Web design is full of creativity, fun, progression and skill. It is an ever-evolving subject that is hugely satisfying to learn and master. Learning how to develop websites provides a person with far more than an understanding of how to write code. It develops them as a person; it teaches them how to think for themselves, solve problems, be resilient in the face of seemingly impossible challenges and think outside of the box.
Every challenge we face when building a website furthers our understanding of both the field and of ourselves. Once you have finished working your way through this book, you will find that not only do you look at websites in a completely different way, you might just look at yourself differently too. Web design is hugely satisfying and is an industry full of developers who don’t just love what they do, they live and breathe it.
If you work your way through this book, I guarantee that you too will learn to love programming and all of its quirks. I am a computer programmer with 12 years of experience and every day I still wake up thirsty to learn more about the subject. I often dream in code and I look at the world in an extremely logical and functional way that allows me to complete any task that I set my mind to with control and understanding. Web design has fuelled my thirst for knowledge and understanding and continues to be my true first love. Web design is far more than just programming – it is a huge part of many people’s lives and soon, you too will be one of those people.
Good luck working your way through this book. I am sure you will have a thoroughly enjoyable time working through the exercises, learning more about the field, before finally building your very own website at the end. This book aims to challenge you – possibly in ways that you’ve never been challenged before. It will also require you to think in ways you probably haven’t thought before. At times it will be difficult, at times frustrating and at other times downright infuriating, but I urge you to stick with it, to accept the challenges you face, and overcome them with patience and resilience. Learning to become a web developer is also a process of learning how to learn and how to problem solve. These skills will serve you well in whatever you choose to do after the book is finished.
Now, let’s learn how to build websites.