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Posted by Lorin Min
Lorin Min
4,259 Points

What course were you in when you first tried to code your own project?

Hello, I'm totally new to coding, and had no experience whatsoever related in this world.

I came to figure out that I shouldn't just only listen and follow the online lectures, but

do my own project to learn more efficiently.

I just finished the CSS Basics course, which was subsequent to the Make your Website

course, so I can say that I took a little taste of what HTML & CSS are.

I don't really know what I'm capable for now, and would like to hear which course

people were in to when they first initiated their first website making project.

(I'm thinking about duplicating a favorite website; whereas not fully functional )

Could you share some of your experience?

2 Answers

Jennifer Nordell
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STAFF
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Jennifer Nordell
Treehouse Teacher
Jennifer Nordell
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Jennifer Nordell
Treehouse Teacher

I think it's absolutely brilliant that you want to see some practical results and get your hands dirty a little. And anyone who has been programming for more than a few hours can tell you that the BEST way to learn to code is to break it and then fix it! It just is :smiley:

Now, that being said, you may not want to start out on a full-fledged project. Maybe you just want to see if you can get a specific element on a page and looking the way you want. This, in itself, is a big milestone.

I cannot recommend http://codepen.io/ enough. It is easy to use, you can import your favorite frameworks, and everything is there to make simple (or even highly complex) things with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. And it's all available from a web browser. I've been known to sit in doctors' offices and other waiting rooms and code small snippets on my iPad.

Some people like https://jsfiddle.net/ which is also nice and very similar. But pick one, or start doing small things just from your computer at home! Your projects can only get bigger and better. And since you're clearly going down the path of the front end developer, why not start on your portfolio? You're going to need one sooner or later. There's an old Chinese proverb:

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” – Chinese Proverb

Might as well get started! Hope this helps! :sparkles:

Russell Sawyer
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Russell Sawyer
Front End Web Development Techdegree Student 15,705 Points
Russell Sawyer
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Russell Sawyer
Front End Web Development Techdegree Student 15,705 Points

Hi Lorin,

I'm knew to coding websites as well and I wondered the same thing. I volunteer for a non profit organization called Recycle Bikes for Kids who has a pretty bland one page website and I decided to rework their page. I just do a little at a time as I go through the courses I just add a little more after each course. You can make it fully functional by linking their Facebook and instagram page and then you could donate your website to them.

Good luck,

Russell