Starting with WordPress, then learning CSS, then HTML when building custom themes and building HTML websites, then learned JavaScript when having to add interactions on the websites, like carousels, lightboxes, popups, and other actions.
Started using a website builder called Uncode, now I build my own custom themes, that are responsive in all mobile devices and major browsers. WordPress makes it easy to organize the content on big websites thanks to their file structure.
After building custom websites, there were a lot of things missing, like click actions that opened the mobile menu, popups, lightboxes, and animations. That’s when I really started learning JavaScript to make more interactive websites.
CSS is what makes websites look pretty, you can add box-shadows, text-shadows, gradients, overlays, different columns, create different layers by adding :before and :after, adding hover effects and organize the whole styling of the website.
HTML used to control the structure of websites before, but now it’s mostly controlled by CSS classes (Bootstrap most common library). Different elements are used to control the layout, like the difference between <div> and <span> tags.
WordPress plugins help add so much functionality that would take weeks if not months to code from scratch, depending on the complexity. I try to use as few third-party plugins as possible and code everything from scratch, but some plugins are just so useful and complex, that it’s good to learn how to use them.
Having a clear understanding of domain registrars and hosting providers is extremely important because you need to do Domain Transfers and DNS Updates to keep your website live. Some big names in the industry are Siteground, GoDaddy, Kinsta, Bluehost, Network Solutions, NameCheap, Wix, Cloudways, DigitalOcean, and a few more.
You never truly buy a domain, it has to be renewed every year. Your domain is like your address, 555 E Mobile St, there can only be one domain. If there’s a letter different, it’s a completely different address.
Can be confused with the domain registrar, because most hosting providers need the NS pointed to them, which gives them control of the DNS records. Most major domain registrars are also hosting providers.
Here are some extra website functionalities, you can find a plugin for some of them, but coding it yourself helps keep the website cleaner and leaner.
Set up of Facebook chatbot on website | Setting up Facebook, Google Tag Manager, & AdWords pixels (used for YouTube as well) | Meta Title Tags | Meta Descriptions | Request Google Crawl | Add ALT text to images | Addition of relevant keywords (including first and last 100 keywords) | Image Optimization | Submission of Sitemap to Google Search Console | Responsive in all web browsers and mobile devices