Interested in creating customer-centric mobile applications? Consider hiring dedicated AngularJS developers.
These developers are fluent in AngularJS, a robust development framework for front-end app development. They can use their advanced programming skills to create memorable user interfaces (UI) and user experiences (UX).
Read on to learn more about AngularJS developers and their purpose in software development. Along the way, we'll cover when you should hire a dedicated AngularJS developer and what skills to look for. At the end of this guide, you'll also learn how to source and hire AngularJS developers for your startup.
Angular Developers and Their Purpose in Software Development
AngularJS developers play a vital role in front-end app development — they create everything that the users hear or see on your app. This includes:
- Menus
- Drop-down tabs
- Banners
- Pop-ups
- Sliders
- Page layouts
- Buttons
Angular programmers also provide cutting-edge UI and UX. Besides creating eye-catching dynamic content that changes according to user data, in-session behavior, and user characteristics, they can also build Single Page Applications (SPAs).
Unlike traditional multi-page apps, SPAs work inside a browser and don't require constant page reloading. Everyday examples of SPAs include Gmail, Facebook, Google Maps, and Twitter.
When Is It Time to Hire a Dedicated AngularJs Developer?
Now that you know what role Angular developers play in software development, let's explore when you should hire a dedicated AngularJS developer.
In general, there are two main reasons for hiring a dedicated AngularJS developer:
You Need AngularJS Development Services
If you need AngularJS development services, you should start looking for a dedicated AngularJS developer right away. An AngularJS dev can help you create, test, and deploy the following:
Dynamic Web Applications
Dynamic web apps change according to user data, user characteristics, and in-session behavior. Examples include interactive maps, animated banners, and personalized product recommendations.
For many industries — especially user-driven and content-heavy niches like eCommerce and streaming — dynamic apps are the only way to go. That's because they provide the following benefits:
- Leading-edge UX: A dynamic app shows content tailored to the needs of the user. For instance, it may change recommended products to reflect the user's intent, interests, or past actions. This capacity for customization boosts potential conversion rates by encouraging users to return to your site.
- Greater functionality: Dynamic apps offer limitless functionalities. As long as you hire the right AngularJS team for the job, your app can do anything you want. Netflix is a well-known example of a sophisticated dynamic app — it can deliver large amounts of content to end-users based on their credentials, location, and past viewing history.
- Easy maintenance: Dynamic apps are also easier to maintain than static ones. Unlike static apps, dynamic apps can automatically duplicate content changes from one page to another. This feature is particularly helpful for content-heavy apps.
Hybrid Applications
AngularJS developers are also a great pick for developing hybrid applications.
Hybrid apps fall somewhere in between native apps and web apps. Essentially, they're web apps with lightweight native app "containers" that allow them to access certain native features, such as device cameras, push notifications, and calendars. As such, they work across multiple operating systems and devices.
Compared to native apps, hybrid apps are:
- Easier to maintain: Native apps need to be updated when new versions are available. In contrast, devs can simply update hybrid apps by editing web pages.
- Can be used offline: Hybrid applications can be used offline since they contain HTML5 pages.
- Faster and more cost-effective to build: Hybrid apps only need to be coded once. Once your devs have finished the codebase, they can reuse it to create apps for different operating systems.
Single Page Application
As previously covered, SPAs are apps that work inside a browser and don't require constant reloading. They offer a multitude of benefits, including:
- Faster and easier to deploy: Compared to traditional multi-page apps, SPAs are quicker and easier to deploy. An SPA only consists of an index.html file with a Javascript and CSS bundle. These files can be uploaded to any static content server, such as Amazon S3, Apache, Firebase Hosting, or Nginx.
- The ability to work offline: SAPs can work offline. After a connection is restored, local data will sync with the web server.
- Improved UX: SPAs also offer frictionless UX. Unlike multi-page apps, SPAs don't reload on almost every user interaction. Instead of continuously sending HTML back and forth, SPAs only fetch HTML once during the initial page load. Once the SPA starts running, only data is sent from the server, which takes a lot less bandwidth and time than constantly sending HTML.
- Enhanced performance: SPAs package data into small objects like JSON, which can help boost performance in case of traffic-limited or slow connection.
Unit Testing
As the name suggests, unit testing involves testing individual units of code. Developers use these tests to locate flaws in their code and answer questions like, "Did I use the right sort function there?" and "Why isn't the app executing the way it should?"
