. What is the average salary for a UI developer?
If you’re considering a career in this fascinating field, you may well be wondering: How much do UI developers get paid?
In India:
- The average salary for a junior UI developer is ₹2,40,000 per year (AmbitionBox)
- The average UI developer salary across all experience levels is ₹5,90,078 per year (Glassdoor)
- The average salary for a senior UI developer is ₹10,98,500 per year (Glassdoor)
In the United States:
- The average salary for a junior UI developer is $90,692 per year (Glassdoor)
- The average UI developer salary across all experience levels is $103,471 per year (Glassdoor)
- The average salary for a senior UI developer is $134,545 per year (Glassdoor)
For more UI developer salary data in different locations, check online salary portals such as Indeed, Glassdoor, PayScale, and AmbitionBox.
And, if you’re curious to see how UI developers and UI designers compare in terms of earning potential, check out our UI designer salary guide.
7. How to become a UI developer
Now you know what a UI developer is, the question remains: How can you become one?
Depending on where you’re starting from, you will need to complete at least some of the following in order to become a UI developer:
- Learn the fundamentals
- Build strong proficiency in UI developer tools and technologies
- Gain practical experience
- Create (or update) your portfolio
- Network in the field
Let’s take a closer look.
1. Learn the fundamentals
How you approach this first step will depend on whether you:
- Are a UI designer (or have some existing UI design skills)
- Are a developer (or have at least some coding knowledge)
- Are coming from an unrelated field
So: start by assessing your current skill set and identifying the gaps you’ll need to fill.
UI developers must be proficient in both UI design and front-end development (as it pertains to UI). They must also understand how their work contributes to the overall UX of a product, which requires knowledge of user experience principles such as accessibility, consistency, and usability (to name just a few).
If your knowledge and skills gaps are primarily design-related, focus on learning the basics of UX and UI design. Get familiar with UX/UI terminology, read up on the fundamental principles of UX design, and understand what goes into the UX/UI design process.
From there, formalise your education with a UI design course. This will help you transition from theory to practice, equipping you to actually design effective user interfaces in a real-world context. We’ve rounded up some of the best UI design courses here.
Once you’ve got the UI aspect covered, you’ll need to turn your attention to the ‘developer’ part. This means learning how to translate your designs into working interfaces—starting with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
If you’re not familiar, read up on what HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are. This HubSpot guide provides a beginner-friendly introduction: Coding for Web Design 101—How HTML, CSS, and JavaScript Work.
Otherwise, search for free YouTube tutorials and introductory blog posts; anything that can help you build your understanding of how these technologies work and the role they play in UI development.
Again, a practical education is crucial here. Consider a professional frontend development course to build out a well-rounded skill set and ensure you’ve got the ability (and confidence) to code in the real world.
2. Build strong proficiency in UI developer tools and technologies
Your ability to get hired as a UI developer rests heavily on your ability to leverage key tools and technologies within the field. In other words, it’s not enough to simply know about UI development; you need to be able to actually do it!
Practice makes perfect. Use courses, tutorials, guides, and plenty of experimentation to learn your way around the most important platforms and programs.
For the development side, you’ll want to:
- Practice using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to structure and style content and enhance interactivity.
- Learn popular frontend frameworks like React, Angular, and Vue.js. These frameworks streamline the coding process and facilitate the development of dynamic and responsive user interfaces.
- Build proficiency in browser developer tools (such as Chrome DevTools). These are used to inspect and debug code, to fine-tune UI elements, and optimise performance.
- Practice using responsive design techniques such as media queries and flexible grid systems.
- Understand version control systems like Git, as well as platforms like GitHub and GitLab. These are used to facilitate collaboration, share code, and track changes throughout the development process.
For the UI design aspect, you’ll want to:
- Practice using tools like Figma, Sketch, and Adobe XD to create individual design elements as well as entire wireframes and prototypes.
