The basic understanding of web development is the practice of employing different components to build a website. This process consists of coding as well as markup. In this segment, we are going to unveil how to become a web developer.
Since the web development industry has been spreading all across the globe, it is pretty easy for it to attract a large number of enthusiasts who wish to make a career with it. Let us dwell deep on how to become a web developer and learn everything there is to know about a career as a website developer. In this article, you will get an overview of web developers in India.
Who are web developers?
A web developer is in charge of overseeing the coding and programming of websites, applications, and any other web-based services that are prioritized at the backend. This position has a clear preference for technical operations. It is frequently confused for a web designer, though.
What certifications are necessary for a career as a website developer?
Web developer skills list
- HTML
- CSS
- JavaScript
- Tools
- Debugging
- GIT (Code Versioning)
- Basic graphic design
- Back end and Databases
- Working with Hosting (Publishing website)
- Libraries and frameworks
How can someone work in web development without a degree?
Many people at senior levels as web developers do not necessarily have a degree but they most certainly have the skills and certification. Everywhere today skills are tested first irrespective of whether you hold a degree or not.
So, once you have figured out that you want to be a web developer or you want to get into web development the first question that you will have is “what do I learn?”
This article will guide you through finding your skills and career as a web developer. It can be done just the same way without a degree just by learning to make your basics strong with a course like Web Developer.
Before getting into ‘the how’ of how to become a web developer after 12th or without graduation or just becoming a successful web developer let’s first look at ‘the what’ of what kind of web developer professionals are there so you get a better idea of how to go about it.
Different categories of web developers
Developing a website involves numerous tasks, and developers can specialize in a certain area of this process. Let’s have a look at different web developer specialties:
UI designers
User interface (UI) developers build the initial design or redesign of a website. These kinds of developers focus on branding, style, design, and user navigation. Their major focus is on the user’s needs and the business’s goals, and they then translate the needs into a website that optimizes these goals. While UI developers are accountable for the design, they don’t program it into the website.
Developers of front-end websites
Front end web developers execute the design that a UI developer creates. The frontend developers write the code for the basic layout of a website, focusing on layout, graphics, images, and content.
User experience (UX) designers
The task of a user experience (UX) designer is to create website structures based on who will use the website and for what purpose. UX designers are concerned with building wireframes, which are like drawings that the users can navigate through easily. They arrange the content on the website across pages and applications and then test the structure to ensure optimal functionality.
Web developers that work on the back end
Back end web developers are responsible for the foundation and architecture of a website. For the website to function and the design to be incorporated correctly, back end developers program the website’s structure efficiently. This ensures that the website works well when a user inputs a command or interacts with an element on a page.
Webmasters
These web development professionals focus majorly on maintaining current sites and pages. They perform regular maintenance, update pages as necessary and ensure certificates are in place.
Relevant expertise for web developers
Web developers depend on their technical knowledge to perform their work tasks, like programming and design. They are also expected to have good soft skills that help them manage their workload and work with other people on projects. Listed below are a combination of hard and soft skills for a web developer:
- Analytical skills: It’s crucial to analyze the needs and requirements of a project so goals can be successfully implemented. Analytical skills can be proven very useful for developers to make essential distinctions to create a variety of successful websites.
- Interpersonal skills: Interpersonal skills help developers build positive relationships with co-workers and clients. They work in close relation with many people on website projects and collaborate effectively.
- Programming skills: HTML and CSS are of utmost importance for a web developer to create the architecture of a website. HTML is the most used language to create web pages, and CSS is typically used to style the website. JavaScript is also popularly used for incorporating complex features into a website.
- Search engine optimization (SEO) skills: A proper understanding of SEO helps a web developer create a website that is search engine-friendly. When websites are built with SEO in mind, they’re much more likely to generate traffic and be successful for the client.
- Testing and debugging skills: A web developer continuously gets rid of errors on a website. This maintenance and debugging are part of their role, so this skill can be pivotal for a successful career.
Now, on how to become a web developer in India, below are the few web development skills that you will need to learn and implement. Let’s have a look:
Study the Fundamentals of HTML and CSS
This is the start of your journey. You must focus on getting the fundamentals right. Having thorough and strong fundamentals gives you the ability to understand different subjects more quickly.
Begin small, learn what Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is and how it works. HTML is a very important and basic language as it is the building block of every website and web application. Compliment that skill with studying Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). CSS is used for designing and styling websites and web applications.
Learn the Foundations of JavaScript
JavaScript is the most common programming language. JavaScript is used so immensely, to understand this better, if you are using a modern browser try turning off JavaScript and then check the result, you will understand that more than 97% of the websites will not be functioning properly or some will have a problem just loading. That’s how important JavaScript is.
