10 Things “Newbie” Web Developers SHOULD Know!

When I first started designing for the web I didn’t think there were any fancy tools or special short cuts to developing. Slowly over the years I’ve come to understand that a great developer never stops looking for new ways of making his life easier.

A few things I wish I knew about back when I first started designing/developing are…

1. A GREAT text editor. You don’t need a full fledged IDE but try not to go too simple. I’ve been using Kate for a few years and before then Programmer’s Notepad for Windows. After I moved to Linux I found some great editors and free IDE’s for programming almost anything.
2. Knowledge of SVN. Until you go from backing up files on a cd and switch SVN you’ll never know what your missing. Anyone who works in a team of two, three, four or more people NEEDS to know how to use CVS or SVN or GIT but not all of them. I love SVN, it’s easy to use and it’s not a pain in the ass like people who use CVS claim.
3. Command-Line Access. Once you get used to command-line you’ll never go back. Don’t replace it with every GUI on your desktop, just use it when it’s more convenient.
4. Know Your Options. People are usually limited only by what they don’t know. When I first learned Postgres, I thought it was really simple. Every week I learn something new about Postgres I’m amazed at how advanced it really is, and as a result my coding is 3 x more effective every week.
5. Have a mad passion to learn constantly. This is what separates the outstanding programmer from the *good* programmer. There’s about a 500% difference, one’s motivated to put food on the table, the other’s motivated to both put food on the table and become a better programmer.
6. Have a mad passion to create. There are the people to code because they have to and there’s those who believe it’s who they are, it’s what they’ve been born to do: create, build and improve.
7. Be organized, advance your mind, simplify everything else. Being organized makes you much more motivated and happier. It’s partly physiological, if you work in a messy environment, you’ll go about working in a messy fashion.
8. Never stop improving, even if your a pro(or think so). “Good enough” now days never got you all the way. If you want to succeed, don’t settle for second best. Do your very best.
9. Learn more than just NARROW web design. To be a web designer you need to know more than just HTML/CSS/Javascript/PHP. Become flexible and adaptable.
10. Decide why your coding/who your coding for. Are you doing it for a living? What options do you have? Are you going to build your own company? Be a free lancer? Get hired by a company? Deciding how your going to go about your career will let you pick up new skills and guide you to the next level.

The best thing about becoming a better developer/designer is that in 5 years you’ll that much more than you do now.