A Beginner’s Guide to Web Development
Web development is a field that grows very quickly and has become very needed over the years. Just think about it- now it is almost impossible for businesses to exist without a web page. And this does create a lot of opportunities for software developers of all seniority levels.
Why learn? Well, for some people it is fun, for some people it is a way to complement other skills but one thing can’t be denied- it is a very in-demand skill that offers a high level of job security and financial stability. But you have to be ready for a lot of hard work.
Where to start then? Well, first of all you have to understand there are two parts for web development- back end and front end. In a lot of cases it is very useful to start with front end development to understand what’s where and then move on to the back end. Why? Because then you at least understand how everything works and you at least know how those API’s and technologies like that are consumed in web pages.
In any case it can seem a bit overwhelming at first but the important part to learn web development is to start learning and developing. You can’t acquire these skills in any other way. These are steps I would take if I needed to start from scratch again:
- Familiarize yourself with HTML and CSS: HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) is the standard markup language for creating web pages, while CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is used to style and layout web pages. There are many online tutorials and resources available to help you learn these languages, including Codecademy, W3Schools, and more. You can even check out youtube or attend a local coding bootcamp.
- Practice building websites: Once you’ve learned the basics of HTML and CSS, it’s time to put your skills into practice by building websites. Start with small projects and work your way up to more complex sites as you gain confidence and experience.
- Learn JavaScript: JavaScript is a popular programming language used for creating dynamic, interactive web pages. Learning JavaScript will allow you to add interactivity to your websites and make them more engaging for users.
- Now it is time to practice, practice, practice! Try to create some simple projects, some static web pages like a simple calculator or CV/portfolio site for yourself to use.
- Now that you have gained some confidence you can even take a look at some modern frameworks like Vue, Angular or React.
After that it is time to jump into the back end… But that is already a different story. Until next time :)
