I created my first website this past year in an effort to impress future employers and to begin learning front-end development practices. As someone who knew very little about front-end development, I had no idea what I was about to get myself into. Because I am a software engineering student, I decided to skip all the website building platforms out there and create my site from scratch to practice those front end languages such as HTML, CSS, and Javascript. Along the way, I learned some valuable lessons, shortcuts, and a whole lotta web design.

Number 1 — Why do you want to create a website? 🖥️

The most important part of the website design process is defining your goals for the site itself. Creating a site that holds some value to you, whatever that form may be, will increase your willingness to work on the site and to learn front-end languages to better it.

Top 5 Websites from SimilarWeb

Reflect on websites that you use regularly. Why are they so popular? What elements of design do they share? Most websites have a distinct purpose and gain a following in accordance. Determining the focus of your site and its audience is key to the starting process.

Number 2 — Draw out your site on paper ✏️

Having a vision of what you want to see when the site loads is a great starting point. I recommend sketching the site on paper — this allows you to create a concrete idea without actually knowing how to program it into existence (we’ll get there). It won’t be perfect but it will give you a design to begin working towards.

Number 3 — Online Tutorials are your friend 📚

In university, none of my required computer science and software engineering courses were concerned with frontend development, leaving it up to the students to learn it on their own time. Websites such as tutorialspoint, w3schools, and stackoverflow are great starting places to learn those front-end development basics in your own time. There are a lot of lessons out there, the key is to find one and stick to it.

Number 4 — Time Management ⏰

Creating a website you can feel proud of takes more time than most people recognize. At the start, there is a mountain of things to do, but breaking them into smaller, more approachable tasks is crucial, as it makes the whole process feel less daunting. I recommend using a task manager or to-do list app so that each day you have a clear plan of action. You need to start somewhere, even if you only set aside a small bit of time each day.

Number 5— There is no success without failure ✅

When starting out, things aren’t going to be perfect. That’s part of the process. Syntax errors, bugs, styling, and displays will all produce challenges, but if you stick with it, use online tutorials, and keep practicing, you will learn from the mistakes. Do not get discouraged after the first set back. Or the one-hundredth. Remember that web development is rewarding because there lies some challenge underneath it all.

Now, of course, this is not an all-inclusive list. But these five tips serve as a starting launchpad to propel you into the world of web design and development. Having a concrete goal, a design plan, useful tutorials, and no fear of failure, will go a long way in the creation of your first site — if you make the time for it. I wish you the best of luck!

You can find my first website here! http://jschriem.me/