How to Learn Web Development in 2025

This comprehensive guide outlines a clear path for beginners to learn web development in 2025. It covers essential skills like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, progressing to advanced topics such as React and full-stack development. With practical advice on learning resources and project-based practice, this article provides a roadmap for aspiring web developers to launch their careers or build their own startups.

Oct 10, 2024

How to Learn Web Development in 2025

*The cover image is from https://roadmap.sh/frontend

Introduction

In this article, I describe how I would learn JavaScript if I started it today. Also, I want to give some general recommendations on how to learn JavaScript and Web development in general, and what stages of learning Web development exist.
Before you start, there are a few things you need to know. First and foremost, you need to be mentally prepared for a challenging and lengthy journey. Learning programming is tough, and there will be times when you feel stuck and frustrated. It's important to understand that this is a normal part of the process for everyone who becomes a programmer. If you dedicate enough time and energy to studying and practicing, you will eventually become a programmer. Just be prepared for the difficulties and don't give up easily.

General plan

HTML/CSS JS React (or other web framework)
If you want to become a full-stack:
  • Node.js
  • Express.js (or other backend framework)
  • SQL/MongoDB
Optional:
  • TypeScript
  • Testing
  • Security

Steps to take

When you're just starting out, you can begin with HTML/CSS or JavaScript. Typically, people who are new to programming start with HTML because it's easier to grasp. HTML isn't a full-fledged programming language; you just need to understand some rules and concepts to create a website in HTML. However, the website may look outdated. This is where CSS comes into play. CSS is used to make your website visually appealing. You need to learn rules and concepts to apply them. Once you've mastered CSS, your website will look much better, but it still won't be interactive.
Next, you should consider learning JavaScript. It's a powerful programming language that can be used for website development, as well as creating mobile and desktop applications, writing backend server code, and much more. However, for the purposes of this article, we will focus solely on web development.
The general recommendation is to learn some concepts, in theory, using YouTube tutorials or other sources and then apply these concepts in practice. Here is the list of resources for beginners. It's very important to practice. This is the main way to learn by doing things on your own.
I recommend starting with the feecodecamp course to learn HTML and CSS. The next step is to create a simple website using only HTML on your own. The same logic applies to learning CSS. First, learn the theory, and then work on projects on your own to understand how to apply it in practice. This is the most important part of knowing how to apply theory in practice.
Now, let's start learning JavaScript. I would split this part into two steps. First, learn vanilla JavaScript. You can use a free course at Codecademy. The second part is to learn how to make the website interactive using JavaScript. In the first part, start learning programming concepts like variables, arrays, loops, etc., and core JavaScript concepts. It’s important to not skip this part because you have to have a good base in JavaScript to move forward. In this step, you should practice by doing code challenges. You can use DeepDev they have a learning path for basic JavaScript with challenges for beginners.
Now that you have a strong knowledge of vanilla JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, it’s time to combine them by creating interactive websites. This GitHub repo has ideas for projects to use all your knowledge.
After you have created a couple of projects on your own using JS, HTML, and CSS, it’s time to choose a web framework to learn. In the modern world, almost all websites are created using web frameworks. The most popular are React, Angular, and Vue. The choice of the framework is off-topic for this blog, so we will continue with the most popular option, React.
Now, you need to find a comprehensive theoretical course on React that will provide you with all the necessary theories to build your own project. I recommend taking this course on Udemy but wait until the sale. After completing the course, the next step is to start building something on your own. You can begin by re-creating one of your previous projects using React or your preferred framework.

Conclusion

Now that you have built plenty of projects using different technologies, you are ready to find a job in tech or build your own startup from scratch. By creating numerous projects while learning, you are developing problem-solving skills and building a portfolio that sets you apart from other beginners. Most importantly, this approach helps you remember things better and learn faster and more effectively.
So good luck in your learning journey. It will be hard, but it is worth it.