In the current day-and-age, the digital arena has seen an exponential change. Consumers have enjoyed the radical changes and have appreciated how it has made their lives easy and luxurious. One of the business arena’s sustaining pillars is the digitization, and the professionals operating in the arena. Each industry has identified the potential and has employed resources that can help them in creating their digital space. And due to this upsurge, the demand for developers has increased.
With companies depending largely on their online presence in the digital era, web designing has turned out to be an increasingly demanding profession. Web developers with their unique set of skills are being roped in by top-notch companies around the world to make a difference. However, a web developer has its own set of challenges, and here are some of the most important skills one needs to add in one’s repertoire if you want to stand out in the web development industry.
HTML
HTML is the first and foremost gateway to enter into the challenging world of web design. This markup language has been an extremely crucial skill to learn for web developers since times immemorial. The language acts as a foundation for developers to enter the domain of learning other languages and acquainting themselves with an idea of how the web works. HTML is the skeleton for your project. For any project that you begin, HTML acts as the framework and guides you throughout the project. And for this reason, budding developers are taught this framework before plunging into the details of coding. In fact, many developers look to take part in a free coding bootcamp like Bay Valley Tech in order to learn the basics before heading into their career in technology.
CSS
CSS determines the visual structure of a site and is one of the most important skills a web developer needs to learn. CSS aids the developer in saving a lot of time as it controls the layout and structuring of multiple web pages at a single time. Front-end developers having extensive knowledge of CSS will be able to design applications more effectively as this skill aids in the easy interaction of the app with the design.
JavaScript
Web developers should be conversant enough with JavaScript before learning any other language as together with HTML and CSS, JavaScript forms the pyramid involving the three levels of web design. This language controls web behavior and the developer’s knowledge of JavaScript will foster a better user experience. Nowadays JavaScript plays a crucial role in designing web-page or applications and developers, especially back-end developers should have a good grasp of it.
Choose a programming language
With HTML serving as a basic markup language, a web developer requires to have extensive knowledge of another language which will act as a pure programming language. There are many languages to choose from, the most popular ones being- PHP, ASP, JAVA, Perl, and C++. Among the languages mentioned, PHP stands at the pinnacle and is now considered a leader on the web. As a web developer learning languages will only make you more flexible and open to working challenges and it is desirable for developers to learn more than one language.
SEO
There are a few reasons why you create a website, but there are two essential reasons;
- To create a portfolio of your company’s work, provide elaborate case studies, and draw in traffic.
- To rank better on the SERPs to drive in traffic via SEO
The two reasons are inter-related with each other and help you reap the benefits of having a virtual presence.
Knowing the fundamentals of SEO for a developer includes inbound linking, proper download speed, and even mobile-friendliness. Thorough knowledge of SEO will not only help in effective website and application development but will also ensure its higher ranking in search engines.
Quality customer service
Customer service may not be a hardcore technical skill but forms one of the most important practical skills that a developer needs to ensure. Excellent customer service skills are a must-have to a flourishing career as a developer. As a web developer, you will have to present your ideas and communicate with clients on a regular basis. Good customer servicing skills will help you in maintaining cordial relationships with clients ensuring more business deals in the future. Grasping these skills will surely help you as a developer to achieve a promising career.
Wrapping Up!
Through this blog, we have covered the basic skills that a developer must possess. Once a developer is adept in these skills, they must begin specializing in a specific genre or aim to become a full-stack developer. All these skills come in handy at multiple situations in a developer’s journey – be it SEO or customer service. Today, even if you aren’t a full-stack developer, you are required to understand the basics of each segment for simplified problem-solving. Most web development companies look for versatile developers who can easily switch between various hats and perform efficiently.
So, if you’re a budding developer, we’ve just enlisted a few important skills for you, but remember that you must find your specialization and work on it later!