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General Discussion

How to start building your first project?

I am working on becoming a front-end web developer and I went through HTML AND CSS courses, I am currently still learning Javascript but I wanted to know, how can I go about creating a webpage for the first time, how can I come up with the layout and make it look nice if I never made a website before?

2 Answers

Sadly I am a little short on cash so I can't use Treehouse atm :/. I can only use it for the forums.

Steven Parker
Steven Parker
231,210 Points

In that case, you might want to browse the numerous sources of free tutorials available online, just be wary of embedded advertising, particularly in those offered by hosting companies. But you'll still find plenty of good, practical information.

tezzica
tezzica
3,938 Points

You would need to brainstorm/layout ideas for whatever project/website you decide to write up in code. You can look up inspiration for layouts on the web for practice by going to sites like collectui.com, dribbble.com, or awwwards.com. Website Layouts are commonly referred to as User Interfaces(UI) so you could probably elaborate in that area from other sites such as youtube, lynda, or even skillshare.

However if you are planning to be a front-end developer on a team, you most likely would have a designer creating the interfaces for you where you have to translate it to code but if you are just practicing you could easily try to 'recreate sites' you visit--keep in mind it is for practice not as a portfolio piece if you do take that route. If you are looking to create something as a website to be used to show employers, a portfolio is always a great first piece of how to represent yourself as a front-end developer.

If you do have more financial stability for Treehouse, I'd recommend taking some of the following courses to start familiar yourself with designing: https://teamtreehouse.com/library/web-design-process https://teamtreehouse.com/library/design-foundations https://teamtreehouse.com/library/exercise-your-creative https://teamtreehouse.com/library/tools-to-improve-frontend-performance https://teamtreehouse.com/library/designing-in-the-browser-versus-adobe-illustrator