How to Become a Web Developer #1: Get Advice!

Are you interested in becoming a web developer? Do you want to build on your existing skills and get a well-paid job? Over the next five days we’ll share the keys to success in five simple steps to help *you* become the *best web developer* you can be.

Step One: Get Advice

• Find out about web development

First you need to understand exactly what the job is, and how it’s done. Web development is the building and maintenance of websites; it’s the work that happens behind the scenes to make a website look great, work fast and perform well for the best UX. A developer is like a modern magician; they take ideas and turn them into amazing, interactive interfaces!

Read our blog post to find out more about what web development involves.

• Start on the right foot

It’s very useful to talk to professionals about their learning experience and get a few pointers. Emily Reese, Teaching Manager at OpenClassrooms, shares her experience as a novice coder:

“I heard so much conflicting advice from experts… Some people suggested starting with pure programming languages, others with HTML and CSS, yet others with frameworks. I didn’t know what any of that meant at the time! Half the battle of learning to code is deciding where to start. The sky’s the limit, which is both empowering and terrifying.”

Her advice to beginners is to start by focussing on specific languages:

“My learning accelerated when I focused on HTML and CSS, the building blocks that make up a web page and the way it looks. My advice to any beginner is that they start with these languages. I remember building my first page in HTML and CSS… It was so simple, but it blew my mind because it looked like a web page.”

• Don’t feel daunted, but inspired

Learning to code may seem daunting, but Emily encourages learners to think about it differently:

“Remember that humans made computers, not the other way around. Everything that the all-star coders at Google and Facebook know, they had to learn, and you can learn it too! Set small, incremental goals for yourself, and don’t compare yourself to those around you. Solicit advice from people you trust, but pave your own path.”

If this advice has whet your appetite for learning, check out our bachelor-level diploma in Front-end Web Development – you can do the whole diploma online and it can be adapted to your needs and schedule.

Our student advisors are available to answer any questions you may have on our diploma – you can book a call here!

Thanks for reading, stay tuned for Step Two tomorrow!