This blog is all about mistakes I made while learning Full Stack Web Development as a beginner. I started my Web Development journey in November 2020. I made a lot of mistakes in Web Development and realized it while learning throughout the year. I have been doing Web Development for the past 1 year and am still learning it. In this blog, I will be talking about some of the major mistakes I made while learning Web Development and also provide solutions for them so that you won't make these mistakes. My major mistakes include:

Not taking breaks

I was very enthusiastic when learning Web Development in the beginning but I was not taking breaks after completing one part or portion of the course which I was following which broke my enthusiasm. Taking breaks is very important whether you are learning or building projects. If you are tired while learning then take a break and do it later when you feel free and energetic. If you got stuck in an error while building any project and you are trying to solve that issue for the last 2 to 4 hours then I would highly recommend leaving that problem and try to solve it the next day with a fresh mind. Most of the time I found that the very next day the issue or problem is solved. This technique has worked with me 95% of the time. Working in a fresh mind and mood is very important. Do take breaks in an interval of time.

Not Building Projects

Building projects are very important while learning any tech stack. Building projects will make your concepts clear and memorable. I will highly suggest you to start building projects while and after learning any concepts. For example, if you are learning HTML and CSS then you can create many static websites, and also if you have completed JavaScript you can create a ton of new projects. If you are following any course then most probably you will also get projects to build but I will recommend you to also build projects separate from the courses. This will help you to learn and grab more things faster related to the tech stack you are learning. YouTube and blogs are some great resources where you can get awesome project ideas.

Not using Developer Tools

This was one the biggest mistake I committed with myself while learning Web Development. We can do a lot of things with Developer Tools. One of its features is that we can inspect our web app and find errors on it. When I started building projects I faced two types of errors which are simple errors and internal errors. Simple errors include typing errors, missed semicolons, etc. Whereas internal errors are those which happens when you missed some important or major line of code or you typed it completely wrong. A simple error does not take much time to debug but an internal error takes a lot of time in debugging if we can't find where the problem is. Missing an import in React is an example of an internal error. I will also add a screenshot of an internal error that I faced while I was building a project.

Developer tools save a lot of time in debugging. You can open Developer Tools in your browser by pressing Ctrl+Shift+I in windows and ⌘ + ⌥ + I in Mac and start exploring the tools. There are various videos on YouTube where you can learn about Developer Tools and how to use them.

Not taking help from internet and developer communities

One of the mistakes I made in the beginning while learning Web Development is that I don't take help from the internet. If you are stuck in an error then do take help from Google and Stack Overflow. Googling is a very important skill. You can also take help from documentation for additional reference. Also, I will recommend you to take help from Developer communities. You can get one on one guidance and doubt clearing in developer communities. Also in Developer communities, you get an opportunity to grow your network and collaborate with more like-minded folks for a project or hackathons.

These are some of the major mistakes I made while learning Web Development as an absolute beginner. I hope that this will save you a lot of time while learning web development. Mistakes will always happen while developing or building projects and these mistakes will give you the experience to become a better developer so never get scared or tensed when an error or issue occurs instead think that you are going to learn something new. At last, I would like to thank you for taking the time for reading this blog. Please comment and do express your thoughts on this blog. If you have any queries regarding this blog, Web Development, etc. then feel free to contact me on Twitter (@HarshitAditya1). I am highly active on Twitter and I would be happy to solve your queries and have a conversation with you.