My Journey to Full-Stack Web Development

My journey to full-stack web development begins earlier than I would like to admit. It would be so nice of me to say that I have just begun to learn to code in November 2021. However, that would simply not be true.

My First Taste of Web Development and Coding

My introduction to web development was way back in 2001 at college, and the software of choice was Microsoft FrontPage. I know that has just aged me but age is just a number and you are never too late or too old to learn, grow and change careers.

We were tasked with choosing a local business and creating a website. I chose the newly opened swimming pool in my local town. Sadly I no longer have the original file, but I do remember a lot of clipart was used. No code was required but I did build my first ever website and I was very pleased with the end result.

It was at this time I also got my first introduction to programming and the language used was Visual Basic 6. Just thank yourself lucky if you have never had to use this. Despite how much this language irked me, I did love the drag-and-drop nature of the components. Once your components were in place, you wrote the code to bring your project to life.

The Reality of Working Life

It was unfortunate that I didn't get into my chosen University. I had no backups as at the time there were no other choices for the course I wanted to study. I would have to move away from home, get flights and spend money my family and I just didn't have. I wanted to study Computer Science and I knew I wanted to get into coding and perhaps software development. This was a huge blow for me. I distinctly remember being very upset that my chosen career path in life was closed. I was thrust immediately into full-time work and I was never fully satiated.

Not long passed when I discovered home learning in the form of floppy disks! The course I studied was CIW Web Design Professional. Interestingly they have retired this certification, effective December 31st, 2021. I paid thousands for this course but as the learning was all textbook and you submitted your coursework via floppy disk in the post, needless to say, I never finished it. I did however learn quite a bit about HTML.

Changing Gears

In 2014, the landscape of training and online learning had changed dramatically. At this point in my life, I felt like I could change gears and learn some additional skills that would allow me to grow as an individual and start living my life.

While working full time, I enrolled in a part-time evening college course in Computing and Sytems Development. The course included web development and this is where I got my first proper taste of coding for the web. After two years, I completed my course with a full distinction. I have to give a shout-out to my tutor Kevin Meehan, who without his dedication and support, I know I would never have made it through.

E-Commerce, My First True Love

During my college course, I was able to find an E-Commerce Manager role at a local Toymaster branch. It was a family-run business with no online presence. I was determined to create something they could be proud of and so I built the entire operation from the ground up. I cannot stress how much experience I gained in this role, starting from zero, planning what platform to use, branding, setting up online services, seeing the sales roll in, I was hooked. For the first time in my working career, I truly felt I was on the right path.

Over the course of the next 5 years, I worked with some fantastic brands, including the Savile Row Company London. This was where I took my e-commerce knowledge to the next level and got heavily involved in the Amazon and eBay marketplaces. I even got the opportunity to create some basic landing pages with just some HTML and CSS.

Life Finds A Way

To borrow a quote from one of my favourite movies, "Life, finds a way". My career in e-commerce came to an abrupt end in 2020 due to restructuring during the pandemic. I had many months of free time and so I reflected on what I wanted to do next while trying to find an income. It wasn't until I found a full-time role that I realised how much I loved web development. My past has been littered with attempts to learn web development and although life seems to keep trying to push me back, I push back harder every time.

Full-Stack Web Development

In November 2021, I made the decision to spend as much free time as possible to refresh my knowledge of HTML and CSS. It was also at this time that I decided to set up a Twitter account to document my journey. You can follow me @andrew_thedev.

My goals for 2021 are:

Refresh my HTML and CSS Knowledge
Design my portfolio
Begin work on my first real-world web project
Begin learning Javascript

I am happy to say that I have achieved all of the above in just 4 weeks. As I write this, I am also nearing 200 Twitter followers, which is just amazing to me. The Twitter tech community is fantastic with a great mix of talented developers that are willing to assist you and other newbie web developers on the same path as you.

Web Development Training 2021

It is worth pointing out at this point that I have not yet completed any of the above courses, but I have started working through the materials and I have also used that knowledge to put up a coming soon page for my own personal portfolio.

Taking notes and having cheat sheets really works for me, so I also purchased two books. Those are:

Since being active on Twitter, I have also purchased some great products from some amazing creators. Those are:

How To Create and Sell HTML Templates by Lucian Tartea

Everyone Can Build A Twitter Audience! by Daniel Vassallo

The Independence Bundle! by Tom Hirst

Web Development Training in 2022

In preparation for my future learning, I have already invested in the following courses:

I hope you enjoyed my journey to full-stack web development so far. If you are on the same journey, please follow me on Twitter, and let's help each other achieve our goals and our dreams.

Andrew McMaster