Learning Web Development 2018

Learn the basics, but try and get out of this bubble as quickly as you can. Sticking with the basics for too long will make the process boring. You won’t feel like you’re getting anywhere. The important thing here is to get building small projects. The wonderful thing about learning to code is that there is a lot you can achieve with just the basics. If all you know is the basics of HTML and CSS, you can put together fairly decent looking landing page.

Now the tricky part - JavaScript. With so many fancy libraries and frameworks out there, it’s tempting to ignore the base language altogether and dive right into its libraries. I’ve actually seen people asking questions like ‘should I learn JavaScript or React first?’ ... Truth is, if you’re thinking about getting hired as a web developer, you HAVE to learn JavaScript. That’s just how it is. JS is so popular and in-demand right now that you just can’t ignore it. Once you’ve learned JS, move on to learning its libraries/frameworks such as Angular, React, Vue, and a few million others.

Set up a portfolio. This is imperative. You have to have a portfolio, in order to demonstrate your skills. Ever heard the saying ‘talk is cheap, show me the code’? That’s absolutely true. You can brag about your coding skills all day, but if you don’t have any projects to show, no one’s going to care.

Finally, be patient. I always say in posts like that - be very patient. You are not going to become an expert in a few weeks or even months. It just doesn’t work like that. It’s easy to get frustrated and give up when you don’t see the results but you have to accept that sometimes you don’t get instant gratification. Some things take time.

Good luck!