Now, you may be wondering, why hire AngularJS devs for unit testing? Doesn't every developer know unit testing?
While it's true that every experienced developer should know how to unit test, AngularJS devs are especially proficient at unit testing. That's because the AngularJS framework offers many functions that make unit testing easier, including:
- Dependency injection: A form of inversion control, dependency injection makes testing components much easier. Components that have injected dependencies are more easily mocked for tests because they don't require devs to change global variables, which can easily affect future tests.
- DOM abstraction: AngularJS abstracts the DOM so that devs can test models without directly manipulating the DOM. As a result, tests can assert that data has been sorted without having to:
- Create or look at the DOM state
- Wait for XMLHttpRequest (XHR) requests to return data
- Separation of logic from view layer: AngularJS separates logic from the view layer, making controllers easier to test. Controllers are regular JavaScript objects that control the data of AngularJS apps.
- The ngMock module: AngularJS also offers the ngMock module, which provides mocking for unit testing. Devs can use this module to inject and mock AngularJS services in unit tests. It can also extend other modules so that they're synchronous and easier to clean and work with.
AngularJS also offers additional tools for testing applications:
- Jasmine: One of the most popular choices for testing AngularJS applications, Jasmine provides functions to help structure tests and make assertions. It's a great tool for large projects that require a lot of testing.
- Karma: A JavaScript command-line tool, Karma can be used to spawn a web server for executing tests. Karma is a NodeJS application that needs to be installed through npm/yarn.
- Siesta: A UI and unit testing tool, Siesta is a generic JavaScript testing tool. Devs can use it to test web pages and Node.js processes.
- Mocha: A JavaScript testing framework that runs on browsers and Node.js, Mocha makes asynchronous testing simple and fun. Besides providing accurate and flexible reporting, Mocha tests can map uncaught exceptions to the correct test cases.
App Development
AngularJS devs are also a good choice for mobile app development.
One of the most powerful tools for front-end app development, AngularJS lets devs work with any server-side or back-end technology as long as it works with the app through a RESTFUL API. Features like dependency injection and data binding also make it easier to create apps with less code.
Upcoming Project Requires a Larger Dedicated Team
You should also consider hiring AngularJS devs for upcoming projects that require a larger dedicated team.
Experienced AngularJS devs can work with your team to build, test, and deploy a fully-functioning app. They can also help your team:
- Meet deadlines and goals more effectively and efficiently
- Spot and fix errors and bugs faster
- Fill knowledge gaps
Keep in mind that you should only hire AngularJS devs to augment your team if you have an existing Angular dev team. If your current dev team knows very little about Angular development, your new hires may have a difficult time fitting into your team. This, in turn, can lead to miscommunication, delays, and missed deadlines.
Skills to Look for in an Angular Programmer
Before you start hiring, you need to know what skills to look for. Here are the top four Angular programming skillsets:
Experience Working With an Angular Development Team
The ideal AngularJS programmer should have at least a few years of experience working with an Angular development team.
As mentioned above, AngularJS programmers can't work in a vacuum — they need to work in an Angular development team. Otherwise, your new hires may not mesh well with your team.
At a minimum, your hires should have experience working with the following Angular team members:
- UI/UX designers: Your new developers should know how to work with your UI/UX designers to create user-friendly UI and UX. They should know how to use their programming skills to turn wireframes and Photoshop templates into code for your app.
- Front-end engineers: Although many companies use the terms "engineer" and "developer" interchangeably, most organizations distinguish between the two roles. Unlike AngularJS developers, who are only responsible for coding your app's UI and UX, front-end engineers oversee the entire software development lifecycle (SDLC). They also use their engineering skills to edit existing software, sites, and apps to adopt new functions, boost performance, and remove bugs.
Your Angular hires should know how to work with front-end engineers to execute, test, and deploy software. They should also be able to take constructive feedback from front-end engineers.
- App development team leads and managers: AngularJS hires should have experience working with app development team leads and managers. Besides knowing how and when to ask for help, they also need to know how to resolve conflicting priorities as soon as possible.
- Quality assurance (QA) engineers and managers: Your hires should know how to work with QA to conduct various tests, including unit testing.
Knowledge of Angular Applications
Moreover, your Angular hire should have a thorough understanding of Angular applications and principles.
At a minimum, they should know how to use the following:
Modules
Most Angular apps have a modular design, so your hires need to know how to work with modules. Specifically, they should know how to:
- Use modules to separate code into separate files
- How to import external modules
- How to export functionalities they need
Data Binding
Data binding automatically keeps your app updated based on your application's state.
