Do you know info.cern.ch was the first website on the Internet published on Aug 6, 1991?
Today after 29 years, there are more than 1.5 billion published websites on the Internet out of which more than 300 million are currently active.
Most of these websites on the Internet are built using HTML, CSS, and Javascript (To keep things simple let's not talk about the fancy js frameworks for now. )
According to stack overflow developer survey 2020, javascript is the most used programming language by developers.
So, it's clear that there is a lot of demand for this technology.
Before we talk about how to learn web development and what are the steps, let's find your motivation behind building for the web.
Q. Do I need a Computer Science Degree to become a web developer or get a job?
- No, you don't need to be an engineer and have a computer science degree. Whoever you are and wherever you are, you can become a web developer if you have a laptop, internet connection, a determination to learn and change your life.
By learning this technology, you can make money online by full-time job or by freelancing or building your own app/company.
Q. What's the salary range for a web developer?
- A web developer in India makes from Rs. 20k/month to Rs. 4-5 lakh/month, depending on the expertise. The majority of entry-level full-stack/frontend web developer salary in India is Rs. 5-12 LPA. ( $6600 - $16,000 / year)
I feel sorry for people who are working at Rs. 20-30k/month as a web developer, the companies are exploiting you. Upskill yourself and know your value.
Q. What's the day to day work look like as a web developer?
- Take an example of a website where you are reading this blog i.e Hash node. Your work can be building an app like this or improving existing features, add a new feature like a comment on the blog, sharing functionality, word count widget, image uploader, making the website responsive, etc.
Web Development in itself is a very broad domain. So, if you have decided you want to become a web developer, narrow down whether you want to become a frontend developer, backend developer, or full-stack web developer.
Umm, confused with frontend, backend, and full-stack ??
There are 3 roles in web development.
1. Frontend developer
The interface to which any user interaction with a website is the Frontend. Basically, frontend developers are responsible for the development and design of UI ( User Interface) components.
Typically, a person enters into the field of front-end development by learning to develop HTML, CSS, and JavaScript which commonly runs in a web browser.
A few years back, the tech stack of frontend developers was HTML, CSS, jquery. That pretty can do the designing of web components. But, nowadays these roles have evolved a lot.
In 2020, the frontend developer tech stack looks like HTML, CSS, React/Vue/Angular, Javascript including knowledge of tons of tools and libraries like npm, babel, webpack.
Don't worry, these tech jargons are not as difficult as it looks. We will talk about how and when to learn these things.
2. Backend Developer
In common, There are two types of websites, static and dynamic websites.
- In a static website, the data and content are hardcoded using HTML and CSS. For example, the website where you are reading this blog is not a static site but a dynamic site, which means If the blog owner changes some information in the blog, it will reflect you(reader) immediately.
These types of websites are dynamic sites.
Any dynamic site needs a cloud database and some backend logic that can decide what to do when the user does something.
Tech Stack for a backend developer - NodeJS, PHP, Python, Golang, MYSQL Database, MongoDB, Postgres,
These are some common backend technologies used in 2020.
3. Full-Stack Developer
A full-stack web developer has an understanding of both frontend and backend and can develop both client-side and server-side apps.
Now, you might be thinking why should I do both if I can get a job by learning either frontend or backend.
A full-Stack developer is one of the hottest roles in the industry. Being a full-stack developer, you have knowledge of both frontend and backend, and the ability to build a server enabled app from scratch. And that's why these roles are most sought in startup companies.
Tech stack involves both from frontend and backend.
If you want to make a career in web development, start with the frontend, know the basics of HTML, CSS, create few static sites, and decide your interest.
That's it for the first blog of Web Developer Series, in the next blog I will post more about Frontend development, how you can get started and resources you can follow.
If you have any question, feel free to reach out to me on [Twitter(twitter.com/HQdeepak)
Thanks for reading!