Recently, some people approached me asking for advice on how to get started as a front-end developer. With its ever changing technologies and frameworks, it can be quite difficult and overwhelming starting out in the field of front-end development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this blog post, you can find 10 tips on how to become a front-end developer!
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As a beginner, you might wonder which area of web development to pursue. If you\u2019re not 100% sure which one to follow then I recommend you read this blog post on how to become a full stack developer<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re already sure about front-end development, go ahead and read on.<\/p>\n\n\n When starting out in front-end, you might not be sure where to start. There are so many options available not only programming language-wise, but regarding tools, frameworks, and technologies as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So make sure to be prepared of open sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Or as Ivan would state it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Front-end development is like an ocean. You happen to have a ship, but no map. First learn the shallow waters, then go deep.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n I guess there\u2019s no way around it. Learn HTML & CSS. Why? Because the basics matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are all kinds of different online courses available on how to get started with HTML and CSS. First things first. Sign up at Online courses like Coursera<\/a> or Team Treehouse<\/a>. After finishing some initial courses, go ahead and create some static web pages and iterate over and over again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I also recommend developing some small UI elements for practicing your newly learned HTML & CSS skills. Codepen.io<\/a> is a great playground for that. Browse other people\u2019s projects and participate in the community there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Playing around with (small) UI elements is one thing. Creating an actual landing page or website is something different. There are many <\/span>landing page builders<\/span><\/a> that can help you get the job done but at some point, you will eventually start using JavaScript snippets.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t forget to challenge yourself by building first responsive elements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So there\u2019s only one way to becoming better at what you\u2019re doing: Keep learning, keep building. <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Putting these two together, build to learn! There’s no better way to learn than to get your hands dirty. You’ve probably heard this a hundred times by now, but it is for a good reason why this is the advice most often dished out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I guess there\u2019s no way around this. Believe it or not. Your reading skills greatly influence your path to becoming a great front-end developer. Especially when starting out, there\u2019s a lot of reading required. Why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n At first you\u2019ll probably read a lot of articles, guides and manuals on how to do different things. You\u2019ll also start reading other people\u2019s code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Or as Adam<\/a> (UX Lead at CoachUp) would state:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Combine that with a good book like Eloquent JavaScript<\/a>, and you can up your programming game very quickly.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you followed my tips from 1 to 3, you have probably already done a course or have read a lot of tutorials and are now able to throw together a website that doesn\u2019t involve using a website builder<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, that doesn\u2019t equate to being a \u201cfront-end developer\u201d. Knowing how to build a website<\/a> is a very small part of the front-end puzzle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I apologise if that sounds demotivating. But that\u2019s actually the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is a whole load of topics that you still should learn about. If we consider performance, testing, QA and many other areas, then you really need to become a deep diver as a front-end developer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As you start your journey with front-end development, you will need to decide on your toolkit and the services you need to to make your life easier. Learning about the different tooling options is an important thing. Great tools will help you enhance and automate your front-end development workflow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There will be an ocean of possibilities but soon enough, you\u2019ll find yourself using certain tools and apps. One of those tools will definitely be the Chrome developer tools. Why? Because you can play with HTML, CSS and JavaScript in real-time and this will give you the immediate feedback you need to learn quickly. OK, maybe this sounds a bit too exaggerated. But trust me on that. Version control will save you some sleepless nights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead of trying something and having it blow up in your face or hitting command+z a trillion times, you can simply trash your branch and roll back to what was working previously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So make sure to become an expert at Git<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTry Usersnap for Product Development<\/h2>Try Usersnap Now<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Front-end development skills needed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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1. Learn HTML & CSS. And become good at it.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
2. Build things.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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3. Read, read, read<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
4. There\u2019s more to front-end development than building a website<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
5. Know your tools<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, node, npm, bower and many more excellent tools are there to facilitate your daily work. And don\u2019t forget about versioning. \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n\n\n\n6. Version control will save your life.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n