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17 Comments

What is the best way to learn Front End Web Development?

Hey everyone,
Looking for some advice on the quickest way to learn front end web development. I've taken several general programming courses (automate the boring stuff and data camp) and I am currently using codecademy but after going through about 15% of it (30 hours or so) I am wondering if there is a better resource. Is it worth it to do a bootcamp? Is there a better site that will prepare me better for interviews and projects? Any and all advice is extremely appreciated!

  1. 3

    Rightly said, building projects is the best way to learn frontend web development. Start with the basics like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Then learn a framework and practice as much as possible on real projects on an open source coding platform like https://codeunicorn.io/.

  2. 1

    Also thanks so much for everyone responding to this haha. Really appreciate the insight!

  3. 1

    I think the best way is to start writing any project you'd like and google stuff along the way.

  4. 1

    learn html and css, then a framework, then just play around with a ui library for that framework.

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    I could personally recommend https://www.techlabs.org/ because you also build something in a group with different persons and also different backgrounds.

    Besides that I really like https://frontendmasters.com/ They have some of the best courses I have ever seen and they are making so much fun!

    1. 1

      Awesome I will check them out thanks!

  6. 1

    Learn a framework, it will take some cumbersome decisions off your hands.

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      Sorry total noob question a framework is something like react right? Do you think codecademy is a good place to learn something like that or should I be focusing somewhere else?

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        Yeah exactly like ReactJS. I was pretty much in the same position as you about a year ago, i knew mobile & backend but my web frontend skills sucked.

        If you know the basics of html/css/js then ReactJS will be easy to understand.

        I looked around and freecodecamp.org has some pretty solid and up-to-date courses, i didn't even have to spend money on a course or book. All you need is a good course and the documentation in reactjs.org

        Now, depending on your learning method you might want to follow a different path but i like to dive straight in to the code. Freecodecamp has some 10h+ video courses and i just started with that.

        If you want to start with React i recommend this video (beginner friendly)
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UZrsTqkcW4

        More resources:

  7. 1

    The answer tends to be that you should just build things for yourself waaaaaay before you think you are ready to do so. What to build depends on what you want to do. Do you want to freelance for small and medium enterprises, make a website for a small or medium enterprise. Do you want to make a saas app? Make a dashboard that pulls data from an api most saas apps have some sort of dashboard.

    You will have lots of gaps in your knowledge, but know that you will never be fully ready. Even the most experienced programmers will learn something by doing projects. If you already have 30 hours of codecademy and have a general feel for programming, you can start building something.

  8. 1

    Since you already know programming, web development isn't going to be so bad. The main thing you have to realize, Javascript, is the real only programming language you need to know. HTML and CSS is a must and I pride myself on my skillset there, but HTML is basically XML and CSS is easy to grasp the easy stuff (the more advanced stuff requires knowledge and a bit of trial and error).

    Lucky for you, you have frameworks like React and the billion UI libraries people have made that you might not fully have to touch HTML, haha.

    I started off, when I was 14 on w3schools.com - still a great resource to look the true basics. If I can get to where I am today with zero programming knowledge back then other than that website - I am sure you'll do fine.

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      Awesome thanks so much I will check it out!

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    Hey! Is this to get a job or to build your own stuff?

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      Ideally both. I have a job now as an analyst. Mainly power bi and tableau not a lot of coding. I am trying to do 2-3 hours of codecademy a night. Ideally I could get proficient enough to where I could get a better job and then get paid to learn programming full time. But goal is to eventually do "my own thing"

      1. 2

        I understand :)

        A friend of mine has a good story and I'll share with you what he did:

        He started with 0 programming knowledge, starting from a sports science background. He started with code academy and spent about a month or two just going through the courses. Although he learned, he felt like his progress was slow. 2-3 months in, he started a small website and I think that's what changed things for him. He started by making a portfolio type website which just described the topics that he had been learning. He said that it was very frustrating because he had lots of gaps in knowledge, but that the frustration allowed him to retain the knowledge better (once he eventually solved the issue). He spent another 6-8 months just working on his own small projects and his progress got faster and faster.

        By this point, he had been learning for about 10 months and he decided to start applying for jobs. The first lot of interviews didn't go well for him at all, because he didn't know what to expect. He took a step back, wrote down the common things that were asked in interviews and then took another 1-2 months just learning those topics. After that, he was able to secure his first job :)

        I personally think that working on projects is the best way to learn how to build things, but if you want a job as a programmer, I think you need to supplement this with some formal learning too.

        I hope this helps and good luck with your journey!

      2. 1

        I am exactly like you! I am a data Analyst at a marketing company using tableau and I want to break into web dev. I’m currently taking this course to get the fundamentals. My end goal is a SaaS/web app that I can build myself. I’m only a module or two in if you want to be like accountability partners. I’m focusing on front end rn first and obviously JavaScript.

        Here’s the course : https://www.udemy.com/course/the-complete-web-development-bootcamp/

        Let me know!

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