The tech field encompasses more than just software development. And there’s more to software development than web development. But why is everyone trying to teach you how to get into web development?
If you’ve paid the slightest attention to online tech communities, you would have noticed the trend of people sharing resources on how to get into web development.
Once again, web development isn’t the only field in software development. However, there are compelling reasons why the community is head over heels for web development.
Before any other reason, it is just so easy for someone without a computer science background to be a successful web developer. By success, I mean gaining financial freedom, location freedom (remote working opportunities), and working without the bureaucratic clutter; to keep it short.
🗻 High and rising demand
The first and most obvious reason is that the web is one of the most—if not the most—accessible platforms in the world. A large and growing number of devices are gaining access to the internet. From watches to televisions to gaming consoles.
As a result, the web has the largest developer community. And the already high demand for web developers keeps rising.
You can start your journey knowing that the skills you are acquiring will be relevant for the foreseeable future.
🚧 Low barrier to entry
HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are the technologies you need to build on the web. However, you don’t need to be the best Math student to write HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
HTML and CSS are ranked top among the easiest coding languages to learn. I believe the reason for this has to do with how fast you can build something meaningful with them.
On your first day of learning HTML and CSS, you can develop a functional (but not so pretty website🤭).
For most coding languages, the difficulty arises when transferring theoretical knowledge to practical solutions. However, with HTML and CSS, the theory is the practice.
🌊 Opens you up to new earning opportunities
Web development skills provide you with numerous money-making opportunities. The most popular is taking a job in a company/agency. A lot of people succeed by taking this route.
However, not everyone enjoys working for someone else. Some prefer to be the boss of themselves. If this sounds more like you, freelancing would be a choice for you. Although it’s not easy, there are great resources from other developers thriving as freelancers.
You can also earn by building solutions: primary or secondary.
Primary solutions solve problems for end-users directly; some examples are marketing websites, landing pages, and e-commerce sites (more advanced).
Secondary solutions help other developers to build primary solutions faster: for example, HTML templates, design systems, plugins, and packages.
Here’s a book on Ten++ ways to make money as a developer by Florin Pop.
🌏 Work from anywhere
You gain the freedom to work from anywhere across the globe when you equip yourself with web and software development skills in general. You can seize most of the opportunities mentioned above right from the comfort of your home.
The software development space is widely popular for the freedom it grants individuals.
Several platforms connect you to remote opportunities. Some popular ones include LinkedIn and Indeed for full-time and part-time offers, Fiverr, and Upwork for freelance gigs.
If you want to start your journey in web development, stay tuned for more posts. I write about the skills you need to succeed as a web developer.
Connect with me as @ammduncan on Twitter to get notified when I release a new post.