The Definitive Guide to being a Front end Web Developer in 2022

Anthony Papoutsis
4 min readMar 3, 2022

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Front end development and design is a very lucrative skill to have in 2022, and if you have ever thought on becoming a developer this here is the definitive guide in helping you understand what you need to know to develop websites and web-applications from noob to pro.

Well what is a front end developer?

First we must understand what it takes to create a web application or a website from end to end. The two types of developers include the Front end developer and the Back end developer. Back end Developers are in charge of ensuring the server and database provide the data needed to the users. They can work with a wide range of languages and technologies that we will not get into here.

Front end developers however ensure that data the the backend curates for us is neatly, elegantly displayed to the user in a responsive way.

Fantastic! Ok, let’s start!

Slow down a minute o_o. We first need to understand what we need to know such as the programming languages and technologies, i will also give a rough timeline on how long each one should take to learn to progress to the next

HTML: 1 Week

HTML is the integral to know to become a front end developer. Thank goodness however it is very easy! HTML is what we use to build the base of the house, think of this is foundation. Although it is technically not a programming language (it is a markdown language) without it web applications wont exist. Since this is very simple to learn and wrap your head around it wont take too long and their are great free tutorials online which will provide with everything that you need.

CSS: 4 Weeks — Years…

Hold on did i just read years??

While CSS is easy to pick up it is very hard and takes ages to master. There is so much to learn when it comes to CSS there are developers out there that dedicate so much time to be a CSS mastery. However this does not have to be the case for you at all. CSS is the decorations of a house. It is the roof, windows, door, garden etc. CSS is purely an aesthetic language (technically a styling language), and is used to make the web application you see such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram look how they do. CSS is fundamental but to become sufficient enough to be a developer around a month of practice is needed before we can move on to the next step. Again there are tutorials online like YouTube but it may be worth getting a course that is a more structured

https://www.udemy.com/course/css-the-complete-guide-incl-flexbox-grid-sass/

This course is what i have used personally to get a great understanding on how to use CSS however don’t be afraid to take some time to research and look at reviews for which course you think might be good for you.

JavaScript: 2.5 Months — Forever…

Great now he said forever…

Ok hear me out, this is similar situation to CSS however Javascript is something that can take a life time to truly master, however you do not need a life times worth of work to understand the ins, and out of JavaScript. The JavaScript Language (an actual language) however, is the furniture, stove, fridge, plumbing, air conditioning and heating of the house. JavaScript provides the functional parts on making a website work, by loading the right data to the user, making buttons and forms work etc. Although this takes the longest to get a good understanding do not be daunted by the challenge ahead.

Courses again can be found online but what i used personally to get a good understanding was to take the JavaScript Algorithms and Data Structures Certification on

THATS IT! well not quite…

To become job ready these fundamentals are great and will help you achieve an entry level job, however to develop faster and to become more hireable and more efficient some extra steps can be taken to make this happen and for you to become a better front end developer.

  1. Learn React A JavaScript Library
  2. Learn a CSS Framework such as Tailwind or a Preprocessor such as Sass

Final Personal Tips

I only began coding only a few years ago, and to this day i’m continuing to learn about new techniques, best practices and different technologies, it is truly never ending. However to help with this process here is some personal advice i would love to give you.

  1. Get out of tutorial hell, don’t watch tutorial after tutorial following along, learn it once then proceed.
  2. BUILD PROJECTS! This is the best way to learn, what i did was before progressing i would create an entire project with what i have learnt. And try to incorporate as many features as i can before moving on. By the end i had a HTML, HTML and CSS then a HTML, CSS and JavaScript project i could show off
  3. Always ask for help, wether it was online forums such as StackOverflow or reddit, as well as front end focused Discord channels asking someone who has been behind the keyboard longer than you is nothing to be ashamed of!

If you read through all of this i thank you and wish you luck throughout your programming journey!

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Anthony Papoutsis
Anthony Papoutsis

Written by Anthony Papoutsis

University student that just likes to build things. | Web Developer | Blockchain Enthusiast | Finance | Personal Development | Weeb

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