Have you ever visited a website and been blown away by how engaging and easy it is to use? Have you ever been curious about the seamless manner in which websites may provide images, videos, and other sorts of media? If yes, learning about Frontend Development might be of interest to you.
What is Frontend Development?
Frontend Development, also known as client-side development, is the process of designing and implementing the graphical and interactive components of a website or application. This includes the appearance, structure, and usability of a website or application. In other words, Frontend Development is responsible for the way a website functions and appears.
Technologies Used in Frontend Development.
As a beginner in Frontend Development, you will need to learn and understand the basics of a few key technologies and programming languages. The most common languages used here are HTML, CSS and JavaScript. You will use these languages to create the user interface (UI) of a website or app. The UI is the part of the website or app that the user sees and interacts with. It is what makes a website or app easy to use and navigate.
HyperText Markup Language (HTML)
HTML is the foundation of all websites. It is used to structure and organize the content on a website, such as text, images, and videos using HTML elements i.e. the building blocks of a webpage. It’s also worth noting that HTML is not considered a programming language as it cannot create dynamic functionality.
Example of a HTML element:
<p>This is how to create a paragraph in HTML.</p>
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
CSS is a language that is used to style and customize the appearance of a website. It is used to alter the font, colour, size, and spacing of your content, split it into multiple columns, or add animations and other decorative features. Like HTML, CSS is not a language. It is a style-sheet language.
Example of a CSS element:
p {
color: red;
}
/* this turns the color of the content of the 'p' element to "red" */
JavaScript
JavaScript is a programming language that is used to create interactive elements on a website, such as forms, games, and quizzes. It is what makes a website dynamic and responsive to user input. This is what adds functionality to a website.
Resources For Your Frontend Development Journey
To get started in Frontend Development, you will need to learn the basics of the above languages (HTML, CSS and JavaScript). You can learn these languages through online tutorials, books, or by attending a coding boot camp. It is also helpful to practice by building your small projects or websites and contributing to open-source projects.
I have compiled a list of resources that helped me here.
What To Do Next After The Basics
Once you have a good understanding of the basics, you can start learning more advanced techniques and frameworks. Frameworks are pre-written code that can be used to speed up and simplify the development process. Some popular Frontend frameworks include React, Angular, and Vue.js. These are popular JavaScript libraries that make it easier to build complex and interactive websites and applications.
Conclusion
To become a proficient Frontend developer, you will need to continuously learn and stay up-to-date with the latest trends and technologies in the field.
Frontend development is an exciting and dynamic field that involves creating the user-facing part of a website or application. With dedication and practice, you can become a proficient Frontend developer and create beautiful and user-friendly websites and applications.
You've Got This! 🤞🏾