10 Things You Need to Know Before Becoming a Coder

Ever since its invention in 1983, the Internet has been growing more popular and useful in our daily lives. Not only is the need for web developers greater than ever, the growing Internet infrastructure in countries such as India ensures that this need will only keep increasing.

In fact, enlisting in a quality coding bootcamp in San Diego today may be the best thing you can possibly do for your future. To help you out, we’ve compiled a list of 10 things all web developers should know that will point you in the right direction and help you decide what type of web development is best for you.

What are 10 things you should know before coding?

Web development is a challenging field that requires both creative and technical skills. By mastering certain core technologies and principles, you can become a highly employable expert who can work in any field of web development.

The 10 things every web developer should know:

1. CSS and HTML (abbreviated for Cascading Style Sheets and Hypertext Markup Language) are the core technologies that serve as the building blocks of all web pages. HTML is used to create the structure of a website while CSS forms the layout (aural and visual).
2. JavaScript is the ubiquitous programming language that is used for servers, web browsers, devices, and even robots. A full-stack JavaScript developer just may be the most sought-after type of web developer right now.
3. Frameworks such as Ruby on Rails and Java are exceedingly useful because they make web development a lot more efficient. By picking one of these and mastering it, you’ll find it much easier to learn new frameworks down the road.
4. Git and GitHub make version-controlling your code easy. Git is easily the best tool for web developer record-keeping, collaboration, and integration with deployment processes. At this point, both Git and GitHub are considered to be industry standards.
5. Product management is critical because merely writing great code often isn’t enough. Embracing agile workflows, grasping business objectives, understanding what users and clients want, and delivering the desired product are all skills that fall under the umbrella of product management.
6. Databases such as MySQL are absolutely critical in both back-end and front-end web development.
7. Web servers are what all websites depend on to function. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that “the sysadmins will deal with it”. Make it your goal to understand how servers work.
8. DNS management includes the set-up and use of domains and subdomains, as well as associated email addresses and websites. Again, although this is a sysadmin’s job, a web developer is often called upon to deal with it anyway, so make sure you know how to do it.
9. HTTP is how information is transmitted over the web. As a developer, you need to be familiar with the format of responses and requests, and the interpretation of error codes.
10. Debugging tools are your friend regardless of whether you’re working on a brand-new project or adding code to an existing one. Chances are, you’ll be doing plenty of debugging, so make sure to familiarize yourself with the debugging tools for the language or framework you’re using.

How do I start a career in coding?

Enlisting in a top coding bootcamp in San Diego is the fastest and surest way to get the knowledge you need to become a full stack developer. Located near Balboa Park, Learn Academy is California’s most respected and effective programming school.

Join one of our bootcamps today, or give us a call if you have any additional questions. We can’t wait to share our knowledge with you.