Welcome to development 101. If you’ve been eyeing Ruby on Rails or HTML/CSS freelance positions popping up across the web, but don’t have the full skills yet, here are the best resources to help you gain trust, experience and know-how.

Front-End Web Development

Front-end development seems like the early tie in for freelancers transiting into web development. There is usually a ton of opportunity around this space, and the skills to be functional don’t take long to grasp. Becoming great at it does though.

Beginning as a front-end developer is a fantastic way to quickly make a difference in your approach to freelance work, and will hopefully get you started down the path of transitioning your freelance career moving forward.

Don’t Reinvent the Wheel

It’s extremely important to not re-invent the wheel when it comes to learning a new skill, especially when it comes to web development. It’s a difficult concept to sometimes rationalize, only because school’s have really emphasized that sharing and using someone else’s work are akin to stealing.

Definitely not the case here. There are some amazing, open source, frameworks you can begin using immediately to help launch you as a front-end freelancer.

Bootstrap

Bootstrap was created and released by Twitter specifically with you in mind. It’s an entirely open framework that handles all the foundational elements you need as a front-end developer.

They offer a great grid system to handle the structure of your website, they offer fluid and responsive design to build mobile versions, and offer a template of beautifully designed buttons, fields and more. Continue Reading

So you want to become a freelance web developer. Maybe you’re already a front-end developer and want to dig deeper into web applications, or maybe you’re a copy wiz and are eyeing the countless developer positions out there. Either way, it’s an entirely new skill you’ll be picking up. Here’s how to do it successfully.

The challenge for most is finding the right resources, understanding them, and staying motivated when you hit walls. While learning from quality resources is needed, it’s the process behind learning that will set you apart. It’s important to create the best learning environment to ensure your success. Continue Reading