AngularJS hires should know how to use data binding to specify things such as the state of a button, the source of an image, and data for particular users.
Directives
Directives are JavaScript classes that define the behavior and structure of the app. They provide the majority of UI functionality for Angular apps.
Your AngularJS hire should know how to use the three main types of directives:
- Attribute: This type of directive changes the behavior and appearance of HTML elements through HTML attributes.
- Structural: Devs use structural directives to destroy and create components and elements.
- Component: Component directives incorporate JavaScript functionality into an HTML template to create a UI element that can be added to your Angular app.
Dependency Injection
Dependency injection involves providing dependencies to an object that needs them instead of having the object construct them itself.
Your AngularJS developer needs to know how to use dependency injection for:
- Removing dependencies in code
- Unit testing, since it's easy to inject mocks and stubs
- Configuring changes after compilation
Pipes
Finally, your hires should know how to use pipes.
Pipes let devs transform currency amounts, strings, dates, and other data for display. Angular supports a broad range of built-in pipes, but devs can also create custom pipes for your app.
Common Angular pipes include:
- UpperCasePipe, which transforms text to uppercase
- LowerCasePipe, which transforms text to lowercase
- DecimalPipe, which transforms a number into a decimal point number
A Wide Array of Technical Skills
The ideal AngularJS developer should possess a wide array of technical skills, including fluency in JavaScript and the ability to write configuration, build, and test scripts for apps.
Most companies look for the following:
- Proficiency with HTML5, JavaScript, CSS, and TypeScript
- Using popular Angular packages like Angular CLI
- Thorough understanding of Angular development practices and commonly used modules
- Deep knowledge of databases, APIs, proxies, caching layers, and other app development technologies
- Experience building a clear dependency chain
- Using Git to keep track of all project changes
- Creating test suits for all components
- Writing configuration, build, and test scripts
- Extensive knowledge of SEO for SPAs
- Experience building apps that work for all devices, including tablets, watches, phones, and more
- Creating reusable, self-contained, and testable components and modules
- Writing and implementing extensive unit tests
- Experience with all levels of front-end operation, including creating XHRs and using custom wrappers
- Experience with advanced coding techniques such as multi-threading
A Broad Range of Soft Skills
However, having a wide array of technical skills isn't enough. Your AngularJS hire also needs to have the following soft skills:
- Communication: AngularJS devs need strong communication skills to work with UI/UX designers, front-end engineers, team leads and managers, and the QA team. They need to know how and when to listen and speak to others.
- Critical thinking: Your ideal AngularJS hire should be able to solve problems quickly. They should be able to think outside of the box and locate multiple solutions for problems. The developer should also encourage other team members to voice their ideas.
- Empathy: Although devs spend a lot of time with computers, they still need to have empathy for team members. They need to know how those around them are feeling and understand others' perspectives. Empathy also extends to non-developers like project managers, quality assurance engineers, and clients.
- Time management: AngularJS hires need to report to a wide range of external and internal stakeholders, including team leads, project managers, C-suite executives, and the QA team. Therefore, they need to know how to meet milestones and deadlines in time.
- Self-awareness: Last but not least, the best AngularJS hire for your team should be confident about their skills but humble about their weaknesses. Self-awareness will motivate your developer to continue improving themselves and seek mentorship when needed.
Uncover Innovative Solutions for Your Developer Hiring Needs
Hiring the right AngularJS developer for your team can be difficult, despite the variety of platforms you can use to hire candidates. Almost every job site requires you to:
- Manually sift through thousands of resumes and portfolios
- Test prospective hires yourself
- Comply with local and international hiring laws
Fortunately, there's a quick and simple way to source and hire Angular developers — through innovative hiring platforms like Revelo. Unlike traditional job sites, Revelo has a pre-vetted pool of FAANG-calibre developers who have been rigorously tested for their experience, English proficiency, and knowledge. What's more, we boast developers specializing in every tech stack imaginable, including:
- AngularJS
- HTML5
- JavaScript
- TypeScript
- CSS
- Git
- Swift
- Java
- Node.js
- React
Interested in building apps with our AngularJS developers? Reach out to us today and tell us about your project. In three days, we'll send you a list of the best developers for your team. If you don't think they're a good fit during our free 14-day trial, it's on us.
Contact us today to hire dedicated Angular developers.
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