A RoadMap to become a Web Developer
In the current age of the phenomenal rise of the technology stack, there are a large number of opportunities for us to become successful. A large variety of platforms and frameworks are being developed and widely used such that sometimes, its impossible to keep up with some. I, myself, mostly found it very hard to remember all the tools I could use in application development.
Many of my friends have asked me, “ What should I learn to be a Web Developer? There are many programming languages out there. It’s so confusing…”
Yes indeed, it may sometimes feel confusing and overwhelming when you start it for the first time. I will not say that it will be very simple afterwards, but it will be much less confusing.I’ll try and briefly introduce to you the different sections and stacks used in web app development
The Two and a Half Paths of Web Development
Generally, Web Development is classified into Front-end Development and Back-end Development. But in professional concerns, there is indeed another path: DevOps
Front-End Development generally deals withs User Interface/User Experience (UI/UX), Back-end Development handles Application Logic and DevOps handles the Application Server.
Front-End Development
If you're a guy who is interested in designing the system I think this would be the best path for you. Designing a responsive User Interface (UI) and delivering an effective User Experience (UX) is of utmost importance while developing a web application. In the last two years, we have seen a tremendous increase in technology stack for developing a highly interactive application.
Even though the base of any web application is still HTML, CSS and JavaScript, recently we can see many advanced Javascript frameworks such as ReactJS, AngularJS, VueJS, etc. More details can be found here. There is also the latest Web App development technology known as Progressive Web Apps (PWA).
Gone are the days of good old websites… Now its time for Web Apps only…
Back-end Development
Back-end development will be the path that is favourable for guys(and girls ) who like to code the application logic. This is where the real-tough end programming starts (though I’m not decreasing the level of front-end guys)…
For the backend, each individual can choose a programing language of their own choice (if it is suitable for web-development only 😜… Some kids have asked me if they can use C++ for web development… Of course, you can use it, if you would like to spend a week to deploy a Hello World program 😅).
The most famous languages used for backend are PHP, Python, NodeJS (uses JavaScript) and Ruby. There are multiple frameworks you can use with each of these programming languages like Laravel (PHP), Django (Python), Express (NodeJS) and Rails(Ruby). Check more here.
Choosing a stack is the choice of each programmer. You can choose what you think is right for you. If you chose wrong, don’t be despair, just choose another one the next time. 😊
DevOps
DevOps is a set of practices that automates the processes between software development and IT teams, in order that they can build, test, and release software faster and more reliably.
Though many see DevOps as back-end development itself, it is really far from it and much more. It requires as much attention and details or maybe even more. A detail explaination on DevOps can be found here.
Well, this concludes my brief explanation on different paths to becoming a web developer. I hope you find it useful and was able to clarify some of your doubts. I urge you to research more on the above topics and thereby find yourself a path that suits you. Maybe if I got good response, I could also write a Roadmap on Application Development…
