What are the most important things to avoid when starting a career in web development?

When beginning a career in web development, it's crucial to steer clear of certain pitfalls: Overlooking Fundamentals: Avoid skipping foundational concepts like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Strong basics are essential for advanced learning. Ignoring Responsive Design: Neglecting responsiveness leads to user-experience issues. Ensure websites function well on various devices. Not Embracing Best Practices: Ignoring coding standards and security measures can lead to inefficient code and vulnerabilities. Failing to Update Skills: Web tech evolves rapidly. Not staying updated with new trends and tools might hinder career growth.

Start right away with React and React. Don't worry about HTML, CSS, & JS fundamentals. That's the point of a library, it does everything for you under the hood.

Ignorning the fundamentals : Make sure to learn the basics. Ensure a solid understanding of Html,css, and javascript Skipping the documentation: Always refer to official documentation for languages, framework & tools Neglecting responsive design: Make sure the website is accessible in all devices and screen sizes Not staying updated: Keep learning, adapting to new technologies & best practises

One of the must important things to own as a developer is having a portofolio: Lets clarify what a good portofoilo means: 1. Have a github account with 10+ projects that are reflecting your skillset. 2. Add description to your projects & step by step on how to deploy them. 3.Be organized and follow the best practices and recommended folder structure based on the language you are using. 4. Add comments, follow naming conventions, and folder hierarchy. NOT having a portofolio means: 1. You are not consistently practice coding. 2. You will need effort to learn how to work in a team & how to deliver something. 3. If the the Hiring manager should decide between 2 developers, who to hire, sure enough the one with better Portofolio would win.

1) Yearn to learn. Web development changes quickly. There's always new technologies and frameworks, so you need to keep up to date and continually learn. 2) Don't ignore the basics. HTML, CSS, and Javascript. These languages are the foundation of websites and webapps. They will always be used to build the newest frameworks. 3) Soft skills. Learn to communicate with your team. Learn to explain complex problems. Ask for help and feedback. 4) Find a mentor or even a senior who's a few years ahead. They will see pitfalls in your code and your career. 5) Build in public. It's the fastest feedback.

Rather than rushing to learn frameworks, one must first understand the basics of how the browser works, the performance metrics, and in the vast world of javascript have a clear understanding of the basics, closures and memory profiling. These tiny concepts later become the make or break of a scalable application. Developers must also practice responsive designs from the beginning. Learning to make something responsive with as less media queries as possible helps a lot in terms of creating minimal and self explanatory UI.

Some of the things to avoid when starting your career as web developer: - Having no plan. You have to put a plan for your learning and to revise it as needed. - Don’t learn by watching others code. Write your code and learn from the errors. - Don’t copy and paste any code. Instead, write it. Let your fingers memorize the code and increase your typing skill. - Don’t complicate things. Start with the simple solution that make your code work then refactor it and think of better solutions. - Don’t work in the whole task at once. Split it into subtasks to see the progress. - Don’t write code without comments. Always include comments and make your code readable. - Don’t stop learning. Technology is always changing so be ready for that

Never rush into learning frameworks or libraries. It'll always come back to hurt you in the long run. Remain patient with fundamentals as it'll make you a much better developer in the long run.

Like I always say, first principles first. Understanding fundamental concepts goes a long way in helping beginners become great engineers. Avoid the trap of hopping on new technologies and frameworks because they sound cool or are trendy. Most of such frameworks build upon those fundamentals to solve specific industry problems. Take at least the first 6 months of your learning to dive deep into truly understanding fundamental concepts, tools and techniques.

Yes, learning the fundamentals is extremely important. For example, there are many developers who study React without understanding and appreciating Javascript. Trying to study a templating language before knowing the fundamentals of HTML, trying to understand tailwind without understanding native CSS are all problematic

Failing to thoroughly test your code can lead to unreliable and buggy applications. Testing is an integral part of the development process, ensuring that your code works as intended and is free from errors. Neglecting this step can damage your reputation and lead to frustrated clients or users. Incorporate various testing methods, such as unit testing and user testing, to ensure your applications are robust, user-friendly, and professional.

