March 11th, 2021
So, you have decided to dive into the world of front-end development but you are not sure where to begin or what to learn. In this post, I will share with you 5 things you must learn to help kickstart your journey to becoming a front-end developer.
Every website you see on the internet was built using HTML and CSS. HTML is the standard markup language for web pages. This essentially gives your pages a defined structure e.g. title, subheading, images, paragraphs, etc. CSS, on the other hand, takes the structure from the HTML to apply styling to a website and enhance its appearance. With CSS, you can not only style your web pages but you can also create unique layouts with tools such as CSS Grid & Flexbox, make your site viewable for various screen devices, and many more. When you have learned the basics of HTML & CSS you will then be ready to create simple websites. The browser is your canvas!
The next thing to learn after learning HTML & CSS is to learn JavaScript. Why learn JavaScript out of all the languages out there? because it is the only programming that you can use in the browser. If you want to take your website to the next level then JavaScript is your friend. With this language, you can create things like a responsive hamburger menu, an image gallery, a form with validation fields, etc. The possibilities are endless! Once you feel comfortable coding in JavaScript you can then move onto learning a JS framework like React or Vue.
You will most likely be using either Chrome or Firefox as your main web browser for web development. Both of these browsers have excellent Developer Tools which you can use to debug your code with the JavaScript console, inspect the DOM, experiment with CSS, view your site at different viewports, etc. The Developer Tools will be your saving grace when you stumble upon any errors in your code.
Version Control is the practice of tracking and managing your code whilst developing a website or an application. The main benefits of Version Control include; backups of your code, keep history and track changes through commit messages, using branches to experiment with your projects, and collaborating with other developers. There are many Version Control Systems but Git is the most popular and widely used VCS. You will most likely be working with Git alongside Github which is a repository hosting service that uses Git to store code. If you are looking to work for an agency then employers will look to see if you know how to use Git. Learning it is a must!
It may look scary at first but learning how to use the terminal will help you thrive as a developer. When you are working on projects you will likely be using Git commands, installing & managing dependencies, creating and deleting folders, etc. My advice would be to start learning basic commands which will help you become more comfortable using the Command Line and then begin learning basic Git commands when you are working with version control in your project.
To conclude, learning the fundamentals is crucial. These five tips will help you in your journey and allow you to explore other areas of web development as well.
Hope this helps.