Tips to Become a Web Developer
Are you somebody who wants to become a web developer? Do you want to start programming and building websites and apps? Whatever you want to accomplish, you’re at the right place.
BishopWebWorks has created seven web development tips for people who want to start their journey in this ever-growing industry.
Let’s check them out.
Have a clear goal in mind
Before you sit down and start learning, ask yourself what you want to learn about web development. Setting a goal is crucial to keep yourself on track. It’s much more fun learning to code when you know what you want to achieve.
So think about what you want. Would you like to create a website from scratch? Would you like to build a game or maybe you want to display photos of your latest trip on your own website.
By clearly establishing what you’re aiming for, you’ll learn with a purpose. And your learning journey will be more enjoyable.
Master the fundamentals
HTML, CSS, and Javascript — they’re the “Big 3” of web development. Start by learning these fundamentals with them gives you the foundation that you need for what comes next.
These three languages are the cornerstones of any website. And even if your goal is not to develop websites, everything else always comes back to these guys. So learn their fundamentals, and master them.
Technically, you can’t call HTML and CSS programming languages. HTML only helps you build the webpage structure, and CSS presents how its styling should be.
You should move on to learning JavaScript only when you are thorough with those two languages’ basics. Why? Because they form the front-facing layout of every page or application on the web. And JavaScript is what makes those webpages interactive.
Develop every day
This goes without saying for anything you’re trying to develop. To be skilled at something, you need to make it a daily habit. It should be a routine that you don’t skip. This kind of commitment provides you with two critical benefits.
Practice, practice, practice. You put in all of those hours of work, and they will add up fast. Soon enough, you’ll have the necessary knowledge, projects, and a great grasp of developing web apps under your tool belt. You will need that experience to hone your craft and land great offers.
Number two, doing this every day will make you feel like a real developer. You will stop feeling like a “wannabe coder” and will see yourself as the real deal instead.
So how much practice do you need?
Start with one hour each day. It’s ok if you fall short sometimes. But one hour a day should be a goal.
Participate in open-source projects
Open-source projects are an amazing way to beef up your portfolio. If you’re not sure where to find one, start by looking at the software you already have on your computer.
How many apps, tools, frameworks, CLI programs, etc., do you use open-source? As a developer yourself, odds are you already have access to at least a handful of open-source programs installed on your computer.
Figure out a way to contribute to them and start brainstorming. Even if that open-source community denies your change requests, you still learned something along the way.
If you don’t use any open-source software, you can explore open source projects. It curates open-source project tasks for beginners. And that’s one problem already solved with the magic of development. Now, solve more!
Connect with experienced web developers
Any new, up-and-coming web developer should seek out a more experienced developer to act as a mentor. Developers are some of the best and most willing mentors, as they have spent so much time learning from others.
You can find mentors in coding clubs, or online communities like Reddit and Twitter, or in places where mentors come together. Having a mentor provides you with two benefits.
One, they give you honest and direct feedback on your projects. And, two, they give you insights into the inner workings of the development industry — how to network, how to progress along your career path in this ever-evolving field.
Never be shy to ask them anything. You can ask them questions on how they built those cool things on the last website they built, or the nice component they created to make life easier for everyone on their team, or ask them about their career path.
If you are in the Colorado area, please reach out to our web developers at BishopWebWorks. We would be happy to help.
Teach others what you know
As somebody who just started coding, you may think of yourself as not fit to write code.
Teaching other people what you already know is a fantastic way to retain the concepts you’ve learned. You can do that by explaining those concepts to a friend or by starting a blog. Starting a blog is easy these days. Sign up for WordPress or Medium or any similar free blogging service and start writing.
Now, there’s a bigger benefit to all of this. When you’re teaching someone, you will have the chance to review what you’ve learned yourself and how you would apply that to real-life situations.
Writing also teaches you how to organize your thoughts. This, in return, improves your presentation skills as a programmer.
Always be curious
One thing that separates great coders from the rest….. is curiosity. You have to immerse yourself in web development as much as possible. Start by spending at least 30 minutes everyday reading, listening, or watching about programming — blogs, videos, podcasts, the occasional textbook, browsing GitHub, or even discussing topics on forums.
Connect with relevant people on LinkedIn. Follow them on Twitter and read what they say. Colorado has a fast-growing and friendly web developer community. We’re sure they’d love to chat over a cup of coffee.
Web development is an exciting field. It is as challenging as it is rewarding. To sum it up, you have to focus on the fundamentals, practice every day, network, and always be curious. We hope these tips help you practice your craft and make you a great web developer.
Get in touch with us to get a free quote for web design or web development.
