One of the challenges that come with being a freelance web designer or developer is trying to keep up with all the latest and ever-changing design trends and technology. In this post, I’ll share with you a handful of web developer websites all fellow creatives should follow.
When I’m not working on a design project, I like to spend my time discovering new things.
I love that feeling of finding out about something for the first time. Maybe I’m just a bit weird, I don’t know.
Often, if I’ve discovered a new way to do something, I immediately try and put it into practice. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. That’s just the way it is.
In the creative industry, in particular, in wed design, things change all the time.
What has worked for me is watching videos. I do read books too, but sometimes I don’t have time to read a book about web development. I just find it boring as well. I have to be honest. I don’t mind using books if I need to look something up.
Online courses are also a must for any budding or up-and-coming web designer or developer. I’m self-taught and I’m darn well proud of that. Everything I know is because I’ve learned how to do it from watching videos and taking online courses.
Udemy is a great place to start for web development courses. There are some great tutors on the site. In addition, do check out my Oxygen Builder web design course too. the internet is littered with web design and web developer sites that provide valuable insights, tutorials, and information.
Talking of which, below I’ve listed some that you might want to check out yourself.
Each website has something unique to offer. Whether it’s knowledge, guidance, tips, tricks, free tutorials, or code snippets, you name it, you’ll hopefully find it by visiting one of these websites.
Let’s take a look.
1. W3 Schools
W3 Schools is one of my favorite sites to visit if I ever need clarification on any HTML and CSS that I need to implement into my website design projects. I’ve learned plenty of new tricks from visiting this site over the years.
W3 Schools is the largest web developer site on the net, and so I think anyone looking to learn or improve their web development skills, whether it’s HTML, CSS, JavaScript, or any type of web programming language, should pay the site a frequent visit.
Click here to visit W3 Schools.
2. WDN Web Docs
OK, this should really be at the top of my list. WDN Web docs, powered by Mozilla, has to be the best web development resource site on the web by far. The site was established in 2005 and has a jam-packed reference category with everything you need to know about HTML, CSS, JS, Web APIs, and more.
Whether you’re starting from scratch, or need to drill down into some advanced stuff, this is the site to use. If you only remember only one site from the list below, make sure it’s WDN Web Docs.
3. GitHub
By now, I’m confident you’ve come across Github.
GitHub is a community-driven development platform where you can learn new techniques from over 23 million developers, as well as share your own knowledge and resources.
GitHub is not only a great place to find and host code and complete installations for your website or application dev projects, but it’s also a place where you can network with other like-minded devs to work. And on all kinds of web projects, from software development to apps and websites.
Click here to visit GitHub and signup for free.
4. Stack Overflow
Stack Overflow is another very popular community-driven development platform. Founded in 2008, this is another platform that has withstood the test of time.
Over 50 million devs use Stack Overflow. The site presents itself as the go-to place on the web for any budding developer looking to learn new web dev techniques, expand their knowledge and even share some wisdom too.
There is a dedicated Q&A area with over 16 million answers to your coding related questions. You can also use the platform to find the right developer job to help launch your web development career.
5. SitePoint
SitePoint started way back in 2009 and is yet another community-driven development hub on the internet.
Whatever your chosen developer language, be it markup or programming, or WordPress, SitePoint has plenty to help you with your next web development project. In addition to the resources, you’ll find all the latest news, trends, UX tips, and more.
Click here to visit SitePoint.
6. CSS-Tricks
CSS and Sass are my favorite web development languages to work with. Of course, once we’ve got the boring HTML bit out of the way.
If you’re reading this and new to the world of web design and CSS. CSS is basically what’s used to make web pages look pretty, like the pages of a magazine.
If you’re just starting your journey with HTML and CSS, I approvingly recommend that you dive in as deep as you possibly can, and CSS-Tricks is a great website for exploring code snippets, as well as learning new techniques and tricks. The clue is in the name.
Click here to visit CSS-Tricks.
7. Web Design News
Web developers and designers should always stay up to date with all the latest news, events, trends, etc. Web Designer News is an online outlet that curates stories to help keep creative people in the loop.
Click here to visit Web Designer News.
8. UX Movement
A fancy website design is useless if user experience (UX) is not incorporated into the process. What you think looks good on the screen will probably tell a different story when it comes to usability.
UX Movement is a blog that focuses on user experience in web design. Whether you’re looking to discover some new animations, button styles, or to optimize your design – You should most certainly follow UX Movement to stay up to date with the latest and best UX trends and design code of practice.
Click here to visit UX Movement.
9. Web Design Depot
Web Design Depot has a community of more than 1 million and is a great place to find all the latest design information, news, trends, as well as access to free productivity tools, freebies, deals, and more.
Hey, I know it’s yet another resource site, but the more the merrier.
Click here to visit Web Design Depot.
10. A List Apart
Oh look… another resource site. This one is probably one of the oldest I’ve come across, originally founded in 1998.
So, for all the most delightful news on web design best practices and current standards, you should read and bookmark A List Apart.
11. Code Project
Code Project is another developer community-driven website with over 13 million members.
The website is primarily aimed at programmers, so you can use the site to find relevant articles, post your questions, find answers to questions posted by community members already, participate in discussions and pretty much anything to do with writing website code.
Click here to visit Code Project.
12. CodePen.io
CodePen.io is a social development platform where you can research and find custom code snippets for your project. You can also create a profile and write your own code pens to share with others. This is a great place to not only get and share ideas, but to also participate in community discussions, post questions, answer questions, and more.
13. DZone
DZone has a community of over a million developers. The website specializes in delivering sound advice, news, tips on all aspects of web development from big data, cloud integration, performance and more.
14. WordPress Codex
Finally, if you’re a WordPress junkie, like me, you can’t forget about WordPress Codex for literally all the resources, latest news, info, documentation, tutorials, developer news, APIs and more.
Click here to visit WordPress Codex.
It’s a wrap!
So there you have it, 14 awesome websites that can help provide you with a wealth of information, tools and resources for your web development journey or project. What makes most of these sites even more awesome is that they’re community-driven, so you’re never alone!
Best of luck and enjoy!
