{"id":7,"date":"2023-09-11T20:59:27","date_gmt":"2023-09-12T00:59:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wcet.waketech.edu\/jmscott\/WEB250\/wordpress\/?p=7"},"modified":"2023-09-25T18:26:24","modified_gmt":"2023-09-25T22:26:24","slug":"three-things-i-love-about-being-a-web-developer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wcet.waketech.edu\/jmscott\/WEB250\/wordpress\/three-things-i-love-about-being-a-web-developer\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Things I Love About Being a Web Developer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u201cIf you\u2019re already a front-end developer, well, pretend you\u2019re also wearing a pirate hat.\u201d<\/h4>\nEthan Marcotte<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
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As a graphic designer, it is nearly impossible<\/strong> to find a job that doesn\u2019t require you to have some level of web development skill. Learning front-end development is a necessity for almost any position, and some places expect you to know a bit of back-end as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a visual person, me and HTML and CSS get along fairly well, and sometimes WordPress and Drupal stop by for a few. A little less so with Javascript, SQL, and PHP, but we still get together for an occasional drink. Some of the other characters and I are barely on speaking terms<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All that to say, I\u2019m more of a front-end developer personality. It\u2019s like the charisma aspect of the web. It makes sense that what I enjoy about web development follows along those lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Community<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The web development community is nearly unparalleled. For every piece of Sahara-dry documentation out there, there are probably 8,000 posts on sites like Stack Overflow<\/a> and GitHub <\/a>that will answer your question faster and more effectively. Sometimes you get a few smarmy know-it-alls, but in general it\u2019s just people who are actively looking to help people find solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s like a caveman who makes his own shoes out of pelts walking into a Nike store for the first time.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Creating something that looks real<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Every once in a while, I\u2019ll hear people say, \u201cWow, this looks real!\u201d when I show them a design at work. At first I took it as an insult, as in \u201cI can\u2019t believe you made an ad that looks like it belongs in an actual magazine.\u201d It is kind of an odd statement to make to a graphic designer. But I realized at some point that these were generally people who had been doing everything themselves, making hokey little ads in PowerPoint, or logos in MS Paint, or getting their cousin to build them a website using Wix. They\u2019re so used to seeing garbage, they expect garbage. Most people don\u2019t even recognize it until they see what a professional can do. It\u2019s like a caveman who makes his own shoes out of pelts walking into a Nike store for the first time. As I\u2019ve learned web development over time, I\u2019m able to go back and look at some of my first attempts at building websites, and I feel kind of like the guy with the weird pelt-shoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Constantly changing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Like anything technology-related, web development is constantly changing. New standards, new updates, new code. The more devices are able to do, the more developers are able to expand functionality. With all of the improvements come new ways to make websites and apps look good and work better. If you go back and look at sites from the 90s, they look terrible and are barely functional compared to today. The principles of design and user experience existed, but computers and phones just couldn\u2019t live up to them. Developers and designers were limited, not by skill, but by the capabilities of the devices themselves. While having to learn new bits of code and new programs can sometimes be a hassle, it\u2019s a small price to pay to be able to build something just as you envisioned it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wrapping up<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In essence, being a web developer has introduced me to an entire community of people beyond my field as a graphic designer, helped me make professional-looking sites for clients, and allowed me to expand my knowledge-base to keep up with an ever-changing technological atmosphere. It’s my quest to always keep an eye on current tech to improve myself as a designer. With that in mind, I would be remiss if I didn’t plug my own post about the visual side of WordPress, so be sure to check out “Considerations when selecting a WordPress Theme<\/a>.” It’s a great opportunity to learn more about ways to upgrade the appearance of your site by choosing a theme that fits your style and budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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About Me<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Jason is a graphic designer based in the Raleigh, North Carolina, area with experience in art direction, print design, web design, branding, journalism and photography. I served eight years in the United States Army as an electronics technician and a public affairs specialist. I hold degrees in Biological Business Management from N.C. State and Graphic Design from East Carolina University.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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