I’m interested in developing websites sites and I already know some html and css but I want to become a complete developer with java script, php, and sql knowledge. What is the best way to learn? I considered taking college course but it seemed like a lot of money and not straight to the point enough. I also considered some online courses but then I doubted if there were in-depth enough. seem a lot of people are self taught. Is self teaching a long unnecessary route or is it a standard and very possible route to web development? i really want to learn web development the correct way as quickly as possible. theres so much info out there its hard not to get turned around…
It sort of depends on your learning style and preferences. Some people can only learn effectively in a classroom and under the instruction of a person. Others (like me) learn best on their own and through practice, experimentation, reading, and self-teaching.
I’ve used online video resources like lynda.com with much success to quickly ramp up my abilities in new areas. There are so many online resources out there, it is definitely possible to learn everything you need to know on your own. It just really depends on whether or not you can effectively learn in that way.
I’m interested in developing websites sites and I already know some html and css but I want to become a complete developer with java script, php, and sql knowledge. What is the best way to learn? I considered taking college course but it seemed like a lot of money and not straight to the point enough. I also considered some online courses but then I doubted if there were in-depth enough. seem a lot of people are self taught. Is self teaching a long unnecessary route or is it a standard and very possible route to web development? i really want to learn web development the correct way as quickly as possible. theres so much info out there its hard not to get turned around…
You can always go thought online tutorials and slowly learn through that, but being self taught is usually the most common approach and College is not always a good choice for this type of thing. I have heard from many colleagues that they only went to Collage/University for the papers and that they could have learned everything online.
Get a good book and go from there to learn the fundamentals. Online is horrible environment to grasp basic concepts in prerequisite form. Online tutorials lack the continual progression, structure and guided path of books. So for someone who doesn’t get at least the basics they are a bad choice in my opinion likely to jump between things in a disjointed, unstructured fashion. Really though its just about starting. Its not going to be quick and your likely to never stop learning but there sure is an implicit point to reach before you can be considered useful in a professional atmosphere and asset to business environment. That said since your weaknesses yet desires lye in programming I would recommend picking up a good Java (not JavaScript) or C book. Spend a few months diving into C or Java and everything else will make much more sense since all application level programming is similar to those fundamental languages in concept, theory and implementation to some extent.
so grasping java will lead to understanding things like java script and php? why not just study java script since it’s whats used on websites? can you recommend any solid books that are good for learning this stuff?
It depends on how you best learn things. I did an 18 month Diploma course in web programming which covered html, css, javascript, php, database design. In 18 months you’re not going to learn everything about each area of web development but you should get a very strong foundation. Once you have a solid foundation then expanding your knowledge from books, online etc will become a lot easier because you will understand the concepts and terms used. Doing a course helped me a lot because the teacher was very, very good and he gave us insights into more advanced concepts.
which course did you take?
I did a course with computeach, which was ok but was too broad, in hindsight it would have been better had it been all Html,css and javascript. Whilst it covered the basics under a structured environment it was too expensive , and like all the courses they promised more than was able to deliver so beware!!!
I have probably learned more by reading books and my favourite online resource is lynda.com.
The recent video tutorials by sitepoint are very good, I have learnt more javascript using Kevin Yank’s video than any other method.
Java =/= Javascript. Don’t let the names confuse you. Instead of learning a specific language, try to learn the fundamental concepts of programming (ex. variables, types, functions, methods, etc.). I’m not an expert, but it made jumping from language to language much easier. All I really had to worry about was the syntax. One advantage I could see from learning Java first is that it has specific variable types and it does the collection of information that’s no longer being used by your program for you. Javascript has all types of data under the same type of variable (var) so that can encourage bad habits.
Learning fundamental logic and syntax of C, C++ or Java will help you to learn other languages easily.
Just start with W3 schools - http://www.w3schools.com.
Gives very good basic idea before you dive into some complicated stuff.
This. This 1000x this.
I made this mistake. I spent $625 on a PHP course at a local community college, only to find out that having someone teach you PHP isn’t any more effective than reading a book or learning the syntax via php.net.
The course lacked the actual programming logic, and application structuring strategy, as well as Object Oriented Programming techniques that I needed.
While I did learn a lot, it left me with gaping holes in my fundamental knowledge of development, and as such I needed to look elsewhere. DON’T start with PHP, start with programming fundamentals.
I actually think that the online courses can be pretty helpful. Take a look at some of the programs listed on http://www.accreditedonlinecolleges.com - good stuff! 
I learned everything web related there, after that then you need to PRACTICE A LOT, only then you’ll become a good developer
for html and css i recommend “Build Your Own Web Site The Right Way Using HTML & CSS, 2nd Edition” i learnt more about html and css in that book then at college and university. Its a Beginners book by the way.
you dont have to learn Java and C++ unless you want a career in software development, grab yourself a good book on Javascript or PHP and MySQL, reasearch on Amazon by looking at the book reviews left by customers and decide which book you would invest in. One more thing only buy books if your happy learning from books becuase it can be boring.
- Start with W3 Schools. Learn the basics of HTML and CSS
- Google free html templates or css templates, and take a look at that they do.
- Build something on your own.
- Join web design community/forums, and read articles online.
- Help others out… take on free projects to help build your experience (Kind of like what I am doing)
Yes, from w3c one can get html and css knowledge with simple examples.
Practicing more and more techniques will make you an expert.
Fully agree, now realising this. Im at college learning web development and wish i didnt do now. Learn lots of things that are not really relevant to what i want, but now at the end of the first year and will stick it out just for the qualification. The actual stuff im learning, well not really much interest in most of it. Id say online tutorials all the way!
It depends on how best you learn. Me. I always had my eyes set on anything and everything to do computers. However I found after university, I had narrowed down what I wanted to do. It’s been about a year now since I’m done and I’ve been learning through online tutorials and remembering what I learnt whilst I was studying.
I started at w3schools and through specific google searches I was able to find helpful information to get me back on track. One of those resources were Black Max. After that I was back on the ball fixing my unvalidated websites.
Starting with w3schools I’m now in the process of learning javascript as a precursor to php.
hmmmmm.
Practice makes perfect and if you are hands-on like me, it’ll really do your coverage wonders to have a server to test your websites on. I’ve found WampServer to meet my needs as a Windows User.
I’m now playing a balancing act between 2 CMS (Wordpress & Joomla), learning to code validated websites, I connect with and give back to technical communities (and in doing so I also learn how to do many things), I tinker in coding on my own (using help sheets until I can fully get back on that horse) and having great fun doing it.
Cheers
Shawna, thanks!
W3Schools is not the best resource. A lot of its content is obsolete. Not to say there’s not a lot of good material on the site, but the site has some problems.