When I first got into development, imposter syndrome kept me from confronting a poor supervisor about testing. He wanted to manually test everything and ship immediately. This led to some horrible code going out and quite often blamed on me. I’ve learned and had some amazing projects with solid testing in place.

This is another important one: unit testing is a must. For small projects having unit tests is a "nice to have", but for big projects it is "a mus". So adding unit tests for some projects may indicated you know its value, you're willing to do it and, most important, you know how to do it. Don't neglect to learn how to unit tests a code base.

Unpopular Opinion: I don't write unit tests. I have worked in fintech before and I know how important proper testing can be - so don't get me wrong. But I have seen companies that write End-2-End tests to see if a link actually changes a page. Crazy times. Now I work as a founder and CTO and I need to prioritize my time and efforts to create the maximum value for our users without increasing our risks. Until now we have ZERO tests. Because most of our features are not even validated. Test-Driven-Development is a nice idea but fails horribly in real-life startup world. From my experience high must-have test coverages and too many unnecessary tests is WORSE than writing no tests at all. Of course write test for crucial business logic.

Knowing how to test your code is super important. Knowing how to write good or meaningful tests is somewhat of an art form. It is important for you to develop this discipline early on so that it becomes like second nature. It will not only help you write better code, but it will help the next person who has to work on it.

Leave your ego at the door. None of us create perfect code. Letting others critique your work is the key to getting better. A big mistake many developers make is avoiding any kind of feedback because they look at potential criticisms as a personal attack. Letting others critique your work will give you an insight that you normally wouldn't have because it allows you to leverage knowledge and skillsets different and potentially better than your own.

Seeking feedback is my compass in web development. It's not just about perfecting code but evolving, learning, and building connections. Feedback isn't a weakness; it's a commitment to excellence and perpetual growth in this dynamic field.

No percurso do aprendizado, a importancia do feedback é gigante. Buscar orienta??o e avalia??o de pessoas com senioridade maior torna-se muito importante. O feedback construtivo n?o apenas fornece insights sobre as áreas de melhoria, mas também acelera a curva de aprendizado, direcionando esfor?os para desenvolver habilidades mais relevantes e eficazes.

One of the most difficult thing but also one of the fastest ways of growing as a software engineer. 1) We tend to think that we wasting the other person’s time in this busy industry... and you are totally right, that is why you need to ask them, otherwise they will not bother to stop what they are doing to give you feedback. Also, how do you think that most of the people that you admire reached that position? Having a good mentor, asking for advices and feedbacks can shorten a lot your way throughout your career. 2) We are afraid to listen something that we do not want to. That is the exact reason we need to hear it, if anyone tell us an uncomfortable truth, how can we grow? It will take much longer to discover the problem by yourself.

Knowing to receive feedback is an important part of software development. I might note that it is also important to learn how to give feedback. These two skills are particularly valuable when working on agile teams that employ a code review process.

In web development, it's not just about mastering fundamentals; it's riding the wave of innovation. Staying current means anticipating shifts in skills, tools, and best practices. I stay attuned to trends through blogs, podcasts, courses, and events, ensuring my projects are not just current but forward-thinking—efficient, secure, and user-centric.

Not keeping up with the trends is a dangerous statement. As an engineer, it's important for you to clearly distinguish between tech that's needed and tech that's wanted. Keeping up with the latest and greatest can cost you development, debugging and maintenance time as well as time required for new teams to get accustomed. Choosing the tech that's needed is much more responsible and clearly showcases your expertise rather than using a new piece of tech just because it sounds cool.

I had code die over a weekend. It was odd since we hadn’t changed the prod code in months. After three days of research, I found that I missed (never looked for) a change in CSS that hit the browser over that weekend. I learned to pay attention to trends that could impact all my code.

