Web Development Technologies
Are you considering becoming a developer? I just wanted to highlight some of the incredible benefits of choosing web development over some of the alternative paths such as mobile, backend development or testing. Read on to learn more.
It’s about Creating Awesome Stuff
Nothing is more satisfying than to create. At least that’s how I feel. Creating becomes even better if what you create is useful, helpful, creative and accessible to all. Software development allows to do just that! And if that is not sufficient reason to start developing add the incredible fact that it pays! However not all development work are crated equal. Some are slightly more on the boring side especially if you have a strong creative itch. I mean try to show off your creative potential working on a mainframe (yes, it still exists!) application written in C++. You can do it but who is going to congratulate you on your ingenuity? IBM? Uggh. Here is where web development comes in. With web development the possibilities are endless. Not in a figure of speech way but literally! Additionally, with web development you can get up and running and be accessible to the whole world in less than a minute (somebody should time it). How amazing is that?
Let’s add User Authentications and a Chat Box
Over are the times when you had to create every aspect of a web-site or application. We have compartmentalized web development. Features like user accounts and authentication (login, sign up etc.) use to take up precious days to implement. Now you can achieve user authentication with only a few short steps (Rails Example).
How about a solid communication channel? I don’t know about you but I hate calling or emailing. It is like asking me to fax something. I could do it but common. How about adding a chat feature? Imagine if your visitors can contact you through a chat box? Quick answers without leaving the page. I’ll take it! What if I told you can achieve this incredible feature with only a few lines of code that you don’t even have to write yourself? I know this must sound like a plug but it is not. It’s just awesome.
<script type="text/javascript">
var Tawk_API=Tawk_API||{}, Tawk_LoadStart=new Date();
(function(){
var s1=document.createElement("script"),s0=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];
s1.async=true;
s1.src='https://embed.tawk.to/*******/default';
s1.charset='UTF-8';
s1.setAttribute('crossorigin','*');
s0.parentNode.insertBefore(s1,s0);
})();
</script>Incredible! And just like that we have added a chat feature. I should mention that there are a few other steps such as creating an account with tawk.to involved but the essence of adding a chat feature with relatively few lines of code still holds true.
How About Text Notifications?
I would like to mention one other incredible useful programming feature that you can start working with in no time. I don’t know about you but I love text notifications. Thanks to the amazing guys at Twilio you can send out text notifications to yourself and or your customers without having to go insane trying to implement it yourself. But it gets better, a lot better. You can program text message interactions with your customers. Here is an example using text messaging with a web backbone. Not sure if I used backbone in the right context here but I like the sound of BACKBONE so I am going to use it.
555-555-5555: Help
Your Twilio Number: Hi Jessica, here are a list of things you can do with our system.
'Delete post_number' --> Deletes the post
'List' --> List all current posts
'Post' --> Starts a new posting process
555-555-5555: list
Your Twilio Number: Here are your current posts
PS4 Like New $150.... id: 5342
50 Motivational Books...id: 9822Bada*s! Isn’t it? I least I like to think so. And again, this feature that does not take up significant amount of time. At least relatively speaking.
What What About Looks?
Besides amazing programatic solutions we also have incredible UI/UX solutions. Best example? Bootstrap! I am not going to explain what bootstrap is but rather give you an example of what bootstrap can do.
See the Pen Bootstrap Menu Example – 1 by Andreas Eracleous (@Sp00ky) on CodePen.
Try messing with the zoom options and or loading the example in a new tab and then expanding and shrinking the window. See how the menu options adopts to the screen size?
I guess if you are new to web development you might not realize how much more work it would take to implement a responsive menu bar like the one above. Bootstrap helps make your site more responsive (shrink properly on smaller screens). Besides adding responsiveness it helps your site maintain a consistent and modern look. All that with very little effort. I would imagine before bootstrap this was a major headache. In that case I wouldn’t want to go back to the pre-bootstrap days. No thank you.
Plenty of ways to make Money
Besides all the cool things you can do with development and show them off to the world in no time there are at least two other reasons why a web development is the way to go. You can be your own boss! Making good money for somebody else is good but making great money through a killer web application you created is way better. Don’t limit yourself. What if you are still coming up with your great idea but don’t want to work for somebody else in the meantime? In that case how about doing some freelance work? Plenty of people need websites. You can help them.
Don’t Wait. Start Developing Now.
I hope I was able to communicate some of my own excitement towards web development. It is an exciting and modern art canvas that does come with some baggage, namely coding frustrations and insecurities. But don’t sweat it! I promise as long as you keep calm and keep going you will learn how to become a developer and be able to live a cool and slightly nerdy lifestyle.
My Plug
In case you get too frustrated and just need somebody to show you the ropes, you can always contact me through my tutoring site. I am available most days and times for live help over teamviewer. You can also post your questions on NewbStack.Com.
Happy Coding!
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