Beginner’s Guide to Web Development

What is web development?

Web development is the work involved in developing a website for the Internet (World Wide Web) or an intranet (a private network). The term Web Development is made up of two words: web, which refers to websites, web pages, or anything else that operates through the internet, and development, which refers to the process of creating an application from the ground up.

 

Types of Web Development

There are three kinds of Web development specialization:

• Front-end development: It deals with behavior and visuals that run in the user browser. It refers to the client-side of the application. A front-end dev takes care of layout, design, and interactivity using HTML (skeleton for website), CSS(style website), and JavaScript (provide a dynamic behavior to website.). Frontend Frameworks and Libraries: AngularJS, React.js, VueJS, jQuery, Bootstrap, Material UI, Tailwind CSS, jQuery UI.
• Back-end development: It deals with the servers. It is used to store and arrange data. It is the part of the website that users cannot see and interact with. The backend of the web consists of the server that hosts the website, an application for running it, and a database to contain the data. Back-end developers use tools like MySQL, Oracle, and SQL Server to find, save or edit data and deliver it back to the user in front-end code. The backend dev uses a variety of server-side languages (PHP, Java, Python, Node.js) to ensure that the server, the application, and the database run smoothly together. Some of the backend frameworks are :

1. Node.js is a runtime environment that allows software developers to use JavaScript to launch web projects on both the frontend and backend.
2. Laravel is considered one of the best PHP frameworks for web application development. It helps build wonderful apps using an expressive but simple syntax.
3. Django is a collection of Python libs allowing you to quickly and efficiently create a quality Web application and is suitable for both frontend and backend.
4. Rails or Ruby on Rails is an open-source framework based on the Ruby programming language. Developers don’t have to rewrite every single piece of code in the web application development process while using RoR.
5. ASP.NET is a web application framework developed and marketed by Microsoft to allow programmers to build dynamic websites. It allows you to use a full-featured programming language such as C# to build web applications easily.

• Full-stack development: It deals with both client and server software development. Web API (Application Programming Interface) is used heavily by many web and mobile applications, as well as gadgets (such as the Amazon Echo) which is a software intermediary that allows two applications to talk to each other to create connections between different applications. Some APIs are (REST, JSON, SOAP, GSON, XML-RPC, AES)

 

Web Development Roadmaps

You can learn web programming regardless of your school background. The only obstacle to learning it is one you have built for yourself.

Front-End Roadmap

Step 1: Understanding basic on HTML CCS and JavaScript

Step 2:  Learn in-depth about Forms Icons in HTML and similarly Flex and Grid in CSS and on the JavaScript to access HTML DOM.

Step 3: Learn a framework.

Step 4: Build your own responsive projects as tic tac toe or weather app.

Back-End Roadmaps

Step 1:  Learn a Language and Database (organized collection of data, stored electronically in a computer system). There are two major categories of the database: SQL (table-based like PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle) and NoSQL(stores document, key-value, graph, or wide-column lime Firebase, MongoDB, Cassandra, InfluxDB ).

Step 2: Learn a backend Framework: For faster application development frameworks are there for each programming language.

Step 3: Get deep into Caching, Security, and Testing:

A cache is a high-speed data storage tier that stores a subset of data. It allows you to reuse previously retrieved or computed data efficiently. There are three types of caching: CDN, Server Side, Client Side.

Backend Testing is a testing method that checks the server-side or database of web applications or the software. Some of the testings you should know about are: Integration Testing, Unit Testing, Functional Testing

 

Let’s figure out  Some questions everyone has including myself when I started learning web development

Q 1: Is web development a good career?

According to U.S. News, a web developer is the 8th-best tech career to have, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects web developer employment to grow 8% over the next decade

Q 2: What are libraries and frameworks?

Libraries and frameworks are essentially sets of prewritten code. A library contains a collection of useful code, grouped together to be reused later. The purpose of a library is to enable developers to reach the same end goal while writing less code to get there.

A framework contains ready-made components and tools that enable the developer to write code faster, and many frameworks also contain libraries. It gives the developer a structure to work from.

Q 3: The difference between web development and web design

If a car were being constructed, a web developer would be in charge of all the functional components, such as the engine, wheels, and gears, while the designer would be in charge of both the visual and the functional features.

Q 4:  Web development vs. software engineering

The difference is that software engineers focus on operating systems, whereas web developers focus on developing websites and web applications.

 

Thank you for reading! If you have any questions, please leave a comment.