- Experiment with creating motion graphics and animations using specialist tools such as Adobe After Effects and Principles.
- Get familiar with popular usability testing and behaviour analytics tools such as UserTesting, Hotjar, and Lookback.
Ultimately, it’s important that you’re able to apply your theoretical knowledge in a practical manner—and that you’re comfortable with the tools and technologies that UI developers use in their day-to-day work.
3. Gain practical experience
As a UI developer, you’re both a user interface designer and a frontend developer. So, as you build out your skill set, you want to bring these two aspects together to work in harmony.
If you’re already working as either a UI designer or a frontend developer, you’ll have a great advantage here. Seek opportunities in your current role to apply your new skills. For example, if you’re part of a design team, ask if you can collaborate more closely with the developers on your next project—or even take on some UI development tasks.
If you don’t have access to on-the-job opportunities, gain practical experience by building personal projects, contributing to open-source projects, or taking on volunteer gigs. Anything that allows you to practice your UI development skills is valuable!
4. Create (or update) your portfolio
Like all product and design-related career paths, you’ll need a professional portfolio to showcase your skills and expertise.
For an impactful UI developer portfolio, you want to demonstrate proficiency in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, as well as frontend frameworks, so be sure to include code samples or links to code repositories for each project.
You’ll also want to share evidence of your ability to create functional, visually appealing interfaces, so include end results in the form of interactive prototypes or live products.
If you’ve already got a portfolio, update it to ensure that it reflects your entire skill set—not just one aspect such as coding or UI design. At the same time, refine your personal brand to reflect your position as a UI developer. Emphasise your UI development expertise in your portfolio “About” section, in your resume, and throughout your online presence (such as your LinkedIn profile).
If you don’t yet have a portfolio, you can follow this step-by-step guide on how to create a stand-out UI design portfolio. Just take care to adapt the content to highlight the breadth and depth of your UI development skills.
5. Network in the field
Last but not least, immerse yourself in the industry and proactively grow your network. Connect with fellow UI developers on LinkedIn, join relevant online communities, and attend local or virtual meetups and conferences. These are all great ways to gain exposure, learn about industry trends, and make connections in the field.
Here are some communities to get you started:
- Stack Overflow: a popular platform where developers ask and answer questions. There’s also a dedicated UX/UI section which covers a variety of topics related to UI development.
- DEV Community: a platform for programmers to share and discuss development and tech-related topics.
- Designer News: an online community for designers and developers, featuring news, discussions, and a job board.
And remember: networking isn’t just about what you can gain. It’s also about contributing to the community, building authentic relationships, and sharing your own knowledge and insights.
With the five practical steps we’ve outlined, you can confidently grow your skill set and make the transition into this exciting career path.
8. The takeaway
That concludes our exploration of the UI developer role—a fascinating new addition to the ever-expanding realm of design and tech job titles. Ultimately, if you’re looking for a career that’s equal parts creative, user-focused, and technical (not to mention well-paid), UI development is an avenue worth exploring.
9. Next Steps
What you do next will depend on your current skill set and level of expertise. If you wish to continue your exploration of UX and UI design with the help of these guides:
- What is Design Thinking? Everything You Need To Know
- The Top 10 UI/UX Designer Job Titles in 2024 (and Their Salaries)
- 15 Must-Have UI/UX Design Skills (And How to Develop Them)
Alternatively, here are a few resources for you to check out:
- Watch this session by Shiva Viswanathan, Design Head of Ogilvy Pennywise, and Naman Singh, Product Experience Designer at RED.
- Talk to a course advisor to discuss how you can transform your career with one of our courses.
- Pursue our UX UI Design courses - all courses are taught through live, interactive classes by industry experts, and some even offer a Job Guarantee.
- Take advantage of the scholarship and funding options that come with our courses to overcome any financial hurdle on the path of your career transformation.
Note: All information and/or data from external sources is believed to be accurate as of the date of publication.
