How to Teach Yourself Web Development

When it comes to switching profession, one of the many fears of most individuals is going back to a brick-and-mortar school, then burying some healthy years and time into a new routine when you have a clear age gap to worry about between your new pang for knowledge and the time you could have learned it earlier in school. While we could draw up a list of many things that could be odd, how about I celebrate you for the willingness to learn something new, yeah! Just because, we know it takes more than an ounce of guts to invest some quality time into learning, especially something new.

You may have considered the choice of learning Web development for passion, perhaps to enhance your profession or you heard of how much they make. In March 2021, reports had shown that a Web developer in Dubai could earn between AED 3903 – AED 9900 per month, not bad right? Well, whatever be your motive, the good news is you can teach yourself Web development if you follow these guidelines below thoroughly.

Talking about good news, did you know that a Web developers job is typically skill-based compared to requiring credentials like a bachelor’s degree, this implies all you need is just the skills.

What should I learn first in web development?

There is a need to get acquainted with the jargons in this field, its meanings, and where they find use; Jargons like:

1. CSS (Cascading Style Sheet)

This is the language for describing the presentation of Web pages, which stands for Cascading Style Sheets. It focuses on colors, layout, and fonts which allows the presentation layout on varying devices from large screens, small screens, or printers. CSS is independent of HTML and can find use with any XML-based markup language.

2. HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)

HTML is one of the core elements of a website and one of the so-called frontend languages. The hypertext markup language provides the skeleton of a website, mainly through a series of tags. A tag is the HTML code that controls the appearance of the HTML documents content.

3. JAVASCRIPT

JavaScript is a programming language that enables you to add elements to web pages. It is solely responsible for the graphics of the interface. You could surf the net for online classes; both paid and free classes are available to better equip you in this phase.

Here are few steps for teaching yourself web development

Before we proceed, there is a need to spot out the difference between frontend, backend, and full-stack web development. You can see that carefully addressed in our previous article here. The need to understand how web pages are laid out, web design principles to help see things from a designer’s perspective is also very significant.

Note that this is not a wish list or a magic word as JUMANJI and then Voila! you’re a pro. This requires you to be true to yourself and a truckload of commitment.

Make WordPress a friend

Any web developer needs to get acquainted with WordPress. After all – 63% of all websites are powered by this free, open-source software and can be installed on any host. You can start by setting up a WordPress site, it’s fairly easy for your clients to add content by themselves without professional knowledge.

UI and UX

UI (User Interface) and UX (User Experience) are the basics of user experience design. Web developers don't need to be design experts, however, there is a need to learn the fundamentals of user experience design to have a better understanding of how a website should work. You would agree with me that with more users on the site with an appealing interface and easy navigation, chances are high prospective customers would spend more money on the site.

CREATE A RESPONSIVE WEBSITE

Responsive design is quite essential for professional work. It is not uncommon for someone to find your website via a desktop, smartphone, or tablet these days. When you create a responsive website, the elements of the site change in response to the size of the screen. 

LEARN BASIC SEO

Search Engine Optimization is a web analytics tool that helps in improving a website’s rankings within a search engine like Google. It’s one of the most important skills any web developer should possess since it plays a vital role in online businesses.

LEARN MORE PROGRAMS

You could do much more with the knowledge of more programs from Sublime Text, Adobe Photoshop, jQuery, AJAX, Bootstrap, PHP, MySQL, and similar applications for your efficiency.

Learning is certainly fun; all we need is the realization.

For more information on Website Development, Digital Marketing, and SEO, you can always trust The Watchtower, the best and award-winning Website Development Company, Dubai