Engineering
Frontend Developer Resume Keywords and Skills
By the StructuredCV team · Updated
Frontend developer postings screen for a framework first, usually React and sometimes Vue or Angular, then TypeScript, modern CSS, and the qualities users notice directly: page speed, accessibility and layouts that work on any screen. To get through, name the framework and tools you actually shipped with, point to interfaces real people use, and measure them with Core Web Vitals, accessibility audit results or conversion changes. Put a working link to a portfolio or code samples in your header, because reviewers for UI roles often open your work before reading the bullets. Design tools belong lower down unless the posting asks for them.
Hard skills and keywords for frontend developer resumes
Include the ones you have actually used, in the wording the job description uses.
Core web technologies
- JavaScript (ES6+)
- TypeScript
- HTML5
- CSS3
- Semantic HTML
- Responsive design
- CSS Grid and Flexbox
- DOM APIs
- Browser DevTools
Frameworks & state management
- React
- Next.js
- Vue.js
- Angular
- Svelte
- Redux
- TanStack Query (React Query)
- React Hooks
- Single-page applications (SPA)
Styling & design systems
- Tailwind CSS
- Sass/SCSS
- CSS-in-JS (styled-components, Emotion)
- CSS Modules
- Storybook
- Design tokens
- Component libraries
- Figma handoff
Performance & accessibility
- Core Web Vitals (LCP, INP, CLS)
- Lighthouse
- Web accessibility (WCAG 2.2)
- ARIA
- Screen reader testing
- Code splitting and lazy loading
- Server-side rendering (SSR)
- Static site generation (SSG)
Testing & build tooling
- Jest
- Vitest
- React Testing Library
- Cypress
- Playwright
- Vite
- Webpack
- ESLint and Prettier
- npm or pnpm
Soft skills, and how to prove them
| Skill | What proves it on your resume |
|---|---|
| Working with designers | Features you built from Figma files in partnership with a designer, especially where you shaped the component API or design tokens together. |
| Eye for detail | Visual regression tests you added, browser and device matrices you supported, or a measurable drop in UI bug reports. |
| User empathy | A UI change you made because of usability sessions, analytics or support tickets, with the user problem stated in the bullet. |
| Explaining trade-offs | Prototypes or written options you shared with product managers before building, and the decision they led to. |
| Accessibility advocacy | Audits you ran, team guidelines you wrote, or lint rules you added so new code stays accessible. |
Action verbs for frontend developer resumes
- Prototyped
- Rebuilt
- Launched
- Implemented
- Audited
- Standardized
- Instrumented
- Ported
- Trimmed
- Localized
- Remediated
- Documented
- Unified
- Converted
What to quantify
- Load speed — p75 Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) from [X]s to [Y]s
- Responsiveness — Interaction to Next Paint (INP) in milliseconds
- Layout stability — Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) score before and after
- Bundle weight — JavaScript shipped per route, in KB gzipped
- Accessibility — WCAG issues resolved, or Lighthouse accessibility score change
- Conversion — sign-up, add-to-cart or checkout completion rate after a UI change
- Reuse — design-system components adopted across [N] apps or teams
Before and after: frontend developer resume bullets
Numbers in [brackets] are placeholders. Fill them in from your own records; never estimate a figure you can’t explain.
- Before
- Made the product pages load faster by lazy-loading images and splitting the JavaScript bundle
- After
- Cut p75 Largest Contentful Paint on product pages from [X]s to [Y]s by lazy-loading images and code-splitting the JavaScript bundle
- Before
- Fixed lots of accessibility issues across the app
- After
- Resolved [N] WCAG [2.1/2.2] AA issues across [N] screens of the [app name] web app
- Before
- Built reusable React components for the other teams
- After
- Built [N] reusable React components for a shared library used by [N] teams
Common frontend developer resume mistakes
- Sending a portfolio or GitHub link that is broken, outdated or unusable on a phone. For UI roles the link is part of the resume and gets judged like one.
- Claiming "pixel-perfect" or "responsive" without any measure. Use Core Web Vitals, accessibility results, or the browsers and screen sizes you supported.
- Folding HTML, CSS and JavaScript into one generic "web development" line when postings list TypeScript, React and CSS frameworks separately.
- Leaving out accessibility work you have done. If you fixed keyboard traps or added ARIA labels, say so and name WCAG; many postings ask for it.
- Putting Photoshop or Figma above your code skills when applying for engineering roles; they support the story but rarely decide it.
What to emphasize at your level
- Entry level
- Put a live portfolio and two or three finished projects near the top, and show fundamentals in semantic HTML, CSS layout and plain JavaScript alongside any framework.
- Mid level
- Lead with production features that real users touch, backed by performance, accessibility or conversion numbers. Show that you can take a design file to shipped UI with little supervision.
- Senior
- Highlight frontend architecture: design systems, build tooling, rendering strategy such as SSR or static generation, and performance budgets, plus how many teams or apps adopted them.
Certifications worth listing
List a certification only if you hold it (or say “in progress” with an expected date).
- IAAP Web Accessibility Specialist (WAS)
- IAAP Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC)
- Meta Front-End Developer Professional Certificate
Frontend Developer resume FAQ
Should a frontend developer resume include a portfolio link?
Yes, and it should sit in the header next to your email. A frontend portfolio lets a reviewer check your layout, performance and accessibility in under a minute. Show two or three projects you can explain in depth, each with a live URL and source code. Remove anything you would not want discussed in an interview, and test every link on a phone before you apply.
Is it still worth listing HTML and CSS on a frontend resume?
Yes. Many postings list them explicitly, and applicant tracking systems match the literal terms. Make them more useful by naming specifics you actually work with, such as semantic HTML, CSS Grid, Flexbox, custom properties or Tailwind CSS. Then let a bullet prove the depth, for example a layout system or design-system theme you built and the number of screens that use it.
How do I show performance work on a frontend resume?
Report the metric, the before and after values, and the technique you used. Core Web Vitals (LCP, INP and CLS) are the most recognized measures, and bundle size or Lighthouse scores work too. Pull the numbers from real-user monitoring or analytics if you have them, and note whether they are field or lab data so an interviewer can follow your reasoning.
Should I list frameworks I have only used in tutorials?
No. List frameworks you have used to build something you can show or explain in detail. If a posting asks for Vue and you know React well, say that plainly, for example "React (daily), Vue (side project)", rather than claiming equal depth. Interviewers ask framework-specific questions about rendering, state and component lifecycle, and the gaps show quickly.
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