I’ve been working on both sides of development and I’m finding frontend way more mentally draining than backend stuff. With backend development, everything feels logical - you get input, process it, send output. It’s straightforward.
But frontend is a whole different beast. I’m constantly second-guessing myself about visual elements. Is this margin too big? Does this button placement make sense? Should I break this into smaller components or keep it as one? And don’t get me started on responsive design - something looks perfect on desktop then completely broken on phones.
It’s not that the technical part is impossible, but making everything look polished and user-friendly requires so much more mental energy than I thought it would. Anyone else feel this way? What strategies helped you get better at frontend work?
I feel you on this! Frontend’s tricky because there’s no single “right” answer like backend. Your code can be perfect, but if it looks off, users don’t care how clean your functions are. I started screenshotting my work across different devices way more - catches responsive issues early and saves headaches later.
Frontend’s a totally different beast - you’re turning vague requirements into actual visual stuff people interact with. Backend has clear patterns and you know when something works or doesn’t. But frontend? You’re constantly making judgment calls about design that don’t have right or wrong answers. It’s mentally exhausting because you’re juggling engineering, design, and user experience all at once. What saved me was building my own design systems and component libraries early. Set spacing rules, pick color schemes, create reusable components - suddenly you’re not second-guessing every little decision. I also sketch quick wireframes before I start coding. Cuts down on all that visual decision fatigue when you’re actually building.
that’s a cool point! frontend is like this puzzle where you have to consider feelings and experience. backend is more like math, isn’t it? i find wrangling with css to be the toughest part. what about you? what area do you struggle with most?