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Hello Devs, if you are thinking of learning Firebase but not sure whether you should go for it or not then you have come to the right place. Earlier, I shared best Firebase courses and today I will tell you why Frontend developers, both web developers and app developer should Learn Firebase in 2024.
What are the benefits of Firebase and how it can make you a more competent frontend developer? While Firebase has been around for quite some time, it got traction in the last couple of years after the popularity of the Google Cloud Platform increased, and several other Firebase services were introduced.
If you are really React.js, Angular, Vue.js, or any other front-end development framework, you will benefit from Firebase.
It provides an online, free database and several other useful services like FireStore, FireAuth, and Firebase Cloud function. Firebase is equally useful for Mobile developers as well as people using Swift, iOS, and Android to create mobile apps. They can also use Firebase services to create the backend for their application.
More often than not Frontend developers stuck if there is no API to consume, they need an API to download data, authenticate the user and make payments and if that's not available then they don't make progress.
While many companies have both frontend and backend developers which work in tandem but for POC and demo, you feel stuck when there is no backend developer and you don't know how to set up the backend. Firebase solves that problem by providing you a database and pre-built APIs, and Authentication and Payment support.
And, I can say from my experience that if you can handle CRUD, authentication, and payment then you are more or less can do POC for any application.
In this article, I am going to tell you why frontend and mobile developers should learn Firebase and how it can help them to quickly create a web application or mobile app in 2024.
I first came to know about Firebase when I was learning Vue.js and looking for a public API to develop my application.
I ended up using Github User API, which was good for loading users and showing their repositories but you don't have control over data, Firebase allows that to you.
By the way, if you are also learning Vue.js and want to use Firebase for the backend then you should check out Build Web Apps with Vue JS 2 & Firebase course by Shaun Pelling, better known as The Net Ninja on Udemy and Youtube.
What is Firebase?
If you don't know, Firebase is an online, free service provided by Google that acts as a very feature-rich, fully-fledged back-end to both mobile and web applications.
Frontend Developers can use Firebase to store and retrieve data to and from a NoSQL database called Firestore, as well as to authenticate their app's users with the Firebase Auth service.
While Firestore, the Realtime Database is just one big JSON object that the developers can manage in real-time. It allows you to set up the data you want for your application, while Firebase Authentication is built by the same people who created Google Sign-in, Smart Lock, and Chrome Password Manager.
Firebase also provides a service called Firebase Cloud Functions which allows you to run server-side JavaScript code in a Node.js environment, and you can also deploy all of your applications to Firebase hosting.
You can further check out the Firebase Firestore for the iOS course to learn more about Firestore and how to use it in your project.
10 Essential Firebase Services for Frontend Developers?
Actually, there are a lot more Firebase services than I have mentioned here and you can basically divide them into two categories like Development and Testing Services and Analytics services.
Here is a list of some of the most popular Development and Testing Firebase Services for Frontend Developers:
- Realtime Database
- Auth
- Test Lab
- Crashlytics
- Cloud Functions
- Firestore
- Cloud Storage
- Performance Monitoring
- Crash Reporting
- Hosting
- Grow & Engage your audience
The best thing about Firebase is that with just a single API, the Firebase database provides your app with both the current value of the data and any updates to that data.
If you are interested in using Firebase with Angular, Vue.js, or React.js, I suggest you check out Firebase & Firestore Masterclass which will show you how to use Firebase hosting, Firebase Cloud Functions, and AngularFire with Angular 8 for full-stack development.
Why Frontend Developers Should Learn Firebase in 2024
So now that you know the capabilities of Firebase, we can summarize why Frontend Developers should learn Firebase. here are some of the key reasons why I think both frontend and mobile app developer will benefit from learning Firebase:
1. Unblocks Frontend Development
Firebase provides a ready-made backend system that frontend developer can use to hook their GUI without waiting for the backend to be ready.
2. Faster Development
Firebase provides database, authentication, payment, and API which are an integral part of any frontend application, and with that is made readily available, your development time is significantly reduced.
Though a good knowledge of Firebase services helps here and if you are starting from scratch then the Firebase Fundamentals course by Joe Eames on Pluralsight is a great resource for beginners.
3. Better Code
People might argue that using Firebase means you are locked into Google Cloud Platform and you may not be able to deploy your web application or mobile app into AWS, Azure, GCP, or any other Cloud platform, but that's not true.
As long as you follow standard coding practice and separation of concern you can encapsulate interaction in the service or data layer.
In most cases, developers use Firebase on the development stage with an actual backend on production. So they design their app in such a way that switching to a different backend is easier, this approach results in a better structure.
4. Speed and Simplicity
Firebase not only provides blazing-fast data storage capabilities but also a simple API, which can be tempting if you are considering using Firebase in Production.
That's all about why frontend developers should learn Firebase in 2024. These were just some of the most important reasons I can think of now, but there are many more. Firebase is evolving and adding more and more services so that more and more companies start using them in Production as well.
If you are learning Angular, React.js, or Vue.js then Firebase can help you with developing projects and mastering the front-end framework of your choice.
Other Programming and Development Articles you may like:
- The 2024 React Developer RoadMap (roadmap)
- My favorite Courses to learn Web Development in 2024 (courses)
- The Complete Frontend Developer RoadMap (guide)
- 10 Things Frontend Developer should learn (article)
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Thanks for reading this article so far. If you like this article then please share it with your friends and colleagues. If you have any questions or feedback then please drop a note.
P. S. - If you are interested in learning Firebase and its different services like FireStore and Cloud Functions but looking for a free online training course to kickstart your journey then you may check this React + Firebase for Beginners course on Udemy. It's completely free and you just need a Udemy account to enroll in this course.
Top comments (14)
No, firebase is not free. There is a free tier, but you can easily surpass that. And to me the cloud pricing is a nightmare. You have to account for multiple aspects and I bet the final bill will still be somewhat of a surprise. At least the first couple of them.
firebase.google.com/pricing
This is why I'll never use firebase, a backend isn't that hard to setup
Yep, I thought the same, but the title of the article sais "Why Frontend Developers"... so I guess there are some people who have no idea of anything else but frontend (which is ok with me), so this may be OK with them and the type of project they work on.
I wouldn't chose firebase for different reasons, but then again - there are different use cases.
Firebase is one of the easiest databases to learn.
It's actually much more than a database but you are right, its quite easy to learn as well.
yeah a swiss knife ;)
Firebase has all you need to kickstart a fullstack project for free (freemium). I always recommend it to businesses in need for a quick MVP.
Next + Firebase is my favorite combo.
Yes, the quick MVP is what Firebase allows you to build.
Is there a self hosted alternative to firebase?
Supabase ;)
Firebase is useful for MVP or side projects, not for a enterprise-commercial projects.
Firebase give us a easy cheap and shortcut path for api/database BUT beware for later about abstraction layer! Still using FB only for small projects only with minimal usage.
Not really free while you need Cloud Function where its very usefull !
If you want to master more advanced stuff by yourself, use GCP (Google Cloud Platform). Alot more fun ;)
API and database is not really hard to create and, just learn to use Node.JS + MySQL , they are free except the webhost like DigitalOcean or Linode.
With the rapid pace of change in the tech industry, it can be difficult to predict which skills will be in demand in the future. However, there are Top 10 skills that are essential for any front-end developer.
With the rapid pace of change in the tech industry, it can be difficult to predict which skills will be in demand in the future ?
However, there are top 10 skills that are essential for any front-end developer.
Beginners can learn more about Firebase at a high level at devopedia.org/firebase
Meanwhile, I'll take a look at some of the links here.
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