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How to Become a Web Developer and Make Lots of Money

Posted by Robert Love on August 1, 2007 in Articles, MySQL, PHP, JavaScript

Over the recent days I’ve been asked to speak with a few new starters where I work. As budding (and not-so-budding) web developers, they’re eager to latch onto the next big thing and blog about it in order to appear cool (oops!). So, in order to stop repeating myself and free up more time for shameless self-promotion, read on if you want to become a web developer and make lots of money.

The hot topics are:

• Training
• XHTML and CSS
• JavaScript and the DOM
• Web Standards
• Open APIs
• Google Maps
• Content Management Systems (CMS)
• Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
• Development Environments
• Development Frameworks
• Coding Standards
• Version Control
• Documentation

Training

First, you’ll need some top-quality, number 1 training. And for this, you need look no further than Signified. Signified offers training courses in web technologies offered through Learn4Life at The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. All Signified training courses are delivered by Robert Love, a highly experienced trainer and founder of Signified. All Signified training courses are held in fully-equipped, state-of-the-art, computer labs at The University of New South Wales.

XHTML and CSS

You’ve completed the course and you’ve read both the XHTML reference and the CSS reference from cover to cover, now you really want to see what is possible when XHTML meets CSS. It’s an oldy but a goldy - the one-and-only:

css Zen Garden: The Beauty in CSS Design

JavaScript and the DOM

You’ve completed the course and read the JavaScript reference, you’re following the zen path of unobtrusiveness, now you’re ready to forget everything you learned and start using someone else’s JavaScript framework:

• The Dojo Toolkit
• DOM Assistant
• jQuery
• mootools
• Prototype JavaScript framework
• Rico
• script.aculo.us
• The Yahoo! User Interface Library (YUI)

Web Standards

• Read the hype:
  Web Standards Project
• Join the club:
  Web Standards Group

Open APIs

It’s cool to use the acronym “API” in a sentence. In much the same way as it used to be cool to say “web services” every time you opened your mouth. Of course, acronyms are far cooler than actual words - even if the acronym is a word (REST, SOAP), a cleaning product (AJAX) or a mispelled boys name (JSON).

• Flickr Services
  Flickr has an open Application Programming Interface (API for short). This means that anyone can write their own program to present public Flickr data (like photos, tags, profiles or groups) in new and different ways. There’s a long list of API methods available to you to work with, and we love it when this happens, so… go forth and play!
• Google APIs
• YouTube Developer Area
  YouTube offers open access to key parts of the YouTube video repository and user community, via an open API interface and RSS feeds. Using our APIs, you can easily integrate online videos from YouTube’s rapidly growing repository of videos into your application. After you’ve created a developer profile, you’ll be ready to tap into the power of YouTube.

Google Maps

If you’re not using maps - you’re nowhere man! Get started with the Google Maps API (and other useful mappy stuff) here:

• Google Maps API
• Google Maps API Concepts
• Google Maps API Tutorial
• Free Geocoding

Content Management Systems (CMS)

If God had wanted us to pay for content management, he wouldn’t have started Open Source CMS (Try before you install!). Here’s a few of some note:

• Drupal
• eZ Publish
• Joomla!
• Mambo
• WordPress

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

Smoke and mirrors! Don’t blow your allowance on an SEO “expert.” If you have this:

http://www.example.com/products.php?cat_id=5&prod_id=72

Use Apache Mod Rewrite to change it to this:

http://www.example.com/products/widgets/noodle+spranger/

Development Environments

Now you have the know-how, it’s time to put it all into practice. To start, you’ll need a local development environment. I’m an open-source advocate (except for my laptop which is provided to me by work - so don’t give me shit about using Windows!). So, to set up a local Windows/Apache/MySQL/PHP (WAMP) development environment, check out Installing Apache, MySQL and PHP on Windows.

Development Frameworks

If we’re talking PHP - we’re eating Cake.

Coding Standards

If we’re talking PHP - we’re eating PEAR.

Version Control

Make sure you’re working on the right Subversion.

Documentation

phpDocumentor: The complete documentation solution for PHP