Se manter atualizado no campo do desenvolvimento é crucial para permanecer relevante e eficiente. Um exemplo evidente é a transi??o do React (CRA) para o Next.js em muitas aplica??es. à medida que as demandas evoluem, ferramentas como o Next.js oferecem benefícios significativos, como otimiza??es de renderiza??o e funcionalidades avan?adas. Ficar informado sobre essas mudan?as permite aos desenvolvedores adaptar suas habilidades e oferecer solu??es mais eficazes.

New trends in this field are emerging very rapidly, even faster now with the advent of AI. It's essential to keep track of all available resources and best practices to keep your portfolio up to date. Furthermore, new technologies save you time

Neglecting to find joy in your work can lead to burnout and stifle creativity, crucial elements in web development. When you enjoy the process, it reflects in the quality of your work, something that teammates and employers are quick to notice. However, it's important to balance enthusiasm with practicality to avoid "gold plating"—adding unnecessary features or enhancements. Ensuring you're genuinely passionate about web development will not only make the journey more fulfilling but also inspire innovation and dedication in your projects.

That’s exactly how I got far in my career! Having as much fun as possible and enjoying the process of learning, building and seeing things come to life. Getting that “amazement” feeling from seeing how things work together.

It's absolutely true that having an interest in the work you do is crucial. When you're passionate about a project, it shows in the results. Seeking meaning and purpose in a new project is very important. Working on meaningful projects can provide additional motivation and enthusiasm, which can positively impact performance and final outcomes.

If you are a software engineer you probably have felt that joy of solving a difficult problem or doing something impactful. We can all agree that it is one of the best feelings that we can have at our job. In my opinion, it is a privilege that we, software engineers, have. How many professions do we know that people can really have that type of feeling? We just have to find what make us feel that to make our job as much fun as possible as we are going to spend one third or more of our lives at work.

It's crucial to find joy in the creative and problem-solving aspects of the job. Not only does having fun keep you motivated and passionate, but it also helps you navigate through the inevitable challenges and frustrations that come with the territory. Engaging in projects that spark your interest, exploring new ideas, collaborating with peers, and participating in online communities are all fantastic ways to cultivate enjoyment and fulfillment in your web development journey.

Don't go chasing waterfalls. Please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you're used to. I know that you're gonna have it your way or nothing at all.

1. Teach Yourself or Fall Behind If you want to keep up you need to: - Find your mentors, youtubers, tech blogs... - Spin up side-projects. - Get your hands dirty. 2. Solving Problems > Coding skills AI can easily churn out highly optimized code these days. But it’s very bad at solving complex problems. Prioritise developing your problem-solving skills over learning to write fancy code. 3. Balancing work and life can be damn hard I have been working as a freelancer and a founder. I always thought this is the easy part... wrong! I had countless nights were I took my coding problems into my sleep. Most walks with my dog are more productive than office hours. So if you are not into meditation and mindfulness already: start now.

My most valuable piece of advice is to find a challenging job with a supportive manager. This will boost your learning curve.

Caring about degrees or super expensive bootcamps is a key that made many people just settle! There are millions of free, yet amazing learning sources and bootcamps that are just as good, some are much better by the way. Hard? Maybe once at the beginning, but if you just didn't quit, things will go your way and get easier as you climb the mountain! Starting with HTML is what you need to do. Then, CSS which is a bit harder, but you don't have to be that great master! Just learn it. After that, Javascript which is as hard as CSS. Keep learning and practicing. Try to create things and not just the exercises. Those are the building blocks. From their life will be easier. Just start and keep practicing.

Em meio ao desafio constante do aprendizado no mundo do desenvolvimento, é crucial adotar uma abordagem equilibrada em rela??o às próprias expectativas. Em vez de se cobrar excessivamente, concentre-se no progresso contínuo de sua evolu??o. A jornada de aprendizado é um caminho sinuoso, repleto de novas tecnologias e desafios, e é normal n?o absorver todos os conceitos instantaneamente.