One of the common questions that I have seen with regards to getting started online is regarding the web programming language someone should learn. It is important to understand that what you need to learn is dependent on what you are looking to achieve with regards to website design. There are a few programming languages available that can easily allow you to create complex designs.
If you aren’t familiar with programming or design web sites, you should first start simple and learn the basics of website design before getting into a programming language. Once you and understanding of the basics of website design, then you can look at learning the more complex aspects of a web programming language.
Don’t Start With a Web Programming Language
Before looking into learning a web programming language it is important to first understand the basic structure of a web page. The most basic structure involves HTML, which is short for Hypertext Markup Language. From the very first web page, this markup language has been the primary building block of web pages.
HTML has changed over the years, and each new revision of the HTML standard has added new features, and removed older, obsolete features. The newest standard is HTML5, and it is slowly being adopted online and with the newer web browsers.
In the beginning, HTML was responsible for both the structure and look of a web page. Over time a new type of file was created that manage the look of a page. This file is called a CSS (Cascading Stylesheet) file, and contains the definitions for such things as fonts, sizes, borders, and other elements that control the look of a page.
While learning HTML, you should also learn and understand CSS and how the two files work together to create a web page. These are the two basic elements for website design that you should understand before learning any web programming language.
Javascript – Not Really a Web Programming Language
Javascript is an optional language that you can learn. Technically it isn’t a web programming language since it isn’t compiled and runs within the client’s web browser. By learning Javascript you can create dynamic web pages for a visitor without having to send a request back to the web server.
You shouldn’t rely on Javascript, however, for you whole site as many people may disable Javascript within their browser, so relying on Javascript quite a bit on your site could cause your site to break with such visitors.
Which Web Programming Language?
Now back to real question from the beginning of this post. Once you have learned the basics of website design: HTML, CSS, and possibly Javascript, then you can start to look at a web programming language.
Which language you choose to learn is dependent on what you plan to do. If you are into blogging, and plan to use WordPress, for example, then PHP is your best bet as WordPress is built using PHP. Most, if not all, hosts support PHP so you should have no issues with learning this web programming language.
There is a great deal of information online regarding PHP, so if you can’t figure out how to do something, you should be able to find an answer to your problem with a quick search online. There are also PHP frameworks that already include code for many complex examples.
If you have some Windows programming background, or will be using a Windows-based web server, then I suggest you look at coding in a .Net language. I have been able to create both Windows and Web applications using C#. The advance in the .Net framework has made it very easy to create complex applications with minimal code.
Similar to PHP, there is also a lot of information online about .Net, so you should have no trouble finding a solution to any programming problem you may have.
To get started online, I recommend that you first learn and understand HTML and CSS. Once you have an understanding of those two web design elements, you can then move onto learning a web programming language.
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on July 21, 2011 at 11:16 am
Have not got time to be a ‘jack of all trades’ – I prefer to concentrate my time and energy on the tasks I am good at and let the other ‘experts’ do the bits i cannot do. I call it time leverage and my mastermind group
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on July 24, 2011 at 8:06 am
Brigitte right, but it doesn’t hurt to know the basic of things in that way you will know how to handle the expert that you will hire.
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on July 27, 2011 at 10:35 am
Great post! great deal of information online so if you can’t figure out how to do something, you should be able to find an answer to your problem with a quick search online. There are also PHP frameworks that already include code for many complex examples.
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on July 28, 2011 at 4:48 pm
The PHP framework are great in that they contain many common functions that allows you to create dynamic websites with less code.
on July 28, 2011 at 2:59 am
It’s easier to start with HTML and CSS, then get to the programming part. Else the information volume is too large. Knowing those basic things will also teach how to read some code lines, making the learning process easier.
PHP and Javascript are kind of hard, but it’s a lot of fun working with them.
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on July 28, 2011 at 6:40 pm
I agree with you Amit. Starting with HTML and CSS is essential as they are the basic building blocks of web pages. Starting small and building of the knowledge will help to understand the programming languages later on.
on July 29, 2011 at 12:16 pm
And i also want to suggest people to start with easy programs, like Dreamweaver. Once they get the hang of that they can switch to Notepad++ which is a great coding editor and it’ll enrich the experience.
