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All You Need to Know About A Career In Web Development

A lucrative and hot career prospect in 2021, web development has experienced massive growth amid the Covid-19 pandemic. More and more businesses are shifting to digitisation and there is a surge in the demand for web developers. For a beginner or fresher, writing endless lines of code may seem intimidating and complicated; but that’s why we are here. To clear all the skills besides coding that one must possess to become a good web developer. In this article, we will focus on all you need to know before starting your career in web development.

So, what is web development?

Web development refers to the process of building websites and web-based applications. Its primary focus lies in building the entire technical architecture of a website from coding to programming.

There are mainly two types of web developers-

  • Front-end development caters to what the actual person sees upon opening a website. Everything from user interface, experience and overall layout falls under the purview of front-end development.
  • Back-end development refers to the server-side of things that are not visible to the website user directly. It involves database management, website servers and overall infrastructure on which the website is built.

There is also a third type of web developer known as a full stack developer who looks after both the front-end as well the back-end of the website.

Now, here are the top skills required to establish a career in web development-

HTML/CSS/JS

HTML, CSS and JavaScript are the three building blocks of website development that every developer must be thorough with. HTML tags are mainly used for the front-end development of a website and provide the basic framework. CSS sets the style behind HTML while JavaScript makes the website attractive by adding animations, visuals and graphics.

API (Application Programming Interface)

APIs are an essential web development tool for managing third party data. It is highly important since it facilitates web developers to use certain functions without sharing the code. Some popular, in-demand APIs are Rest API, HTTP request methods, CRUD operation and so on. There are some public APIs on Github which you can check out.

Git & Github

Since we have just touched upon Github, let us know how Git and Github are useful for web development. Git is perhaps the most popular version control framework out there which is used by web developers across organisations. So, if you are looking to make a career in web development, learning Git for your version control needs is a must.

Github, on the other hand, acts as a community where web developers can push their git repositories to host their code. In simple terms, it is a great platform for web developers to meet like-minded people, collaborate on various projects and work together.

Authentication

Many websites such as Twitter, Facebook and e-commerce sites like Flipkart and Amazon require users to sign up, login and log out. All these functions fall under user authentication which keeps track of various users on a particular website. To allow users to securely carry out all functions related to their account, authentication comes into play; making it an indispensable skill.

DevTools & DevOps

Browser DevTools such as Chrome DevTools and Firefox DevTools are a great way to create, test and debug any web application. DevTools tabs such as components, reassure and network are further useful for editing HTML tags, CSS properties and even JavaScript errors.

DevOps, on the other hand, refers to a set of practices that combine software development (Dev) and IT operations (Ops). It helps in the knowledge of scaling and migrating your website between different platforms such as AWS, Netlify, Heroku and more. There are many such platforms so to become a good web developer you must have some idea about the popular ones and how to maintain your code on them.

MVC (Model, View, Controller)

Working on MVC makes web development faster, easier and less tedious by separating the entire application into three parts. Many high-level frameworks such as Laravel, Angular and Django are based on MVC patterns. Learning this skill will help you in your journey as a web developer immensely since learning any future framework of different programming languages will become easy.

In a vast field such as web development, the learning never stops. The aforementioned key skills are sufficient to give you a good start in the industry but you must continue to learn. It involves not just technical skills but also essential soft skills as well. Enroll in a web development course and kickstart your career today!

How to Land A Job As A Junior Web Developer

How to Land A Job As A Junior Web Developer

How to Land A Job As A Junior Web Developer

In the world of tech, one of the most popular and in demand jobs for a fresher is that of a junior web developer or also known as an entry level front end developer. Like many young enthusiasts, if you have learned web development then kudos! You have chosen a great career path. But, how do you kickstart your journey and get your first job? Well, that is what this blog is all about.

Here are some pointers on how to land a job as a junior web developer-

Building A Relevant Portfolio

Personal portfolio and sample work projects will be the first and foremost thing potential employers will see before hiring you. Make sure your portfolio contains a wide range of things which can showcase all your skills as a web developer. Try to make it as diversified and unique as possible in order to stand out from the competition.

Doing Freelance Projects

Working as a freelancer before landing a job is a great way to establish trustworthiness with your potential employee as well as having some real world experience that will help in your selection process. It is not necessary to have huge clients. You can start off even by doing some unpaid work, then going forward with small paid clients and so on. Some good websites for freelancers are Upwork, Fiverr, PeoplePerHour, Guru, 99 Designs and so on.

Put Your Code On GitHub

Creating a GitHub account is a must for web developers since it serves as a great repository for your projects. GitHub sets the industry standards for things such as version control and regularly contributing to it via your best code shows your dedication to potential employers in terms of uplifting the entire community for web developers.

Work On An Open Source Project

Open source projects are those kinds of projects where the source code is publicly available and can be modified by anyone. Getting involved in good ones such as Ruby on Rails, Linux, MySQL and JavaScript frameworks will definitely hone your skills. Such a type of hands-on experience will benefit in your interview too. You can find these open source projects on GitHub Explore itself and can start out by small things such as debugging, beta testing and better documentation.

