What is web development and why should I learn it?
Web development involves building a website on the Internet. While developing a website often involves creating designs, information architecture, and content, web development only focuses on the programming side. Many products are web-based and some mobile apps are built with web technologies as well. As such, learning web development is crucial.
There are three types of web developers: front end, backend, and fullstack. A front end web developer is responsible for the behavior and visuals on the user-facing browser, while a backend web developer deals with the servers. Some of the commonly used languages for front end web development includes JavaScript, HTML, and CSS and backend includes JavaScript, Java, Python, PHP, and Ruby. A fullstack web developer covers both front end and backend.
There’s a lot of debate on front end vs back end. The debate mostly centers on the earning potential of web programmers. On average, a backend web programmer earns more than a frontend web programmer. While salary is a realistic factor to consider, your background and interest should also be considered. They will play important roles in kick starting and sustaining your web development career. As to the question “how long does it take to learn web development?”, to get the basics down, it only takes a couple of months! But to master web development is a life-long journey.
Why should I practice web development by building projects?
Project-based learning is a method of learning where you learn a skill through working on a project. This type of learning allows you to learn not only the theory, but also how to apply those skills.
By building a web development project, you'll practice the high-level logic of your code and project, and see how each individual line can impact your application. You will also gain problem-solving skills and how to fix it. With so many web development projects available, finding an idea that interests you will make the learning process more fun and sustainable.
When you finish building a project, you will have learned and practiced web development techniques, gained problem solving skills, learned how to ask questions, and have a finished project to show off.
How do I know which web development projects are best for learning web development?
The best way to learn web development is to practice web development by building as many projects as possible. There are three factors you should consider when picking the right web development project: your skill level, goals, and interest.
You want to have a good idea of your skill level and choose web development practice projects that are not too easy or too hard for you. If you work on web development projects that are too easy, you won’t progress in your coding abilities. However, if you choose projects that are too difficult, you may get stuck, never finish the project, and feel discouraged. Therefore, you want to choose web development projects that are just a little bit above your current skill level.
Now, you also want to build web development projects that not only allows you to practice web development, but also lets you show off your skills on your portfolio. So think about the types of web development projects you want to put on your portfolio and jobs you’re interested in as a developer. Think about what your long-term goals are and pick web development projects that align with them.
Lastly, you definitely want to choose web development projects that you’re actually interested in and feel connected to. Learning by building web development projects you’re interested in will help you stay motivated. You’ll also be more likely to want to go above and beyond to make your web development project stand out in the crowd.
Can web development beginners learn by building web development projects?
web development projects are a great way for beginners to learn. Two major obstacles beginners face when learning web development are not knowing why you’re learning web development and losing motivation. By learning web development through building projects, you will be able to overcome both hurdles.
When you’re learning web development, you may not know how to apply web development theories in the real world. But when working on beginner web development projects, you immediately learn how each line of code impacts your project. By giving theory context, you’ll understand how to apply theories and find more resources to complete your web development project. These web development projects for beginners can also help you build up your portfolio early on. Each web development project you finish can be incorporated into your portfolio to demonstrate your new skills.
Another issue that often comes up for beginners is losing motivation. However, when it comes to projects, you can pick a beginner web development project that you’re interested in. Not only will you be more motivated when you work on something interesting, you’ll also want to continue to improve the project. As your web development project comes together, the sense of accomplishment will give you the momentum to keep going, even when things get hard. Additionally, you’ll learn how to approach problems from multiple angles and teach yourself how to search for answers. The ability to problem-solve is arguably one of the most important skills a developer should have.
