Web Development: A beginners guide.

Hi there, are you a newbie wondering how to get started in web development? Then it would help if you read this article.

This article will help you:

Understand what web development is.
Why you should consider becoming a web developer.
How to get started.
Links to learning resources.

What is web development?

Web development is building sites or pages that work on the internet. This process can range from a simple static page to overly complex web applications. Web developers plan, code, test, launch, and maintain websites.

Why should you consider becoming a web developer?

Developing for the web remains one of the fastest-growing and in-demand career paths worldwide. With an estimate of over 1.7 billion websites and 4.5 billion users worldwide, the web developer job market will grow by “15% between 2016 and 2026 according to the U.S. Bureau of labor and statistics”. There is a need for people to fill these positions.

How to get started?

There are two main stages in web development;

Frontend: The client-side functions.
Backend: The server-side functions.

The frontend developer is responsible for building the part the users see and interact with, the graphical user interface. They work closely with designers to interpret high-fidelity designs using HTML, CSS, and Javascript.

HTML: HTML or Hypertext Markup Language refers to the skeleton of a website. What this means is HTML is the foundation on which websites are built. HTML uses what we know as tags <html></html> to load contents into a website.

These various tags tell the browser the differences between contents displayed on a website. For example, the “<h1> </h1> “tells the browser that the content within should display as the major header in a website, the <p></p> tells the browser that the content within should display as paragraphs.

CSS: CSS or Cascading Style Sheet styles the HTML files to make websites look beautiful and give them an excellent user interface; the CSS can also be referred to as the body of a website.

CSS adds layout, colors, fonts to a website however you want your website to look; you can use CSS. So, it is important to know CSS as a frontend developer.

Javascript: Javascript is a programming language that gives functionality to a website. After using HTML and CSS to build the foundation and beautify a website, it needs to perform certain functions; this is where the need for Javascript comes in. With Javascript, you can make a website more dynamic.

The backend developer is responsible for building the server-side functions of a web application. As a backend developer, you use programming languages like python, PHP, ruby on rails, Java, etc.

Learning resources.

Here are a few resources you can use to learn web development and get started today:

For projects, check:

Frontendmentor.io

Dolapo's Blog

Dolapo's Blog

Web Development: A beginners guide.