B's Log

2023-02-06

Monday 6th February 2023. Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.

So You Want To Be A Web Developer?

Web development is an exciting and ever-growing field that allows people to create and maintain websites on the Internet. Whether you want a blog, an educational site, an e-commerce store, or a place to promote your business, web development is a valuable key to establishing a strong online presence. As well as allowing you to express yourself or your brand online, you will also have lots of fun and learn many new things on your web development journey!

JavaScript code on a screen.

Web developers design, code, and test websites to ensure they are functional, accessible, and user-friendly. The building blocks of those websites are code files written in languages such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Don't be intimidated by these languages! HTML is very easy to learn, and HTML is all you need to write your first basic web page. In fact, I wrote a HTML tutorial designed to help people who know nothing about HTML to create their first pages. All you need is a computer and a text editor!

After you learn about HTML in the aforementioned link (or if you are already familiar with HTML) you should come back here and learn about all three of the core languages used in web development. Then at the end I'll give you some great web development resources.

HTML (or HyperText Markup Language) is a markup language for presenting documents, by enclosing information in things called tags. For example, there are tags for headings, paragraphs, images, and (hypertext!) links. The HTML file contains all of the written content that you see on a website (e.g. the text in the headings and paragraphs) as well as meta-data (information about the page).

CSS (or Cascading Style Sheets) is a language for defining the style of a HTML document as it should appear in a user's browser. The CSS code contains information about typography (fonts, line and paragraph spacing, etc.), colours, page layouts, responsiveness on different devices, and can even be used to make CSS art or animations.

JavaScript is not always used on simple static web pages. Sometimes HTML and CSS are enough. But JavaScript is very powerful and can be used to control the behaviour of a website. JavaScript is the only one of the web design languages we have spoken about that is a genuine programming language. JavaScript is versatile and powerful and is the only programming language that runs natively in all major web browsers. It is easy to learn and has uses ranging from the modification of the behaviour of a web page button, to the ability to create fully fledged games, applications, and even back-end software.

This triad of web development languages will provide a great opportunity to use a combination of creativity and technical skills to express yourself, or perhaps to bring the vision of a customer to reality. Some of the perks of being a professional web developer include:

  • Good salaries. The average yearly salary in the U.S. is $75,000 to $100,000 USD. The average yearly salary in Australia is $75,000 AUD. These can vary based on several factors like location, skills, and the work being performed.
  • High demand in the industry. Technological advancements, increased use of the internet, and the growing number of online businesses means there is a global market for web development services, and social media allows web developers to work with clients from all over the world.
  • Job security. There is continuous demand for web developers, with constant growth in industries such as e-commerce, online gaming, and cloud computing. The demand for web developers by businesses and organisations striving to improve their online presence will likely only increase in the future.
  • The ability to work remotely is an attractive prospect to many people, and web development is an ideal job for remote work. Web developers can have flexible schedules as they only need a computer and Internet connection to be able to work. Code can normally be pushed (i.e. sent across the Internet) to the web server or repository where it will be hosted. Collaboration tools such as video conferencing and project management software also aid remote workers in communication and co-operative teamwork when working together on a website.

Web development is a continuously evolving field with new tools and technologies being released all time, so there is always something new to learn. It is also a skill-set that allows for versatility and variety in daily work. As web sites are valuable to any industry, web developers have plenty of opportunities to work on projects that personally interest them.

If you want to learn more web development then there is no time like the present. I'd like to share some of the best online resources for learning.

  • freeCodeCamp is excellent for beginners. It gives you an interface to write code straight into your web browser, and step-by-step interactive tutorials to guide a beginning coder in learning all of the concepts of web development. freeCodeCamp teaches HTML, CSS, JavaScript, as well as other programming languages. It also features project-based learning to help students practice their own coding and logic skills.
  • The Odin Project is a great place to learn web development if you are willing to use Mac or Linux, or willing to dual-boot or use virtual machines. One of the great parts of taking this course is that it teaches you to create and use an actual production environment to publish your web pages online. Projects are also used heavily in the course, giving students a chance to apply their knowledge directly to real applications.
  • W3Schools is a gamified method of learning web development and other programming languages, with a system of points and stars that are awarded for completing tasks. All of the material is free, but you can take paid exams in different areas if you want to earn certificates. It also has interactive coding within a browser environment and a feature to publish your own web pages.
  • Mozilla Developer Network (or MDN) is home to extensive resources on HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. You will probably end up getting help from MDN in your search results a lot while googling your programming questions and problems, even if you don't actively seek them out.
  • CS50x is an online course from Harvard University that first teaches you the basics of computer science and C programming before moving onto web design languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and finally covers the languages SQL, Python, and Flask. The teacher, David J. Malan, is extremely engaging in the lecture videos, and the course is heavily reliant on both small and large projects written in a browser-based environment. It's great if you want to learn a little bit of everything to do with computers and coding and not just focus on web development.

So, armed with the knowledge on these websites, you are now ready to go out and begin (or continue!) your web development journey. Here's wishing you the best with your adventure and all of your future endeavours! If you don't know where to begin then try my HTML tutorial. Then come back here and visit freeCodeCamp or The Odin Project to learn more in-depth material.

Brendan Gasparin