6 TIPS TO UP YOUR WEB DEVELOPMENT GAME
Web development is all about coding or programming—depending on how you prefer to describe it. It is the language of computers and is behind the attractive and interactive websites we see around the World Wide Web these days. Web devs know this almost as well as they know that the job is at least as difficult—if not more so—as it looks to a complete novice.
Coding demands a programmer’s undivided attention, so much so that it takes a toll on their mental health in the long run. As long as they face regular distractions without regular breaks, nothing can be done to rectify this.
In the words of Allen F. Morgenstern, “work smarter not harder.” While the fact that an industrial engineer said this is hardly encouraging—and slightly worrisome—that is exactly what you, a web developer needs to do in order to improve your stress levels, for those directly affect your coding skills.
Here are some ways whereby you can get more done in less time, thus freeing up space for all those breaks.
LEARN, PRACTICE, REPEAT
The world of technology is constantly changing and web development is no different. You are likely to have a hard time catching up if you don’t keep yourself posted about any new innovations. Steer clear of obsolescence by constantly reading up on it in magazines and blogs like GitHub and Smashing.
Learning about new technology does not mean you will be able to adopt it in your coding right away, however, practice makes perfect and the more you do it, the more shortcuts you learn and the less time you spend on it.
CHEAT TO YOUR HEART’S CONTENT
Nothing comes off envying a fellow dev’s work; you have to be able to integrate it into your work as well. Go back to your favorite sites—how they work and their features—over and over again, observe their source code and copy it. If you are too straitlaced for that, just get in touch with the creator and get the code from them.
Imitating others’ work does not mean you have to abandon your own signature. In fact, you can just combine your work with theirs’ and see where it leads you. The end result might be something you have seen before, however, it could also be an entirely new construct. And it would all be your work because these days, everything is inspired by and built on something else.
COVER ALL YOUR CODING BASES
There is a lot of debate over whether you should comment code. We side with those that do because it is better to be secure in a messy looking code than a clean one that gives us trouble later on.
It’s true that commenting code is more time consuming, but it saves you time in the long run because,
- It is a practice that makes it more readable, thus not only making it possible for you to come back to it should you need to, but also another developer to understand the task that code has been used to execute.
- Humans read codes first and machines second, therefore, it would certainly help for them to look legible to the ones who create and recreate their functions.
- It opens you up to the possibility of automating repetitive tasks.
MAKE YOUR REST APIs MAKE SENSE
These days, REST APIs are the go to for every developer, however, the patterns they follow don’t always make sense. No matter how many patterns you use, it is important that they fit the context and don’t veer into anti-pattern territory.
It is easy to fall into the habit of creating broken RESTful patterns such as using incorrect HTTP verbs like HTTP GET or sending the wrong HTTP codes to responses. However, they do not get you anywhere, so avoid them to save yourself precious time. While it is okay to violate REST rules as long as there is a good reason for you to do so, you must always be cognizant of it.
GET YOUR HANDS ON A CODE EDITOR
A code editor helps you avoid errors, thus reducing the chances of encountering any bugs that might force you to revisit the source code. Be that as it may, you do need to try out several of them to figure out which one fits the bill. Consider your programming language and how much leeway you want for originality, for there are no bad code editors, only unsuitable ones.
GO FOR THE COMMAND LINE INTERFACE
No more does perfection have to take time as you can just get it right the first time and then automate it, if need be, in the future. Another thing you can do is use a Command Line Interface or CLI because even though its graphic counterpart is way more attractive and easier to understand, CLI achieves the same goals while demanding less resources, offering lesser, more focused commands and better control over your system.
Nothing kills flow quite like monotony. Web development is an ever-changing field partly because the ones working in it get easily bored of the same-old. It should, therefore, be both key and hobby for a developer to keep up with current trends.
There is new technology and with it, better tricks to coding coming up all the time. As a developer, it is your duty to subscribe to recommended blogs and remain posted about any new developments in the field. Doing so will help you get to the top and ensure you remain there, as falling behind is simply not an option in the world of professional web development.
