Take it with a grain of Salt — but if I was starting out trying to be a web dev today this is the syllabus / path I would take.
Other devs — comment below what path you would take if you were starting from scratch today.
Month 1 (HTML + CSS + Basics)
- Week 1 HTML (Build and deploy a website using ugly plain css) (Deploy using google drive or Netlify)
- Week 2 HTML + CSS again Deploy using Google drive or netlify
-
Bonus points for:
- Google Analytics
- Custom Webfonts
- Images in your website
- Mutli-page website- First 2 weeks is about getting something on the screen, learning editors, and basics of the internet HTML + CSS is the easiest way to do it.
- Last 2 weeks: Rebuilding one of those sites with a CSS framework as a starting point. Bootstrap or Tailwind (Just using a CDN style tag)
By month one you should be pretty confident in
- HTML
- CSS
- The terminal
- Git + Github
- Basics of hosting and domains
- Basics of file structures and relative paths
- Basics of style tags and using a front end library
At this point you can probably make $15-20/hr freelance if you position yourself right.
You could also do a lot customizing things like Squarespace or Shopify
Month 2 (JavaScript)
-
Keep it Vanilla JavaScript
- Avoid JQuery or any other libraries
- https://www.beginnerjavascript.com/ or any other course for Vanila JavaScript
- Add interactivity to your site — Again deploy it
- Maybe do a couple hours of algorithm bullshit — not until month 2
By month two you should be confident in:
- Writing and reading JavaScript functions
- Selecting and interacting with HTML elements on screen
- Handling forms and inputs
- Some API interactivity — Maybe a Stripe Credit card collection form or the Pokemon API
- Strong recommend to try to play some some "low code" stuff and make something that actually does something. Not just a "Static" site.
At this point you can probably make $20-25/hr freelance if you position yourself right.
You could now build an MVP using "low code / no code tools — Strongly encouraged
Month 3 (React — if you want to be a "Front end dev")
- This is going to take all month.
- Build at least 2 projects start to finish and DEPLOY them.
- Bonus points for interactivity or interacting with any kind of low code backend — airtable or Firebase
At this point you can probably make $25-30/hr freelance if you position yourself right.
Month 4 (Gatsby + CMS Systems)
(Get freelance work or do favors for people now)
- Build a static site using React + Gatsby
- Always be deploying
- Bonus points for actually getting paid to develop a website
- Understand and explore Content Management Systems
- Headless Wordpress, Contentful, Sanity Etc.
At this point you can probably make $25-30/hr freelance if you position yourself right.
Month 5 (Backend basics — Next.js or Rails)
- You can start with Next.js
- Even though you want to be a front end developer you'll need knowledge of the back end
- You should now build an app that does "Something" with a backend you've built.
At this point you can probably make $30-35/hr freelance if you position yourself right and be up for internships / JR JR positions at agencies or firms
Month 6 (Build something real using everything you know)
- ABD — ALWAYS BE DEPLOYING — Shipping things, get paid early on if you can.
- Build small and complete
- Random note: This "Front End Web Development" course from Treehouse seems pretty solid and my recommended path kind of follows this
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