Participate In A Hackathon

Hackathons are a modern, exciting and innovative way of learning new skills. It is a team event where you meet like-minded people who share similar interests as you and try to hack a code as a team. These hackathons are generally sponsored by good partners and recruiters. Your performance makes recruiters notice you and some even get job offers on the spot! To participate in one, try looking at sites such as Devpost and Angelhack.

Polish Your Skills & Resume

Learning new, relevant skills and updating your resume regularly is a great way to keep up with the latest trends since this is such an innovative field. If you do not evolve and keep up with the trends, it will not reflect in your resume and potential employers will not want to hire someone with old skills. Continuously refining your resume, learning new skills as well as sharpening existing ones is key.

These tips will only work if you have already learnt the skills of becoming a web developer and are now aiming to land a job. If you haven’t already enrolled in a web development course then now is the best time to do so. The job opportunities, career prospects and salary packages are soaring sky high!

How To Become A Front-end Developer - A Complete Guide for You

How To Become A Front-end Developer – A Complete Guide for You

How To Become A Front-end Developer - A Complete Guide for You

I want you to close your eyes for a second and think about the last website you had visited. Now, try to recollect each small component of the website such as the central positioning of the search bar, the menu section at the top left and login credentials on the top right. Have you ever wondered about the layout of the website? Who decides what will be placed where and how to change it if it doesn’t look good? It is all the responsibility of someone known as a front-end developer.

Who is a front-end developer?

A front-end developer, also known as a front-end web developer, is someone who is responsible for building the parts of a website or an application which users see and interact with. He is responsible for implementing the design and interface through coding and other tools.

It is important to mention here that there are mainly three types of developers- frontend, backend and full stack developers. So how are backend and full stack developers different from frontend developers? Backend developers take care of all the behind the scenes of a website such as infrastructure and database, while full stack developers carry out the role of both the frontend and backend developers.

Does this career path interest you? Well, it certainly would interest many, seeing just how lucrative and in demand it is. On that note, let us look at the skills required to become a front-end developer.

HTML & CSS- The Basics Matter

It is impossible to even imagine a career in front end development without being fully proficient with its building blocks- HTML & CSS. HTML (HyperText Markup Language) takes care of the structure of the web page while CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is used to style and design it. With the help of HTML, you lay the foundation of your web page and using CSS, you can enhance it by adding colours, layouts, fonts, etc. You will not find any job listing for front end development that does not require HTML & CSS.

JavaScript, DOM & jQuery

Okay, so you have learnt HTML and CSS to create a website, but what’s next? The next step is learning the world’s most popular programming language, JavaScript (JS). It is JavaScript that allows us to make a website interactive and add loads of functions to it such as scrolling, animations, audio/video, updating maps in real time and so on. Combine JS with DOM (Document Object Model) and you can manage your website much more efficiently.

jQuery is a popular JavaScript library consisting of innumerable modules, extensions and plugins. Instead of coding everything from scratch, jQuery lets you do these common tasks using just a single line code. You can use it for things like automatically resizing and adjusting grid layouts, introducing a countdown timer to your website, and much more. Who doesn’t like saving time?

Learning Popular Front End Frameworks

Front end frameworks are libraries of prewritten codes. In layman’s terms, instead of starting from an empty text file, you get a headstart if you use these so called frameworks. They increase efficiency, save time and make the development work simpler. Some of the popular JavaScript frameworks are AngularJS, ReactJS and Vue.js. Each has its strengths and weaknesses so pick the frameworks as per your project needs.

Talking about CSS specifically, Bootstrap is its most famous framework. To get the best results, developers often pair frameworks with one another such as Bootstrap with AngularJS.

Version Control Will Be Your Life Saviour

When you’re coding from scratch and something goes wrong midway, the last thing you want to do is begin from square one. This is where version control systems come into play with Git being the most widely used. You don’t have to manually fix all your errors, instead you can just go back to the previous version of source code and try a different method. You can easily track and control changes to your code. Trust me, It’s going to save you a lot of time and trouble.

Testing & Debugging

Bugs are a part and parcel of web development. Even the best of minds face this issue on a regular basis. Therefore, it is vital for you to understand how testing and debugging works. First, you run multiple tests on your code such as UI testing, unit testing and functional testing. Each test serves its own purpose. Debugging comes after this where you need to rack your brains and fix the errors by analysing the results of your test. Fortunately, there are programs such as Jasmine and Mocha which will speed up and simplify the process for you.

Ensuring Smooth Web Performance

Even if you have made the most attractive website out there, it will be of no use if it doesn’t perform well. Users these days demand smooth performance and if there is a loading delay of even a few seconds and a slight performance glitch, they tend to abandon the website. After all the hard work you have put in, you don’t want that to happen, right? In order to ensure high performance you need to compress images and minify CSS and JS, that is, removing unnecessary, extra characters in your code. Thankfully, automation tools like Grunt and Gulp will help you there.

Apart from these technical skills, if you have knowledge of basic UI/UX designing and wireframing, that would go a long way. Also, don’t forget about the soft skills one must possess to become a front end developer. These include good communication skills, collaboration, team work, creativity and a knack from problem solving. Since web development is evolving with each passing day, small things such as reading blogs, articles, following professional developers on social media will help your cause. Yes, do enroll in a front end web development course but the learning must never stop!