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advice and updates for IT professionals and employers.

Career Spotlight: Web Developer

Getting started in web development can be exciting and daunting. There’s a lot to look forward to, especially as technology advances and companies experiment with different projects. However, there can be a big learning curve in the web development world, and there’s often a necessity to keep sharpening your skills to keep up with a fast-paced world.   

If you’re interested in becoming a web developer, here are a few skills and tools you should learn and a couple of other tricks that will set you apart from the crowd.   

  1.  Start With Coding Basics: All aspiring web developers should visit a website like Code Academy or a similar training program to understand how to code with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Practice with each of these languages until you get the fundamentals down, and then use what you’ve learned to build web pages and sites. Doing so gives you a good foundation that can propel you to other languages.  
  2. Get A Feel For Design: Even if you’re not interested in front-end development, web developers should at least have a basic understanding of how to think like a designer and at least know the basics of various design tools. Head to a website like Lynda.com to find courses with a web design emphasis.   
  3. Focus On Learning A Library/Framework: The vast majority of jobs in the web development world are going to require some knowledge of a JavaScript library/framework like React or Vue. Most people like to start with React due to the abundance of training courses but aim to learn more than one framework to put your skills to the test and level up your web development skills.  
  4. Understand Responsive Design: Responsive design skills are an essential tool for any web developer. Understanding how to use a program like Bootstrap will make design a lot easier and help you get a sense of what responsive web design looks like in practice.     

Track Your Bugs and Mistakes

A lot of web developers don’t want to think about mistakes. If you take time to carefully back up your work and log times where there are bugs and errors, you will find that you learn different web design principals much faster. Plus, you’ll have great benchmarks to look back on as you keep learning new skills.  

Are you looking to start a career as a web developer? 

At Morton, our team of experienced professionals in the Richmond VA area is ready to help jump start your career in web development by connecting you with the right companies. Check out our online job portal to get an idea about the skills businesses are looking for and apply at the same time.   

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