THE EASY AND QUICKER WAY TO BECOME A WEB DEVELOPER

Depending on whom you ask, a web developer is the lifeblood of the internet, slaving away in front of a monitor and keyboard, pouring their blood, sweat, and tears into the digital landscape to amuse, inform, and connect us to each other. Of course, a simpler, more ordinary answer would be that they build and maintain websites–but that does not sound nearly as important.

However, regardless of the explanation, web developers are important. In fact, they are probably one of the most important groups of professionals we have in our world today. Regardless, the job of a web developer is vital, not only to our personal lives but to the world economy as well. Should the internet go, we would quickly go with it.

You may also simply be drawn to one aspect of development or another more than the others. In this instance, you need to be aware of what the different specialties are:

Front End

This is the part of a website that most people who do not make websites are intimately common with. This is what you see when you visit a website. Everything from images to videos, forms and drop down menus, all of the things you can see, hear, or click are part of the front end. If you are more creatively minded, this is likely the field that will appeal most to you.

Back End

This is the side of the internet you do not see–the dark, shadowy side…just joking. This is where most of the maintenance occurs. It deals with the apps, servers, and databases. For you “left-brained” people out there, you might find the somewhat higher degree of logic required to best service the back end attractive and well-suited for your natural skill sets.

Full Stack

This is for the renaissance web developers out, the people who can do it all. In fairness, if you put enough time and effort into it, anyone can be a full-stack web developer. However, it is not uncommon for a new developer to pick a specialty that they find easier and eventually grow into a full stack developer over time. Another great thing about becoming a full stack web developer is that it expands all of the benefits you accrue through either specialty. Full-stack developers can demand a higher compensation for their services and can qualify for more positions. Moreover, potential employers and clients will appreciate the additional value of having a one-stop-shop web developer.

Aside from the fact that the market for web developers only looks to expand–probably at an accelerating rate–there are numerous other reasons to move into the field. Quite simply, being a web developer offers an almost ideal situation for a wide variety of people.

Here are the languages that will be needed for you to be a full stack web developer

HTML: Also known as hypertext markup language, this is the granddaddy of website coding languages. In fact, all websites are still technically html files that are read by your browser from a server. This language is fairly straight-forward and easy to learn. Even just applying yourself part-time, you can learn html in a matter of months. Granted, you can learn it much quicker with more effort and time. However, mastering html will often take longer, but you can gain functional knowledge to begin experimenting with website development rather quickly.

CSS: CSS, or cascading style sheets, does just what its name implies: adds a sense of style to the html files. Without CSS, web pages are bit bland and are not nearly as easy to make attractive or interesting. These days, along with html, CSS is one of the primary coding languages required to produce a contemporary website with all of the features and aesthetics we have come to expect.

JAVASCRIPT : This is where things can start to get tricky. This is a language used to create most of the variety of interactive objects on a website you visit. If you have ever participated in an online poll or taken an online quiz, then you have interacted with apps or WebPages coded in JavaScript. In fairness, the beginning skills are as easy to learn as html or CSS. However, JavaScript is fairly robust and has a steep learning curve that quickly gets difficult.

UI/UX: Technically, there is not a specific coding language that focuses exclusively on UI and UX. Instead, the various other frontend languages generally coalesce to determine these two qualities. However, the UI will often rely a bit more on html and CSS–the visually based languages–while UX will focus more on javascript–the interactive object language. Keep in mind, as a developer, you do not necessarily need to be a designer. There is a whole different field for web design. Still, since you will often work with web designers and may even need to perform web design on your own for contract work, it is still a great skill to have, at least at a rudimentary level. Adobe Creative Suite and Sketch are 2 programs that can be great starters and inspiration for web design fundamentals–though mastery of these programs can yield masterful results with web design.

SQL: This language, pronounced “ess-que-el,” is strictly a backend coding language. This language handles the databases for the servers of websites. Even if you plan on specializing in frontend web development, it is a good idea to learn SQL. This language allows you to organize a website’s content in a way that the user’s hardware can access. However, SQL is a bit more difficult than either html or CSS. Still, knowing this language will set you apart from and give you an employment advantage over many of the other beginning web developers who may be doing it part time or are not truly dedicated to the full-stack approach.

PHP: This language goes hand in hand with SQL. As such, this is another back end coding language that focuses its effects on the website at the server’s end of function. This coding language is often used to allow website creation to be dynamic, accurate, and easier to do. Thankfully, this counterpart to the backend is much easier to learn than SQL, though both are generally seen as necessary for backend projects. Keep in mind, PHP can technically be embedded into many different coding languages, so do not simply focus on learning how it functions with SQL to exclusivity.

SEO: Pretty much 99 percent of all websites are discovered by their visitors through Google or some other search engine. As such, if you are going to develop websites for a living, it is imperative that you understand how search engines function, so you can ensure potential visitors see your website on the search results first. This is where SEO, or search engine optimization comes into play. Thankfully, web developers generally only need to know the basics of SEO–unlike content writers… Things like Meta tags, title tags, and the order of the heading tags, descending, are the important factors to understand.

Once you have learned the requisite skills necessary to create a killer website, the next step might seem easier by comparison. However, do not underestimate the importance–or the amount of work–that will go into finding your first gig.

Learning the skills of website creation may take a lot of effort, but it is a relatively straight-forward task: learn how the code functions and its different rules, or “syntax”. This does not change not matter when or where you start learning–though, different languages will have different rules. Still, the rules for each language will always remain the same.

Job Boards

Your initial best bet for obtaining freelance employment as a web developer will be to join different job board sites. Fair warning, there are a lot of them, like, an overwhelming amount. Do not feel like you have to sign up for every job board. Moreover, different boards will cater to different things. Some of them pay more while others are better at getting newbies–that is you–work quickly to help build their experience. You should definitely take some time to explore the possibilities and figure out exactly what it is you need before just joining every job board imaginable and applying for every opening out there. Of course, if you are that gun-ho, feel free to do so. Just do not feel obligated to do so.

Create a portfolio website to show off your mad skills. Keep in mind, the site itself should be a bit neutral, professional, yet sophisticated. Even if you intend to specialize on front end web development for visually striking websites focused on photography, fashion, and art, not every client is going to be looking for the same thing. As such, a better tactic is to have a simple, yet elegant, website that provides numerous examples of what you can create. In this regard, it will behoove you to get outside of your comfort zone and create web page examples that are not necessarily the kind you prefer–to demonstrate versatility. Of course, make sure that you also include plenty of information including details about you and your skill set and how you can put that to use for potential clients in a way that offers something no one else can.

Moreover, once you do get hold of the skills to become a web developer, the benefits more than outweigh the paltry investment of time and energy required to do so. Whether it is working from home, being your own boss, or earning a hefty paycheck, web development is an amazing industry to enter with limitless potential.

Just remember to apply yourself and gain a firm grasp on the different types of languages that web development demands. Of course, if you plan to specialize and remain in that specialty, you might be able to skip some of those languages.

Then, once you have successfully learned the different skills and languages necessary to actually develop websites, it is just as important to turn all that energy towards actually landing work. With job boards, a portfolio, and networking it can be a labor intensive process but one that pays off through dedication in the end. ❤❤