10 Skills Every Web Developer Should Know
Web developmentas well as mobile app development continuously innovates and remains as one of the top industries today. With it coming into focus, the demand for better and excellent service from developers increases. There is a projected growth of 15% from 2016 to 2026 for web development employment, this is according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The figure shows that there would be a lot of jobs to go around for web developers. However, do you have the right web development skills to present yourself well out there and stand out amongst your competition to land your dream job?
You would need more than one skill to work on your project or daily tasks better and there is always a need for you to continue learning and expanding your skills to keep and stay relevant in a fast-paced industry of web development. The range of your tasks includes creating multifaceted web applications, pages, and features.
Web Development: A Closer Look
Web development is generally categorized into two forms, front-end and back-end web development — you can either be one of these two, or a full-stack developer which is the combination of the two.
A front-end developer provides a user-friendly interface for the visitors, while the back-end developer leans toward handling data storage and business logic.
So what are the skills every web developer should know and invest with? Follow along and learn 10 skills that would help you become one of the best.
1. HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) & CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)
HTML is considered to be the most abstract programming language and every web developers should be skilled with it. This is crucial because it is the basic building components of creating a website. CSS, on the other hand, is important in making the pages of the website look good, it is the tool used in creating a pleasant website aesthetic.
2. Javascript Programming Language
Javascript is one of the most important skills web developers should have. This is the skill most recruiters across the globe look for before they make a job offer. This is a higher form of programming language that makes a website more interactive and functional for the visitors.
It allows you to create a better user experience for visitors and lets you write special website features directly onto the site which includes social media share button, videos, and search bars.
3. WordPress
A report from Forbes says there are around 75 million websites functioning on WordPress and that’s about 25% of the entire online industry.
WordPress is a free CMS (content management system), it considered as one of the most excellent and efficient tools for web developers — both beginners and experts to create a website. It is easy to use because you can easily modify and edit web pages, add plugins, and test of bugs.
4. UX (user experience) Design
According to DesignAdvisor, intentional and strategic UX has the potential to increase conversion rates by 400%. Users’ expectations have evolved as technology expands and innovates. UX design is one of the most important elements in web development, and users always prefer a simple web design that is easy to navigate. As a web developer, you should keep this in mind.
5. SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
It is always advised for web developers to consider numerous factors that would help increase a website’s ranking on search engines. SEO is the driving force of the digital marketing industry. Nowadays, websites need SEO to drive traffic and increase leads — consumers find an eCommerce store through online searches and if SEO isn’t implemented on a website, it won’t show up on search engine results.
6. Responsive website design
According to a report by SEOTribunal, about 58% of all online searches come from mobile. This only shows that there are more and more consumers conducting their search using their mobile devices. Therefore, websites need to adapt to this trend and benefit from it and web developers need to have the skills to create websites that are mobile-friendly.
7. Multiple Programming Languages
To make web development more efficient and enjoyable, you must learn multiple frameworks such as PHP, Java, Python, Ruby, and C #. Pick one or two and learn it well, learn it like it is part of your life because it’ll be. You can build multiple web applications with these frameworks to cover as many as you can on both the browser and the server-side of your project.
8. TDD and BDD (Test-Driven Development and Behavior-Driven Development)
These are both the process of writing tests and specs before you even write the code in your app to ensure that you have enough coverage at macro and micro levels. Not having a solid background on these developments would not help you get on top of your competition. There are readily available online tutorials on these, and make sure that you learn best practices for the programming language of your choice.
9. Caching
One of the most important factors in UX is website speed. However, there are web developers who take this on the back seat. An excellent web developer should know how to create and implement a decent caching strategy — most modern frameworks have built-in methods to use memory and file-system caching, partial and full-page caching. It is important to take extra time and effort to learn this, especially if you’re working on a website that expects a huge amount of traffic.
10. Soft Skills
In every organization, soft skills are important. Other than your technical skills that serve as the foundation of your career as a web developer, soft skills matter most too. Being able to work in unison and communicate well with your team or clients is also of high importance. This would not only make you stand out, but soft skills also build a good relationship with your employers and your teammates.
Web developers need to keep in mind to always have an open mind in learning new technology trends and be proactive enough to stay updated. This would not only help you land your dream job, but this would also prepare you for the sudden changes required to create an excellent website.