Journeying into frontend development
Tags: webdev, javascript, programming, react
Published: 2023-01-05 13:06:41

Don’t compare your journey as a developer to someone else. Humans are different, and so are our cerebral capabilities. There is a roadmap to being a developer, but we all will travel at different paces. Even though we all have similar goals, we are following different routes and paces to achieve them. No two people’s journey is the same. Same as the road to becoming a Frontend Developer.

This is more like a story about how I got where I am. I am not as good as where I want to be, but I know I am better than I was yesterday. The most important thing is taking that first step, and following through on it.

When I started my journey, I planned on being comfortable with Javascript in 6 months. I had a timeframe mapped out about how and what I wanted to achieve in 6 months. So, how did I start?

1. HyperText Markup Language (HTML): This is the foundation of the internet, and as such, it is a very important course to know. Without HTML, we probably may not be using the browser for the internet. I never saw learning it as a problem when I started my journey. I knew it was the most basic, yet the most important foundational knowledge I needed to have, so my learning timeframe for HTML was One Week.

In that one week, I read a lot about HTML, doing as much as 8 hours a day. I knew I wanted to be a developer so badly, so I put in all my time every day for that one week, to learn the most important tags and elements I would be needing in my day-to-day life as a newbie developer.

If you’re reading this and you’re a beginner, don’t put any pressure on yourself. Take your time, learn at your pace, but give yourself a timeframe. I always advise other beginners like me to take up as much as one month if they need to, because, as the foundation in Frontend development, an in-depth understanding is key.

2. Cascading Style Sheet (CSS): The beauty of any web app depends on how well-written the app was styled. That is the essence of CSS. It beautifies and endears users to spend more time on your website. It is the glue that keeps users scrolling on your website.

This is a course that has a mind of its own I like to say. I never knew how tricky CSS was until I started writing proper projects. Because I thought it was just as basic as HTML, I didn’t spend so much time on it; I’m still paying for it right now. I dedicated 2 weeks to CSS and moved on like I was done, not knowing it was going to be a lifetime pain I’ll continue to deal with so long as I keep writing frontend codes.

This course isn’t to joke with. It needs to be taken seriously, most especially with topics like Responsive design, Flexbox and Grid. I will advise any newbie developer to take as much as one month or two to dissect and digest the importance of and how CSS works.

3. JavaScript: There is so much to write about this programming language, but I’m sure you’ve heard a lot about it as much. Javascript is the widest programming language I’ve ever encountered. I’ve had a stint with Java, Python and PHP, but I can say with all certainty that none of them is as broad as Javascript is.

Like you, I’ve heard and read a lot about Javascript so much that I started building a block of defense around my psyche that I was well prepared for it once I started learning it. Well, I’m about 2 years into Javascript, and I can tell you it broke all of my defenses. You can never be prepared enough for the tantrums Javascript would throw at you.

I thought I was well prepared, so I put a timeframe of 4 months to learn Javascript. Trust me, after 4 months, it felt like I was still in the introductory part. My solace from all of it is; I’ve read a lot from senior developers who have been working with Javascript for over 10 – 15 years, about how they still struggle with Javascript. So I knew for a fact I was not alone. You aren’t either.

If you’re a beginner, don’t make the same mistake as I did. Don’t set a timeframe to learn Javascript. Take all the time in the world to learn it and know it enough. This is a programming language that has several libraries and frameworks, and these libraries and frameworks all take a cue from Javascript. If all these libraries and frameworks pass away, the core language itself would remain. So it’s best to have very deep knowledge of the core language itself because that same knowledge is what you will need in React, Angular, Svelte or Vue.

The takeout point here is; to take your time to learn Javascript. It has come to stay.