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.
This is beautiful!😀
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