OK so I take it I need to know XHTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP (are their any others that I need to know?)

 

Specifically what do I need to know in each language? I'm quite good with XHMTL and I'm starting to get good with CSS, Javascript and PHP are weak for me but I've tried them both. I would like a list specifically of what I needed to learn so then I can work on it easier.

 

I have a book by Eric Meyer called Smashing CSS but with this I'm not sure whether I need to know everything that's in the book...

 

Can someone give me an idea of what I need to know before offering my services to people?

 

 

I think your on the right track...

 

Main ones are definitely: HTML, CSS, PHP, SQL! and javascript

 

They are the main ones you will use the most... others like jquery ect.. are not as important for basic webdesign

 

Best advice if you trying to learn is use this site:

 

codecademy (dot) com

 

great free way of learning to code

It really depends what part of web developement you want to go into. I myself am more inclined towards front end development - So I started with the basics - a good fundamental understanding of HTML5/CSS3/JavaScript - I'd also look into HTML5 instead of XHTML now (they're the same for the most part anyway).

 

Get really good at using CSS - especially with selectors as well as positioning elements and creating responsive designs .

 

Try get a really thorough understanding of JavaScript as a language before moving onto libraries like jQuery - once you know how inheritance/prototypes/hoisting/callbacks/type conversion/scope/functions/closures work in JavaScript everything will be 100 times easier to pick up and your code will (hopefully) be a lot nicer. Learning JavaScript properly doesn't happen over night, but it's rewarding/empowering when you finally understand how it all works.

 

When you've got these basics down, look into picking up some frameworks or libraries - my favourites are Bootstrap for layout development (it essentially gives you a whole heap of css classes that allow you to quickly create layouts that are responsive and look nice). jQuery is quite a nice JavaScript library to manipulate your website content (also known as the DOM) and I'd recommend using it for smaller projects. When/if your projects start to get quite large you can look into a JavaScript framework - my favourites are Angular and Backbone. They essentially keep your code organised and give you some special functionality (more so with angular) for repetitive tasks.

 

Along the way you'll want to try pick up AJAX - which is essentially a way of using JavaScript to request/send data from/to the server so that the user doesn't have to leave the page they're on (an example of this is when you're on facebook and you scroll down and it loads more content automatically instead of going onto a different page.) - jQuery/angular have nice inbuilt functionality for working with AJAX as well. Learning what a RESTful service is will also be useful for most AJAX related stuff.

 

I'd also suggest learning Git (or some version control system), it helps you keep track of all the changes you make in a project - so if you ever make changes and decide it would be handy to revert them, it can be easily done - it's also helpful for making sure you're backing up your projects and is especially useful in a team setting.

 

From here you can decide to go into server side development - I personally don't have a whole heap of experience in this field, but the main programming languages are PHP/Ruby/Python/Node.js(JavaScript - my favourite ) - probably a few others as well. Each have their own quirks. You'd also want to get familiar with sql and nosql databases. Lastly I'd suggest looking into CMS's (think wordpress/joomla/drupal), they all run on PHP, and allow clients to make changes to their website without having to go directly into the code.

 

Anyway, I'm not sure if this is useful or not, but this is what I consider some of the essentials.

Edited October 1, 201412 yr by joel1st

Do you mean design or develop. The two are VERY different.

 

The advice above for development is good. It's well worth taking the time to learn JavaScript, but like it's been said it won't happen over night, or even a week. Were talking months, and then to get properly good at it you're talking years. I've seen some senior JS guys quoting then 1000 hours is needed for the average person to get good at the language,

Edited October 1, 201412 yr by rbrtsmith

Do you mean design or develop. The two are VERY different.

 

The advice above for development is good. It's well worth taking the time to learn JavaScript, but like it's been said it won't happen over night, or even a week. Were talking months, and then to get properly good at it you're talking years. I've seen some senior JS guys quoting then 1000 hours is needed for the average person to get good at the language,

 

But how long will it take until I can actually make money online from website design/development etc. Like I said, I would like to start earning a living within the next year and I think 10,000 hours is probably an overestimate of how long it takes, do you think? Few people are at their level.

 

But how long will it take until I can actually make money online from website design/development etc. Like I said, I would like to start earning a living within the next year and I think 10,000 hours is probably an overestimate of how long it takes, do you think? Few people are at their level.

 

How long is a piece of string?

 

You need experience, which obviously takes time. Don't assume you can simply walk into a job or start making money straight away because you can code. Make a start learning now and try to build up a network of clients and contacts on the way.

 

If you're looking to eventually work for yourself then be aware it takes on average about 3 years to get to a 'comfortable' stage (i.e. regular work, 'spare' money at the end of the month).

 

To make a decent living, i.e. similar/more that what you'd earn in full-time employment, you need to be very good. Sloppy, amateurish work won't pay the bills, because clients with the budgets for professional work won't touch you, hence the 10,000 hours of experience.

 

You also need a business mindset, which is where many people fall off.

Edited October 2, 201412 yr by Paul Murray