The roadmap to frontend developer in 6 months (2024)
Let me give you a simple 🚦Roadmap to know where you are, and where you should go next.
🔑Key Concepts
Every website has two parts. A Frontend, and a Backend.
Understanding these two fundamental parts of a website is crucial.
Frontend refers to the visible and interactive part of a website, encompassing all its visual elements.
The backend, on the other hand, operates behind the scenes, managing data storage and databases and providing the necessary information to the frontend.
🌐Jobs
Web development jobs typically fall into three categories:
- Front-end development.
- Back-end development.
- Full-stack development, which combines both frontend and backend development.
👨💻Front-end Development
Front-end developers use HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to craft the user interface and experience. Let’s delve into these essential technologies for frontend development in 2024.
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language): HTML serves as the foundation for structuring web pages.
CSS (Cascading Style Sheets): CSS is instrumental in styling webpages, enhancing their visual appeal.
JavaScript: JavaScript empowers webpages with interactivity and functionality.
🔻A Real-World Example
Suppose you’re tasked with building an application similar to Instagram. Each post in this application consists of various elements, such as images, text, and icons for likes, comments, shares, and more.
HTML & CSS come into play here.
- HTML is used to define the structural components of the layout.
- CSS is employed to add visual effects, ranging from fonts and shapes to colors and animations.
JavaScript takes the lead when it comes to interactivity, making it possible to like a post and perform other dynamic actions. It’s important to note that while HTML and CSS define the structure and appearance, JavaScript adds functionality and behavior.
Every webpage on the internet is constructed using these three core languages. The better your grasp of these languages and their features, the more adept you’ll be in front-end development.
🚦Front-end Developer in 6 Months
Starting your frontend development journey in 2023 means first mastering HTML and CSS. By dedicating 3–5 hours a day to study and coding, you should achieve a solid understanding of these languages within about a month and a half.
After acquiring proficiency in HTML and CSS, the next step is to tackle JavaScript, which might take another six weeks (1.5 months). While you won’t become a JavaScript expert in this short span, you’ll have a strong foundation and continue learning as you work on diverse projects.
The initial three months are all about building your fundamentals.
🛠Frameworks
Website development often entails repetitive tasks. To streamline this process, frontend frameworks and libraries prove invaluable, offering reusable code for faster development.
Frameworks such as React, Angular, and Vue are widely used in the industry. However, you don’t need to learn them all at once. Different projects may require different tools, so it’s advisable to adapt and learn as needed.
⚛React
For beginners in 2023, focusing on React is a smart choice, given its prominence in the field. You can expect to dedicate one to two months to mastering React.
💫Version Control System
Next on your journey, become familiar with version control systems. These systems help track project history and enable collaborative work with others.
Git is the most widely used version control system, employed by over 70% of software development teams. It’s a must-know tool, and allocating around two weeks for learning Git is advisable.
📂Design Tool
As you go through your front-end development journey, you need a design tool that allows you to blueprint, design, and build components for your website before actually writing code without any fancy tech stuff. Figma is the best place to do it! 63% of designers use Figma, making it the most popular tool on the market. Personally, it’s my actual favorite. I LOVE it.
Figma helps frontend developers to design web pages and parts of websites, so you can show them to your team or clients. You can also use it to make design systems, which are like plans for how your website should look. So why not sign up now and play around with it? It’s FREE!
You can also try Figma Professional, which allows you to have team libraries. Figma Organization grants you access to company-wide libraries, perfect for large organizations with several offices or teams. It’s chock-full of in-depth analytics to improve your designs.
The fundamentals of Figma may usually be understood in a few days of concentrated practice, and a thorough comprehension can be attained in a few weeks.
📝Conclusion
These skills and steps are the essentials every front-end developer should possess in 2024. You’ll find them listed in nearly every job description.
Remember, in your pursuit of front-end development mastery, focus on these core skills. Avoid the temptation to rush and learn too many things too quickly; this will only lead to wasted time.
This roadmap provides you with a clear direction to becoming a proficient front-end developer in 2024.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article. Happy coding!
You can watch this video to understand this article better:
🥢My Socials:
🤝 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/codewithshahan
☕_Buy me a coffee
▶ https://www.buymeacoffee.com/codewithshahan
