The frontend is everything a user sees and interacts with: the screens, buttons, forms and animations in the app or website. It runs on the user's device and talks to the backend to get and save data. A product often has several frontends, such as an iPhone app, an Android app, a website and an admin panel, all sharing one backend.
In plain terms
The frontend is the dining room in the restaurant analogy: the menu, the tables, the way you order. It is what the user experiences. When someone says an app "looks great" or "is confusing", they are talking about the frontend. When they say it "lost my booking", they are usually talking about the backend.
What does the frontend include?
- Screens and navigation. Every page and how users move between them.
- Forms and inputs. Sign-up, search, checkout, and the validation that catches mistakes before they are sent.
- Visual design brought to life. The colours, typography and layout from the design phase, made to work on real screens of every size.
- Feedback. Loading indicators, error messages, confirmations, animations.
- Device features on mobile: camera, location, notifications, offline storage.
How many frontends does a product have?
Often more than founders expect. A booking product for a salon might have a customer website, a customer mobile app, a staff app for the front desk, and an admin panel for the owner. Each is a frontend. They share one backend, which is why the backend is designed as an API. Deciding which frontends the first release needs is one of the biggest scope decisions in a project. Our guide to mobile app or web platform first covers it.
Design versus frontend
Design produces the pictures and the prototype: what the screens should look like and how they should behave. Frontend development turns those into working software that handles real data, real screen sizes, slow connections and users who tap the wrong thing. They are different skills and different phases, and both are needed.
Why should a founder care?
- The frontend is what users judge. A strong backend behind a confusing frontend fails.
- Each additional frontend adds cost. The choice between native, cross-platform and web is a frontend decision with a large budget impact. See native versus cross-platform.
- Frontend performance, how fast screens appear and respond, directly affects conversion.
Questions to ask your development team
- Which frontends are in the first release, and which are deferred?
- Does the design cover every screen size we need, including small phones?
- How does the app behave on a slow connection or offline?
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Is a website a frontend?
Yes. A website or web app is a frontend that runs in the browser. It talks to the same kind of backend as a mobile app does.
Can I change the design after the frontend is built?
Yes, at a cost. Small visual changes are cheap. Changing the flow or the structure of screens means rework. That is why design and a clickable prototype come before frontend development.
Why does the same app look different on iPhone and Android?
Each platform has its own conventions for navigation and controls, and users expect them. A good frontend respects those while keeping the brand consistent.