JavaScript powers the web. Any web development job will have some or the other form of JavaScript programming. If you’re not able to comprehend why JavaScript is so widely and popularly used, please check out a few articles about the same on the web.
Also hailing to its popularity, there are a lot of places to learn JavaScript. If you’re just beginning now, I’d recommend starting out with the AttainU JavaScript curriculum.
Coding Exercise with Vanilla JS
“Javascript30” is for beginner to intermediate developers and designers who want to become comfortable with both JavaScript fundamentals and working in the DOM without a library.
To learn this you should already be knowing some JavaScript to start with— this isn’t a JavaScript 101 course. We learn by application — facing many new situations and talking about the hows, the whys and the whats that we use to sort them.
We stay clear of adamant design patterns, frameworks, libraries and any type of abstraction. These things are great and most usually needed, but can obstruct learning and constrain initial understanding.
The course at AttainU is very helpful, fun and challenging. Every day you will get a new challenge to build and create. By the time you are done with this course, you will be comfortable with JavaScript, interacting with the DOM, and working with browser APIs.
Learn a frontend library (React, Vue, Angular)
Inquire with any competitive business and you will ascertain that if they’re using any or some form of a frontend library, the answer will be affirmative. Back in the days, in the 2000s, companies rolled up their sleeves and built in-house frameworks and libraries tailored to their needs and today’s modern or the latest web development is all about using open-source frameworks and libraries, such as React, Vue, Angular, and Svelte.
It’s a tough decision to choose from among so many options framework to opt for.
It is essential to remember that the end goal is to find a job in the web development field. My advice would be to do some market research of the area you want to get a job in to understand which frameworks are most popular there and stick to those. A few cities might have 100 job openings for React developers, while others might have 1000 job openings for Angular. It is up to your interest and to see that you get an edge over others while choosing the framework you think is most popular in your area. Also remember, there is no right or wrong answer here.
React is one such JavaScript library that is used for building user interfaces.
After you have picked a framework, start creating stuff! The one and the only way to be better and then to best is by constantly going out of your comfort zone and pushing yourself further.
If you need any sort of help, there’s a vibrant community on GitHub and Stack Overflow ready to help you out. You are not alone in this.
Learn Node, MongoDB, and PostgreSQL (Backend development)
Now that you have made it this far, giving up doesn’t seem like an option. Having learned how frontend development works, let’s get into some backend knowledge and how that works and helps.
To make the actual use of web development, every application has a backend in place. In today’s software world, a backend is an Application Programming Interface (API) that interacts with the frontend.
But the main question is why do we even need a backend? Well, let’s answer it with an example, let’s say users can create users when interacting with our application and need to store the user data somewhere for future use, so we need a backend service to create users. The backend is the middleman that communicates with the database and serves the data to the frontend, all by liaisoning via an API.
Security is yet another huge purpose for why we need a backend. Remember, backend means we execute on the server-side or at the backside of the show which also means outside the browser in this context. Anyone can monitor and get your front-end code via developer tools, so it is a fool’s play to store sensitive data there from a security point of view.
Learn DevOps and Git (Docker, Heroku, AWS)
To showcase to the world your web developer skills, hosting your web application is a must. Your prospective future employer would definitely want to see your previous work, even if it’s unfinished.
Learn how to use Git so that you can host your projects on GitHub Pages which will not cost you anything. GitHub pages are free, the only disadvantage is you can only host client-side code. If you are going to host your API, you are going to have to spin up your own server with Heroku, AWS, or Digital Ocean.
Approximately, nine out of ten teams use Git to share code. Learning Git makes you more employable since you’re already in the loop of team collaboration.
Start your job search for web development positions
You have almost reached the finish line but still, your actual journey begins here. You have to start applying to companies.
Find and apply to any and all the job openings you can find. Make sure to be completely transparent with your employer about the fact that you’re a junior developer and this is your first gig. Honesty is always the best policy and it takes you places— always start off your new relationship on the right foot.
When you’re applying for engineering jobs, do a little research and try to understand the expectations of the juniors looking for jobs that will help you. For the preparations for a job interview, you can join AttainU and get well-versed with the latest trends in the interview questions and sorts.
Conclusion
Starting out is never easy and giving up often seems like the easy way out. But the hard way is always the most fruitful, and to fulfill your dream of becoming a web developer in India or maybe even becoming the best web developer.
The only advice I would have is to be open to learning new things and being curious about new things because companies today are looking for people who are inquisitive and hungry to learn new things and are quicker than others in learning.
Hoping that this guide will help you so that you go ahead can dive into this world and come out with flying colors.