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Posted by Luke Glazebrook
Luke Glazebrook
13,564 Points

Queries about Web Development

Recently I have been really enjoying learning about Web Dev and picking up some new languages to help me along the way!

However, I have some questions about Web Development which may potentially, depending on the answers, lead me to focusing on software development again full-time.

1) As a Web Developer, how are you affected by "website-builders" such as Weebly? Do many people actually set up sites using these services and how does it affect you as a web developer? This is one of my main concerns especially since I am just a novice Web Dev at this moment in time and these sites can build better sites than I could even think about programming!

2) A lot of different languages. How do you guys cope with having to be fluent in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP and more? I really love to learn, it's awesome, but even this seems like a lot to learn at one time. Is there any sort of logical order to these languages? At this moment in time I know HTML, CSS and JavaScript fairly well.

3) Is there a lack of jobs in Web Development? A year or so ago when I was in school and told my teacher that I was interested in software and web development he told me what there isn't many jobs in Web Dev in comparison to software development. Is this true? Is there a lot of competition in Web Dev or is there just as many jobs as in software dev?

Thank you to anyone who takes their time to answer these questions! I really appreciate it a lot! I hope you guys are having awesome days!

-Luke

3 Answers

Esteban Valdez
.a{fill-rule:evenodd;}techdegree
Esteban Valdez
Front End Web Development Techdegree Student 8,858 Points

Hey there,

I am new to this industry as well. However, I seem to know plenty of people who make a good living doing web development. However, it does seem to depend on how well you can sell yourself. I have had a few paying clients already and quite honestly if they wanted to take the time and put in the effort they could do what I have done for them on WordPress. Thing is that most people don't want to do that for a number of reasons: no time, desire, fear of technology. But you can offer them something more, you can create whatever they dream up, you can find the answer even if you don't have it, you're not afraid to jump in and get your elbows dirty. You can make those awesome looking themes even better by making them look unique to YOUR client.

I see it this way, sure people could use Weebly or WordPress and do the work themselves if they wanted to. I could change the oil in my car, replace the brakes, change out a belt or many other things if I wanted to take the time to learn it. Sometimes I do! But most of the time I pay a mechanic to do it. We are the mechanics of the Web! But it is up to you. I personally feel there is always someone willing to pay you for what they don't want to do themselves.

Just my .02 cents.

Luke Glazebrook
Luke Glazebrook
13,564 Points

Alright that is great to know! The way my teacher was going on about it made it sound like it was almost not even worth getting in to! That is very true I never thought about it on that light before! The only issue is though at the moment most of the Wordpress themes look far better than anything I could design!

That is a very good analogy I never thought about it like that before! That is very true.

Your answer was very useful Esteban, thank you!

Good luck with your Web Dev work and have a great day!

-Luke

Wayne Priestley
Wayne Priestley
19,579 Points
Wayne Priestley
Wayne Priestley
19,579 Points

Hi Luke,

I can't really answer your questions, but i can tell you that i know someone who makes a good living building websites for clients and he only uses Wordpress.
He does NO coding, he just buys Themes others have built and uses them for his clients websites.

Luke Glazebrook
Luke Glazebrook
13,564 Points

Alright that must mean there is at least some work out there! Thank you for the response Wayne!

Salman Akram
PLUS
Salman Akram
Courses Plus Student 40,065 Points
Salman Akram
Salman Akram
Courses Plus Student 40,065 Points

Great questions, I do really enjoy here and learn something new. :)

1 ) I do find Wix, Weebly and other web-builders that are very limited and some issues, some clients doesn't like heavy hassle and high fees paying to these services, if they decide to transfer their current sites to WordPress or pure PHP programming.

2) I tried to be very fluent on these front-end languages by practicing, self-discipline, patience, and determination, we have to make commitment to use coding daily in order to increase our experiments and knowledge. First focus would be HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and JQuery and then four month later you can choose either PHP or Ruby and then consider about MVC frameworks to make it easier.

3) Depending on your local area, you can type on job search like monster UK or other popular sources to see what's up there, if something find you interesting, go ahead to grab some skills to impress future employers.

Not only depending on Treehouse, we open up to other educations like codeSchool regarding JavaScript more understanding, JQuery Flight, and some books, we have to follow up with latest technology via Twitter.

Luke Glazebrook
Luke Glazebrook
13,564 Points

Alright awesome! My main concern was learning all these new skills and getting my business stolen by Website Building tools such as Weebly and Wix.

Alright, thank you for the programming advice I really appreciate it! I think I will stick to working with HTML, CSS and JavaScript for now and get good with them all!

I think I will take a look online in the local area and see what jobs they have going! I guess the only way to tell is to look so I might do that. I will also look into some of these other resources you have mentioned, thanks for the response!

Have a great day Salman!

-Luke