How To Become A Web Developer: From Zero To Mastery
By: Michael Z
Tags: Development, Web, Web Development, Software Development, Careers

Web developers are standing at the gates of the digital era. The websites we explore, the products we purchase, and the blogs we follow are all powered by the web engineers who get the websites up and running. They are heavily wrapped up in the web development process, from constructing the layout and crafting an eye-pleasing home page to pondering technical subtleties like traffic scalability.

With the proliferation of web apps and digitized businesses, it’s no wonder that well-versed web programmers are coveted within mere minutes. After all, someone has to create and keep tabs on all the online tools and platforms we religiously use.

Not only is the web development niche fascinating and fun to explore, but it’s also a never-ending source of career opportunities. It also helps you become employed into the future. Although this job is often shrouded in mystery, we’re here to demystify one of the most flexible roles newly-minted devs can leverage.

This guide will get you on a whirlwind tour of this amazing profession, cover niche-specific skills and background as well as passes in review existing market trends, and work-related nuances.

Anyway, what is the focal area of web developers?

If you’ve gone down even the shallowest Google rabbit hole, you must have at least a general idea of this tech job.

Essentially, web development refers to activities connected with website functionalities development. In simple words, a web coder is a person that takes a web design and turns it into a website by writing lines of complicated code. As every website requires a specific set of technologies, there are three specific developer categories, including:

Front-end programmers

Back-end developers

Full-stack specialists

From a client standpoint, the first developer category is accountable for the website look and feel, aka texts, buttons, images, and views that a user sees on the screen. Front-end devs enable users to interact with data in a safe and easy-to-use way with the help of such development tools like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Back-end web coders are the power behind the throne. The back-end part of the site includes servers and databases that are built and supported by back-end technologies. To weave server-side and client-side together, the specialist uses server-side technologies like PHP, Ruby, Python, Java, and many other programming languages combined with .Net, Spring, Symphony and other special frameworks. Additionally, back-end programmers use various SQL Server tools.

Finally, we have full-stack web engineers who are the Swiss army knife of the coding world. They are engaged in both the front- and back-ends of a website. It means that they work with a gamut of web components, providing fast and reliable solutions in a short amount of time.

Although this tech job has a steep learning curve, a shortage of web developers results in a flexible entry point for tech newbies. Think of it as your perfect chance to shine bright among not-so-stellar professionals.

Web development salaries

If you think about a career in this field, you’ll want to know how much money you can make. This niche has steadily been on the rise during the past five years and is foreseen to surge further. Data from Payscale suggests that in 2020 the median web developer salary lies in the range from $40k to $88k depending on the level of seniority.

If we look closer to the pay by experience level, we’ll see that a newly-minted web coder with less than 1-year of experience can expect to get an annual wage of $50,530 based on more than 700 salaries. Junior-level web specialists with 1–4 years of experience price their services at $57,772 based on about 5,800 salaries, whereas a mid-level expert with 5+ years of experience gets a raise of $66,724. A web guru with 10+ years of experience makes as much as $71,203 based on 1,087 salaries.

Source: https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Web_Developer/Salary

What it takes to become a web developer: Step-by-step

Web development is a versatile vocational area, which offers bright minds multiple ways to obtain the training and experience needed for a head start. A career in this industry is demanding, well-compensated, and brings a lot to the table in terms of job security. Let us go over the steps that will help you navigate the terrain in this industry:

Choose a developer specialty

Each website part lays the foundation for another building block, and it’s a challenging job to ensure seamless website operation. Based on the specific job type (front-end, back-end, full-stack), web engineers should be proficient in using multiple software tools and adept at specific programming languages. However, they should also be T-shaped (aka multi-skilled) enough to contribute to all parts of the project.

For starters, try to focus on one specific area of web development to lay the ground for future education and practice.

2. Pick up some education

Let’s face the truth: most companies do not care about your education. The thing that interests them the most is knowing how to build a website. From this standpoint, the web development niche has a low threshold of entry, as it’s possible to walk this path with or without a tech degree.

If you have a passion for learning and exploring the world of web development, the modern data-driven world provides excellent resources online to help you pick up the needed skills. Your only limit is your enthusiasm and motivation to learn and thrive.

However, it should be noted that web development is more than just coding. If you have a solid knowledge of software development principles and practices dressed up with critical thinking, you’re more likely to get the upper hand in the vast talent pool.

3. Get necessary qualifications aka hard skills

Although the ability to think out of the box is important, nothing beats a robust set of specialized skills. Web developer skills refer to the specific abilities needed to land a job and successfully perform in a web developer role. Companies need team players who can drive value and make things work as intended, rather than an accredited degree in web development.

Among the staple programming tools that power this profession are HTML, CSS, JavaScript as well as Angular/Vue/React framework (for front-end) — all these go hand and in hand and should be used in combination. You’d also need a thorough knowledge of back-end languages like PHP/Java/C# that relies on the basic knowledge of SQL databases (for back-end).

Moreover, a back-end coder should know at least one server-side coding framework like Spring for Java, Symphony for Python, .NET for C#, and others, considering the language you pick up.

4. Brush up your coding skills

The best way to master the art of coding is to do it religiously. Consider engaging yourself in test projects to help build your programming acumen. Or you can become an avid web portal user, which will help draw in potential employers in search of fresh talent. While these options can be the easiest alternative, there’s one more thing that can amplify your coding art. All you have to do is to scour the web and find a website that catches your eye. Then try to recreate the functionality without looking at the code or watching any tutorials.

It will help you build up your portfolio that is your main tool to win over your future employers. And feel free to play with different languages and technologies — you don’t have to stick to the most used ones. The world of web development is constantly evolving and you can never know what tool will make it to the top tomorrow. So just pick the one that you enjoy.

Finally, web development boot camps provide you with an insane amount of actionable knowledge and plenty of projects that you can do. It’s perfect for complete beginners with zero experience in web building.

5. Start small and build an online portfolio

Rome wasn’t built in a day. A successful web coder career cannot be built within mere days either. You need to start small, engage in small projects, and grow from there. Once there’s something worth bragging about, go ahead and create a web page that showcases your skills.

If you find a web-based portfolio to be redundant, you can share your experience and gain awareness on social media and niche-specific platforms. However, a killer online web developer portfolio is a surefire method to show your skills to full advantage. Just make sure your website works flawlessly, without any glitches or lagging. Don’t be the cobbler who wears the worst shoes.

The Final Word

As the digital space continues to scale up, companies lean on web developers to serve their communities, making this career an attractive option. If you are ready to take a big plunge to start a career in web development, set off by learning various development skills and techniques.

We hope that this guide has brought this industry to light and provided the motivation needed to take off.