Skills Every Web Developer Needs

The question was asked on Quora: What are the five essential skills every web developer should have? There were 91 different answers to this question, though most could be broken down into one of three categories: technical, personal, and interpersonal. Within each answer some similarities existed including basics of the web (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, HTTP(S), and server basics), security, testing, and a willingness to learn. A few of the unique responses included etiquette on sites such as StackOverflow and Github, how to handle criticism, and a pulse on the industry. In this episode BJ and Will list their necessary skills to be a web developer. Attempting to remain evergreen and language agnostic they cover the basics but leave deeper understanding to the listener or for later episodes. The list is divided into fundamental knowledge or the absolute basics to get started, basic knowledge (what's needed for simple freelance or open source work), intermediate knowledge (the skills to get the job), and advanced knowledge (how to stand out). Due to the length of the recording the episode was divided into two parts. This first part looks at the fundamental and basic knowledge needed to be a web developer. Next week will feature the intermediate and advanced knowledge to be a web developer as well as a brief list of the honorable mentions that did not make the list but are good to know to advance as a web developer. Episode Breakdown * Fundamental Knowledge Web Development 101 “By basing your skill set on learning the underlying languages of these frameworks and libraries you will future-proof yourself against this “fast-moving” industry to a point where it actually feels like things move incredibly slowly.” ~ Tim Wright These are the absolute basics one must learn when starting out in web development. All of the future items on the list build upon these fundamentals. * 21:50 Core Web Languages These include HTML, CSS, vanilla JavaScript, and Markdown. You need to know the languages the web is written in. Learning basic JavaScript will help better understand libraries and frameworks and make switching from one to another easier. Finally the previous languages were written for the machine (browser) to interpret commands whereas Markdown is compiled and more for the human writing. * 23:57 JavaScript Libraries and Frameworks Know the differences between the libraries and frameworks in JavaScript. Learn jQuery and know when to use it or when to pick a smaller library. Choose a framework to learn and learn it thoroughly. * 27:25 A Serverside Language “This is a crucial element. If you are mainly a front-end developer, then you still need to have a cursory understanding of how things work on the back-end.” ~ David Tucker PHP, Ruby, Python, Node.js, C++, ASP.NET, etc. Even front-end developers need a cursory knowledge of how data is transfered and how their code interacts with the back-end. A simple way to learn is via Node.js as you will already know JavaScript so that is one less hurdle to jump in learning. Being able to create the entire chain from the front-end user interface through the API layer to the database on the back-end is an important skill set. * 31:33 APIs, AJAX, and Callbacks Know the fundamentals of API calls and how to use HTTPS and OAuth. Learn how and be able to get data and parse JSON or XML. * 34:31 Editors and IDEs “You want to get comfortable enough with editors that if you are asked to do something you can do it” Starting out pick an editor or IDE and master it’s functionality. This is something that comes with time and practice. Learn the core of the editor and then explore plugins and extensions. * Basic Knowledge The next level up from the fundamentals.