Things Every Modern Web Developer Must Know

A programmer or a developer must be aware of all the programming languages. He/she must have an eye on the latest upcoming trends in the programming world. Here is a list of things that every programmer must know.  

HTML

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is the backbone of all websites. Some tools let you create websites without writing HTML, but HTML takes your web development to the next level. Coding in HTML gives you more control over your content, and understanding HTML helps you diagnose problems faster. You can also add SEO information directly into your HTML to make it easier for web crawlers to read your page and increase your visibility. 

CSS 

The power of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) has grown. Developers used to use CSS primarily to define the color and layout, but now it can also handle animation and some interactive designs. One of the essential features, however, is responsive design. 

Today, users expect websites to transition seamlessly from computer to tablet to mobile. Responsive design ensures that the display is optimized for each platform. One CSS concept that takes your layout to the next level is Flexbox. This is a layout mode that makes it easy to create flexible and responsive designs.  

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JavaScript

If HTML is the backbone of the website, JavaScript is the brain. Websites are no longer electronic versions of newsprint. Users expect interactivity – and interaction is the basis of many designs these days. To add that interactivity, you need a solid foundation in JavaScript. 

It’s a mistake to underestimate this language.  It’s a powerful language that has become more powerful with each new JavaScript library developed. But don’t worry, it’s a lightweight language that you can get up and running in no time. 

A Server-Side Language and Database

While you can become a web developer without diving into the backend, learning a server-side language will make you a more versatile web developer. Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) is over twenty years old, but it’s still a crucial server-side language to know. If PHP is powerful enough to be used for WordPress, it can certainly handle anything you throw at it. 

Data is everything these days. To store and access this data, you need to know about databases. There are many different databases out there, but a great one to start with is MySQL. It is an open-source database and can introduce you to relational databases. All relational databases use a Structured Query Language (SQL) based language, so the skills you develop with MySQL are transferable to other relational databases. 

You Must Know All the Development Tools!

With the above skills, you can program, but nothing will stop you as quickly as a bug. Understanding the development tools offered by browsers can help you speed up debugging and avoid frustration. 

Chrome and Firefox both offer popular development tools. With web development tools, you can see what styles are applied to each element, analyze JavaScript, and get more information about bugs. 

API 

A great way to build a website is to leverage existing data and services. Application programming interfaces (APIs) allow you to access third-party data and functionality. If you’re new to APIs, start with Google.  

Google offers many different APIs, including Analytics, YouTube, Maps, and Translation. It’s also prevalent, so there are many tutorials for the various APIs. Most major social media and marketplace platforms also have APIs that allow you to access both app features and user information. 

SEO 

Creating a website is pointless if no one can find it. As the number of websites grows, it becomes increasingly important to increase your website’s visibility and readability for web crawlers, and you can achieve this through search engine optimization (SEO). 

At the very least, you need to know how web crawlers use the information to rank a website and what they can and cannot read. This will help you make the most of adding metadata to your site and the site elements that web crawlers can’t see. 

Version Control

Most website development projects require a team of developers. Working with others brings a lot of coordination challenges. Fortunately, version control tools can solve these problems.  All version control tools keep track of changes made to a code repository. So you can have a look at these things when needed.  These are the things that a programmer must know. Programmers must be aware of the tools, terminologies, and everything used in such languages.