The rapidly evolving technology is having a great impact on our lives. Things that were once only part of fiction books have become a reality.
Anyways, let’s not go too far. We are not going to discuss AI here, but something that has been around since the invention of the internet.
Web technology has been prevalent since the internet has reached every corner of the world. From social media to entertainment to education, whatever you surf online is actually a website.
The web development landscape will forever be changing; and so will the required skills to become a web developer.
In 2021, with the rise of advanced back-end and front-end technologies, your pathway to becoming a web developer is different than it was 10 years ago.
If you’re fascinated by web development work and want to be a high-paid web developer in 2021, you’d love to know about your way forward.
Giddy up, because this is what we are going to discuss in this article!
1.Start with the Basics
Every field has some basics. For instance, any aspiring writer would work on the grammar first before studying advanced material.
In web development, HTML and CSS are this base. Without learning these two, you will have no idea about web development.
The concepts you will learn in Hypertext Mark-up language and Cascading Style Sheets will help you to understand the front-end and back-end of a web page.
Regardless of the back-end development language you choose, you can’t create functionalities without having solid knowledge of HTML and CSS.
Fortunately, it takes only a couple of weeks (if you dedicate 3-4 hours per day to learning) to learn both.
YouTube, W3Schools, Khan academy, and there are dozens of free online resources available to learn both HTML and CSS.
2.Explore Different Languages
Don’t just jump on the bandwagon. Take your time and explore different web development Languages. You are not supposed to learn all of them, but the ones that sound easy to you and are high in demand in the market.
Take the example of PHP, it was once the favorite language of web developers to write functionalities. Once, it was unmatchable. But today, it’s gradually losing its charm as there are better options available.
However, it might be the case that PHP is still a lucrative skill in your region. In case you feel you can win handsome gigs with PHP, there’s no harm in learning it.
3.Learn OOP Concepts
Learning OOP concepts should be your first priority, irrespective of the language you’re learning. There’s little demand for core programming, as it’s an era of frameworks and libraries.
In Object-Oriented Programming, you will learn to create functions, overriding and overloading the functions you have created. Encapsulation and inheritance are two other important OOP concepts.
Also, you will learn how to use the existing functions in other projects to save time.
4.Pick One Language & Become Obsessed With it
Have you ever met developers who are obsessed with a particular language?
Java developers admire the features of Java. PHP developers think it’s the best option for creating functional applications. C# developers feel it’s the best choice for creating desktop applications.
When it comes to web development, you have plenty of options. But you must pick the most advanced, trending one to make yourself stand out among the best in a job interview or any freelance platform.
The key is not to be a jack of all trades but a specialist of one or two languages.
Or, if you want to be an expert in multiple languages, you need to go step by step. Maybe you can start with JavaScript and later learn its libraries and frameworks.
If you have opted for PHP, your first step would be to learn its syntax and practice it until you feel confident about your knowledge. Then, you can choose a framework to build functional websites for the sake of practice and portfolio.
Make sure you get access to premium resources while learning a back-end language. Free tutorials are not always worth it. Plus, they are often outdated.
Here are some of the platforms where you can get paid, advanced training from experts:
- Coursera
- Codeacademy
- Pluralsight
- Treehouse
- Upskill
- Udemy
5.Team Up with Experts
Teaming up with experts while learning a particular technology is the shortest way to excellence. They can share their life-long experiences with you.
This way, you won’t repeat the mistakes they made, and you will only walk on the right track instead of derailing dozens of times before finding the right path to excellence.
If you live in New York, you can look for a web design company New York to earn an internship opportunity in a highly productive and learning environment.
Likewise, if you live somewhere else, there must be companies offering internship opportunities to aspiring web developers. You can even find remote opportunities as the pandemic has made remote working a norm.
Whatever your current level is as a web developer and wherever you live, we wish you all the best for this amazing journey!
