Many consider computer programming, especially web development to be a very technical skill. While it may appear so on the outside, it definitely can get easier if you go into the profession with the right mindset and discipline. As part of the web development team of one the best companies advancing web design in Nigeria, I have come to understand a few things about molding a successful career as a web developer.
Here are some great tips to help you become a great web developer.
Stop Writing Code for Yourself
This is one of the greatest lessons you can ever learn as a web developer. While it is good to hone your craft to the level of writing code that works, it’s much more impressive to write code that can be passed on to other developers. The ability to write simple, comprehensive and clean code is one that you should develop at all cost if you want to attain the status of a great developer.
Write Code every day
It goes without saying that consistency is the key to improvement. Developing the habit of coding every day is a quick way to learn fast. A good strategy is to have what you aim to get better at writing down and find a way to work on tasks that include these areas you want to improve on.
Learn Algorithms
Algorithms have to do with data structures and patterns for problem-solving. Knowing what comes before what and what approach to take before even writing a single line of code is as important as writing the code itself. This is what takes the guesswork out of any project to be worked on.
Google is your Friend
Google is arguably one of the best assets of this generation. When confused with anything, you can simply use Google to search and find the solution thanks to the growing communities dedicated to web development. A thorough Google search will help you find relevant dev communities you can join and table questions you may have regarding any aspect of programming or web development.
Contribute to Open-source Projects
When you contribute to open source projects you learn a couple of valuable things about yourself. Thee first thing you learn is how to collaborate with others and also pick the brain of members of your community. You get to see the real-world assessment of your skill level by how others respond to your web development skills.
Think like the end-user
It’s important to keep the in mind when you’re working on any project. Sometimes, things don’t need to get too technical to give the website visitor or web app user a good experience. Create your projects the way you know people would love to interact with them.
Prioritize Productivity
This applies to any field of work you may find yourself in. Not chasing the next shiny object or feature is something that would require some resilience when you always want to improve on your skill level. You need to understand that not every feature or app rolled out requires your attention. The time spent on these new features could be well spent on improving your project.