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on July 30, 2011 at 10:56 pm
Dreamweaver is a popular website development tool. For those that are inexperience having such editors with a WYSIWYG interface is definitely helpful.
on August 2, 2011 at 12:03 pm
I like CSS. always helpful when you are into websites. Javascript is bit Pro language and you would require time to learn it thoroughly.
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on August 2, 2011 at 12:38 pm
Many people like CSS, especially since it makes the look of your website so easy to manage. It can be frustrating at times, especially when things don’t line up properly, but it is still really recommended to learn.
Javascript is not for those that don’t want to be too technical. It is definitely for the more experienced web developer.
on August 9, 2011 at 4:01 am
Once they get the hang of that they can switch to Notepad++ which is a great coding editor and it’ll enrich the experience.
on August 9, 2011 at 10:26 am
I love using Notepad++ and have been using it for years. Obviously, as you mentioned, they will first need to get the hang of the coding part before moving on to a text editor, since it really doesn’t help with the coding aspect.
on August 19, 2011 at 5:36 pm
I’m kinda new in this but I started to learn HTML and a little CSS and I have more to learn. At first it seems hard but as you begin to understand becomes increasingly easier and even enjoyable.
on August 26, 2011 at 12:14 pm
I started with HTML and CSS. Then went on to learn PHP, .NET, JSP. Also learned JQuery and Ajax, though they are not web programming languages.
I prefer PHP a lot. Its easy and you can do a lot of things with it.
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on August 27, 2011 at 5:44 pm
I have programmed mostly in C# after starting out with Visual Basic. I have yet to really get into PHP, as I only use it with this blog.
on September 20, 2011 at 1:15 am
Knowing HTML/CSSfor a web programmer is must.I must tell you.i am a Web Designer by Profession AND when i give whole design in html/css to a php programmer for integrating into CMS like WordPress or Joomla.While integrating the same maximum programmers, just make the design rubbish.Then again i have to do it myself and help them to make the design right.So, i think for every WEB programmer atleast basic Knowledge of HTML/CSS is must.
on September 29, 2011 at 8:20 am
“Javascript is an optional language that you can learn. Technically it isn’t a web programming language since it isn’t compiled and runs within the client’s web browser. By learning Javascript you can create dynamic web pages for a visitor without having to send a request back to the web server.”
Actually, it is a programming language since you can use it to build an entire web application. You could for instance use Node.js for this, which means that you only need to learn JavaScript to build both back-end and front-end logic. Also the v8 JavaScript engine in Google Chrome compiles JavaScript to native machine code and this will probably be the trend in the future – so I’d say that learning HTML and JavaScript is enough (and probably far easier) for creating web applications than learning HTML/CSS/JavaScript + additional back-end language.
on October 3, 2011 at 10:12 am
While I agree that you can build entire web applications with Javascript, it is still considered a scripting language and not a true programming language. C# and VB.Net are more programming languages as they can be compiled into binary files and stored on the web server.
on November 8, 2011 at 6:43 pm
I have worked with both C# and PHP. I enjoy both and am glad that I know how to use both. I would definitely say that if I did not have knowledge of either one, I would start with PHP because there are so many open source packages out there that utilize the language.
Now I must divulge that I am a Do-It-Yourself kind of guy so I am not coming from a learn-a-trade mentality, more of a starting-an-online business mentality. Take from that what you will.
Both languages are great and learning one makes it that much easy to master the other. Languages end up being tools you put into a box once you truly understand how to program in general.
Just my two cents…hope you don’t mind.
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on November 9, 2011 at 8:28 am
I also find that if you can learn one language, it isn’t hard to pick up another. I agree that understanding how to program is very important. Once you have the understanding, developing an application in any language is easier as all you really need to learn is the language’s syntax.
on December 11, 2011 at 2:02 pm
Just my two cents…hope you don’t mind. Now I must divulge that I am a Do-It-Yourself kind of guy so I am not coming from a learn-a-trade mentality, more of a starting-an-online business mentality. I enjoy both and am glad that I know how to use both. I have worked with both C# and PHP.
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