Programming for the Web: An Introduction to HTML, CSS, and JavaScript

Designing websites entails different skills. It involves a fair understanding of aesthetics, trends, and how search engine algorithms rank websites. But before you get too overwhelmed by all of these things, you will need to learn how to code.

What Makes Coding Necessary?

Despite the availability of website builders that can automate your ideas, web designers and developers have to learn how to write their code. Each page that you see on every website is based on instructions. If something goes wrong, in most cases, you will have to do the manual work of checking the code for bugs and other errors.

Now, to get started, you will need to learn how to code using HTML, CSS, and Javascript.

HTML

For those who don't have a coding background, HTML is always a good starting point to learn web design. HTML or HyperText Markup Language is at the core of every website. It provides the basic structure of how the site is going to look. Think of it as the bones of your website. It is then modified by CSS and JavaScript.

With just HTML, you'll have an idea of how the website is structured. You can add headings, insert images, and even build tables. When HTML was invented in 1989, its purpose was to simply provide structure. It was only a few years later when CSS was developed and things changed how people approached web design.

HTML uses elements such as: header, paragraph, and image to name a few. For instance, you can wrap content as a paragraph by using the paragraph tag. Normally, you’d start the content with the tag

to mark the start of the paragraph and use </p> tag to mark its end.

CSS

Next is CSS. This programming language gives the necessary aesthetics to your HTML code. To make it easier to understand, while HTML gives you an unfinished house, CSS is the wallpaper and paint that makes the house lively. CSS will give the website its color, font, and background images. With CSS, it can dictate the overall mood of your website. In addition to this, CSS is the one responsible for allowing the website to fit different devices. In the past ten years, web design has transitioned towards a mobile-first approach given the reality that people nowadays browse websites more with their mobile devices rather than their laptops and PCs.

CSS can apply specific rules on single or even multiple tags. In some situations, rules are applied in the entire document. CSS plays an integral role in branding. It allows websites to follow the style guide set by the marketing team. This makes it easy to follow the font style, size, and color that fit the branding of a company.

The same can be said for the images that are going to be used on the website. In some cases, the web designer is also in charge of editing the photo before using CSS to style the image. To help you with this task, you can find the perfect photo editor with this guide, and then decide if you want the photo to be centered, or if you want it to stay in place even if the user is scrolling down.

JavaScript

Lastly, we go to the more complicated language which is JavaScript. What makes it important is that it gives your website the proper functionality. JavaScript is also handy for marketers who need to collect information from visitors. Here, you can integrate forms into your website. Plus, it can also automate a response based on that information.

For example, let’s say that you have a form designed to collect emails but in exchange, the user can download an ebook. If a user named “John” entered his information on your form, using JavaScript, the user can receive a confirmation such as “Thanks John, you can now download the ebook”.

But these days, JavaScript has a variety of practical uses beyond web design/development. It also comes in handy in creating games and creating mobile apps.

Conclusion

Keep in mind that coding is just like learning a new language like English, French, or Spanish. It takes a while to become adept in a language, but everything is possible if you take the time to practice regularly. Also, keep in mind that design trends change over time. And that’s why coding websites is such an exciting skill to learn.