I believe you are here because you want to create websites, but have no idea how to start or because you find many terms and technical pieces related to web development confusing or even overwhelming. In this post, I’ll do my best to describe the basics you’ll need in order to get started with web development.
Who can be a web developer?
Anyone can be a web developer. Contrary to popular belief, a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science is not a prerequisite to becoming a web developer and creating functional websites. Although i must say that certain habits like dedication, hard-work and passion are extremely vital for success in this field. The beauty about tech is that it’s not reserved for any particular gender or ethnicity—nor is there a clear-cut route. Anyone who wants to do it, simply can, regardless of what field they majored in.
There are 3 specialties in web development. You can choose to be a Front-end developer, a back-end developer or a full stack developer.
Frontend Web Development
This is the aspect of the website that you see and interact with, e.g. menus, buttons, layouts, animations, dropdowns, etc. Front end developers use HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) to lay out a document’s general structure and content, CSS (Cascading Style Sheet) for styling and JavaScript for situations that require advanced interactivity.
Backend Web Development
This focuses on how websites run behind the scenes. It is usually a combination of applications, databases, servers, APIs, etc. It is also known as server-side development. When back-end developers create websites that render on the server-side, they use the same building blocks as front-end developers: HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
Full Stack Development
This is the combination of both client-side and server-side development. Full stack developers can tackle projects with databases, create user interfaces for the websites and work with clients directly on both sides to successfully complete projects. They require the knowledge of HTML, CSS, Javascript, some backend languages like PHP, Python and databases (SQL).
Why You Should Be A Web Developer
Since the rise of the internet and digital marketing, websites have become a must-have for companies and businesses. Having a strong online presence has emphasised the importance of well designed websites that can connect businesses with their customers globally. Without web designers, this would be impossible. Want to hear more? I’ll give you a few more reasons below:
It Is A Fast Moving Market
Companies and businesses require website updates averagely every two years. This means that there is always need for a developer’s services. It could be building a website from scratch or updating existing infrastructure (Database, maintenance) etc. You can get plenty of clients by simply showing them what’s missing and how you can improve on it.
Enhance Your Creativity
Creating websites requires critical thinking and problem solving techniques. Currently, the internet houses about 1.8billion websites. With unlimited inspirations and resources from the internet, you can quickly enhance your skills by applying the knowledge acquired to the projects you build.
It Pays Well
Averagely, a developer can earn $50,000 – $70,000 (USD) a year depending on the complexity and severity of the project and his/her experience level. The exact duration of a project is a great factor to consider when billing clients for projects. Underestimating the amount of time it takes you to finish a project will definitely hurt your income.
Remote Work
As a web developer, you can earn comfortably working from any where in the world. It can also lead to interesting contacts from different parts of the world. You don’t need to be located in one place to get web development work. In your career as a web developer, you would interact with other specialists like UI/UX designers, web designers, app developers, software developers and so on.
“In some ways, programming is like painting. You start with a blank canvas and certain basic raw materials. You use a combination of science, art, and craft to determine what to do with them.”
Andrew Hunt
Conclusion
As the world continues to evolve technologically, web developers must continue to improve their skills to remain relevant . Recent Covid 19 pandemic was a revelation that the future of work is remote and the need for highly skilled developers will continue to be in demand. Best part is, learning to code can be done at home. With websites like Free Code Camp, Code Academy, W3Schools, GeeksforGeeks you can be guaranteed to set off your career in this amazing field. There are also a lot of resources you can find on Youtube and Udemy.
I hope this post has been beneficial to you. If you would like start your web development journey with us, please fill this form to begin! Feel free to comment below if you have any questions or recommendations on what topics you’d love to read on next! Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletters to get more information and resources like this.
