Becoming a web developer might seem like a far away or difficult dream but it doesn’t have to be that way. Nowadays there are multiple tools and online courses we can take to start our
journey.
Let’s begin with the most important and basic tool for developers, text editor:
One that I have found is very complete by itself and also offers multiple plugins that can be added to it is Sublime Text. There are also tools for coding that incorporate a drag and drop interface like Microsoft Front Page or Adobe Dream Weaver, but there is nothing like the freedom and speed that plain text editors bring to the table.
There are many online courses that can give you an introduction to coding but there is one that has many free simple as well as advanced tutorials: CodeAcademy
As a web developer you will be doing a lot of typing. And this typing will involve unusual characters for normal computer users. A very nifty online tool to help master the skill is Typing.io which gives you different lines of code from different languages and tests you on your typing skills.
A tool for learning programming best practices and syntax is CodingBat. It is centered on Java and Python languages but these share syntax with many other programming Languages.
Once you start getting familiar with coding and want to test your knowledge head on to CoderByte. This is a website that gives you “problems” and after choosing which language you want to use to solve it you code your solution and it grades it. It is a great tool for strengthening analysis and logical thinking. It also lets you compare your code with that of other members which completed that exercise.
Always remember that practice makes perfect and if you start with the proper foundation the ride will be much smoother.
Good Luck and God Speed!
