HOW TO BECOME A PROFESSIONAL WEB DEVELOPER

Think of it, you get to be the brain behind that successful website, you can create the best user experience for over 2 billion users. Also, websites are here to stay for the next decades, therefore you’ll still be relevant in the field as long as you’re growing.

What’s amazing is that you can learn web development on your own. When you’re done reading this post, you’ll have very clear directions on how to become a skilled web developer. The steps explained here are achievable and proved over the years by several expert web developers, you can become one by following through.Table of Contentsshow

Before starting the steps, it’s important you understand the following:

WHO IS A WEB DEVELOPER?

Based on the process of web development, a web developer is a programmer that creates web-based applications to be accessed through the Internet. These websites and apps have specific features and functions that the dev is responsible to build through his programming skills.

Web development consists of 2 major sections; as an aspiring web developer, you can choose to specialize in any of the sections.

• FrontEnd Web Developer is responsible for building and designing layouts, features, and appearance of a website. This role is also called client-side developer.
• BackEnd Web Developer is responsible for building the driving system of a website. They are responsible for building the best framework that allows data to be easily transferred from the web server to the web browser – as seen by the users.

Honestly, no crime combining both roles, being an expert in both FrontEnd & BackEnd development, only that you’d have to be learning a lot more. People who are skilled in front-end and back-end web development are called Full-Stack Developers – they are highly respected and well-paid. Deciding on a specification is important as you’d see in forthcoming sections.

So, how would we define a perfect Web Developer?

THE PERFECT WEB DEVELOPER

For those interested in a career in development, there are many aspects to consider. Firstly, you need a passion for writing code. The web moves fast, and it will be a big part of your job to move with it. You’ll have to learn new languages and get your hands on new tools as time goes by.

To succeed in computer science, problem-solving skills are a must, as well as logical, rational thinking. Patience and ability to keep your head cold are also two things that will help you a lot in your future job.

PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES

Obviously, to become a web developer, you have to be interested in writing code. The programming language is at the core of a website, every website solution you will ever create will be written with programming languages.
If you’ve not written code before, it’s quite easy to learn the basics. There are great resources online to learn coding for beginners – where you’ll be learning step by step to become a great programmer.
To be a perfect front-end web developer, you need to learn the following languages and associated tools:

HTML & CSS

HTML isn’t a programming language, neither CSS, but markup tools used to design web pages and user interfaces. HTML is a hypertext markup language that structures the content and layout of the web page, and CSS controls its display. It’s the very backbone of every website, therefore it is a must to learn for anyone aspiring to work in the front-end development field.

JavaScript

JavaScript is a front-end coding language, which is executed in the client browser. JavaScript is widely used by web developers and helps to provide a great user experience to visitors. Learning Javascript is extremely important for front-end coders.

jQuery

jQuery is a JavaScript library designed to simplify HTML DOM tree manipulation. It is widely used and every front-end dev is expected to be able to use it. As it’s a JS library, you should learn it once you are comfortable with standard JavaScript.

Bootstrap

Bootstrap is an open-source CSS framework, which provides a base for creating mobile-first, responsive websites. Since its creation in 2011, its popularity has never stopped growing. Bootstrap now powers millions of websites. As the most popular CSS framework, it is mandatory that you learn to use it once comfortable enough with HTML and CSS.

React.js

React is a JavaScript library used to create user interfaces and single-page or mobile applications. Many recruiters are looking for people with significant experience with React, so make sure to be learning it and possess enough skills in order to secure your dream job and become a web developer.

These programming languages are regularly updated, therefore be sure to learn them based on the most recent version available.

In the same way, the perfect back-end web developer must be skilled in the following programming languages:

PHP

PHP is a server-side language created in the 1990s. It is the most widely used coding language when it comes to creating web pages. A back-end web developer must have sufficient PHP skills in order to get a job in the tech business.

MySQL

MySQL is a free and open-source database, widely used to store the data displayed on websites. You should learn the SQL language, as well as database management through both SSH and the PHPMyAdmin tool.

Java

Java is a general-purpose, object-oriented language which often competes with PHP. Learning Java is important for your career due to the demand amongst recruiters in the web and software fields.

Ruby

Ruby is an interpreted, high-level, general-purpose programming language created in Japan. It is less popular than PHP or Java but still widely used to create web pages and apps.

Node.js

Node.js is an open-source JavaScript run-time environment which allows developers to execute JavaScript code outside of the browser. It is widely used and Node.js skills are very appreciated. There’s nowadays a huge amount of work where Node.js plays a central role.

Note that some of these programming languages perform the same role, therefore it’s not necessary to learn all of them. https://7701c54cf9314d77ed2f7315aaa57165.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-37/html/container.html

If you’re already familiar with some of these languages you can use them, however, for newbies I’d suggest you learn JavaScript, HTML & CSS, jQuery, and Bootstrap for front-end development and/or PHP and MySQL for back-end development.

Every successful coder has carefully gone through the following process I’ve curated for you to follow.
Here it is…