Beginner's Guide to Web Development

If you are reading this article, you may have some interest in web development, or even want to learn web development. This article shows a path you can follow to become a web developer. As a beginner's guide, this article starts from what to learn to how to specialize. It may be helpful to you who are planning to get into web development.

Front-end VS back-end

Maybe you will think that the initial gap is front-end and back-end, so let us first look at what front-end and back-end are.

Front-end

Web applications are classified as distributed applications according to the client-service architecture. So part of our code runs on the client side, and part of it runs on the server side. The part of the application that runs on the client side (in most cases, the client is our web browser) is called the front end. The most common technology combination used for front-end development is HTML+CSS+JavaScript. Front-end experts often use these technical development expertise to create the front-end of a web application.

Backend

Backend developers write the code that runs on the server. Usually, this part of the work requires connecting to the database for reading/writing data, reading/writing files, making business logic, etc. In some cases, the business logic resides on the client, in which case the client is often used in the form of a Web service to serve data from the database. Backend developers are typically proficient in a web programming language and a database management system.

You can master both the front-end and the back-end. Of course, generally speaking, web developers prefer one of them and only understand the other. There are many people who specialize in one. Although there is a dividing line between the two, there is no limit on which side should do what. Sometimes the front-end is used only for visual presentation and all the work is done on the back-end. Sometimes the backend only serves data, and all calculations and functions are located on the frontend. It is a relationship of design and structure that defines which party does what.

Programming Languages

There are many programming languages ​​available for web development. When we choose the front end, the de facto standard language is JavaScript. When it comes to choosing a backend, there are many to choose from, and here are some of the popular ones:

PHP

JavaScript

Ruby on Rails (works with the Ruby programming language)

ASP.NET (works with . net programming language)

Java EE

Python

This is just a part of it. Your choice should be based on the evaluation of some factors, such as the job market, the hosting environment of the web application, the learning resources available, and the available learning time and the development community around you.

If you want to become a web developer, the most important factor from a personal perspective should be the job market. You should analyze the job market you are in (or want to be in) and choose a language with a large number of job openings. Another important factor is the hosting environment, for example PHP hosting is much cheaper than Java hosting. If you are developing an intranet application that will be hosted within an organization, Java EE may be a good choice. But if you want your application to be online, Java EE may be much more expensive than other languages.

With the popularity of Node.js, JavaScript has become a popular choice for back-end developers. However, it is still a fairly new and immature technology. Therefore, it is not recommended for people who are new to web development.

Personally, PHP has the easiest learning curve, cheap hosting environment, rich learning resources and relatively easy development environment. This is a good choice for beginners. In addition, ASP.NET is also a good choice. Microsoft provides a lot of learning resources, free development tools, and a fairly rich environment. If you like the Microsoft ecosystem, then you might consider ASP.NET.

Frameworks

If you are a beginner, give yourself some time to learn a framework. Frameworks are libraries of code that simplify the work of web developers. Frameworks give web applications a structure, which helps developers handle some tasks more easily and more efficiently than if they had to write everything themselves. If you want to become a professional web developer, you must learn at least one framework to speed up your development.

There are many frameworks you can learn currently, you must evaluate your needs. If you choose PHP, it is recommended that you consider Laravel as an option. If you choose ASP.NET, then you can choose to learn ASP.NET MVC and EntityFramework.

Web development can be huge and you may want to specialize in one type of application. Take the content management system (CMS) of a Web website as an example. If you choose PHP, it is recommended that you continue to use WorldPress. WorldPress allows you to create websites and blogs, and it can also be extended through default or custom plug-ins and themes to adapt to more complex business applications.

You will find that there are a large number of frameworks behind any language you choose, so based on the language you choose, you will deal with different frameworks.

Next step

In the first tip, even if you choose to specialize in front-end or back-end, you should have some knowledge of the other end. If you do this, your team will perform better. If you have learned a language and mastered a framework. Maybe you should consider starting a new one. Programming languages ​​have their own concepts and paradigms. Knowing two or more programming languages ​​can give you a better knowledge and understanding of how to solve programming languages, which will make you a A more "fluent" developer. As mentioned earlier, you must consider many factors when choosing a language. You can slowly expand your list of options down the road. If you are reading this article and are a web development expert, you are also welcome to share your encounters during the development process in the comments at the end of the article.