So You Want to Be a Web Developer: Part 3 (Educational Resources)
Welcome everyone to part 3 of our new series entitled “So You Want to Be a Web Developer”. In part 2 of the series, we discussed the three fundamental web technologies that every aspiring web developer needs to learn in order to get started building websites.
In part 3 we’re going to share with you some of the best resources out there that you can use to learn these web technologies and get started actually coding and building websites. So let’s get down to business.
Web Resources
There are many different resources out there that you can use to help in learning web development. Some are free and others premium. Here are some of the best and most reputable websites on the subject that will help you along in your learning process.
Mozilla Developer Network (MDN)
Even if you’re already a seasoned web developer, the Mozilla Developer Network (or MDN for short) is an amazing resource to learn and brush up on web technologies. The MDN is all about the “open web”, thus they have created tons of documentation and articles pertaining to many web technologies and how to use them. You’ll probably spend a lot of time here.
CSS-Tricks
When it comes to building websites and coding in general, there are a lot of different things to remember and keep track of. Sometimes you spend hours trying to figure out why your code won’t work or isn’t doing what you expect it to. After all, we’re building websites that don’t have to look good in just Firefox or Chrome, but every mainstream web browser. When writing stylesheets for your web pages, CSS is no exception to this.
Back in the day, many web developers would flock to CSS-Tricks.com in order to learn some pretty great CSS tips and tricks for building websites. This website is pretty much a treasure trove of CSS knowledge. Today the website spans across all of the popular web technologies and teaches you basically how to be a front-end web developer. This website is definitely one you should save in your bookmarks.
CodeCademy
It use to be that as a developer, you would just read tutorials and books about web development, then hack away in your text editor trying out different examples provided as you go along. While this is still a great method for learning, interactive coding courses make learning how to build websites super easy and fun.
CodeCademy does just this by providing users with interactive coding and web development courses that teach you to step by step whatever web technology that you want to learn. You can keep track of all your lessons, get badges for completing lessons, and even pick up where you leave off every day. It’s a great resource and tool that has helped many people become competent and professional coders.
Lynda.com
If you’re serious about learning how to code and have a little extra cash to spare, Lynda.com is an invaluable tool for learning everything you could possibly want to know about any web-related topic. Professional web developers and companies often make very in-depth video courses that you can watch and follow along with, about the topic you’re interested in learning.
All the courses are typically very high quality here, and they have various instructors offering great material on different topics. If that’s not enough, being a member of Lynda.com also gives you access to every other topic/subject you may want to learn in addition to web development.
Recommended Books
Online resources are great for learning just about anything you want to learn. Sometimes though, there is nothing like sitting down with a good book to teach you what you want to know. Thankfully when it comes to the subject of web development, there is no shortage of books about the subject.
HTML and CSS: Design and Build Websites
This is hands down one of the best and most comprehensive books on learning HTML and CSS. You don’t have to have any knowledge of anything related to programming or web development in order to get started. The book is designed and written by author Jon Duckett, and I must say, it looks quite beautiful. The book is available in both paperback and hardcover.
JavaScript and jQuery: Interactive Front-End Web Development
Many people fell in love with HTML and CSS: Design and Build Websites by Jon Duckett when it was released back in 2011, and were wishing he would do another book about learning Javascript. Well, their wishes were granted back in June of 2014 when Jon Duckett released JavaScript and jQuery: Interactive Front-End Web Development.
This amazing book teaches JavaScript programming from the ground up. While the book is about programming in JavaScript, it teaches readers the fundamentals of programming in general, which apply to all programming languages. In addition to JavaScript by itself, the book teaches you about jQuery, AJAX, Web APIs and more. It’s a really great read and reference book all around that you’ll find yourself going back to quite often in your web development journey.
Eloquent JavaScript
If you’re looking for one of the best books out there on the subject of learning how to program in JavaScript, this should definitely be on your reading list. Eloquent JavaScript coins itself as being a modern introduction to programming. The book starts out teaching you the basics of programming and eventually goes into more advanced topics like object-oriented javascript programming and building applications in Node.js. Eloquent JavaScript is currently in its second edition and is totally free to read online or download. It’s also available in paperback editions.
Conclusion
Throughout your journey in learning web development, you’re going to find that Google is your friend. There are a lot of websites that you’ll come across when searching for solutions and learning about different web technologies both new and old. We’ve simply shown you some of our favourite websites and books that we find useful.
These definitely aren’t all the resources out there, but they are certainly some of the best that will help you get started. Let us know some of your favourite resources and books that have helped you, or that you’re reading now!
