Advice for Young Web Developers at Jalecode

Learn to Spell

This one is essential. If you're on instant messenger, it's almost guaranteed that the terrible net-speak lingo has infiltrated your way of writing. U prolly talk like dis. BAD! It's best to get rid of that nasty habit as soon as you can. But it saves you time? A terrible excuse. Using correct grammar and spelling is of utmost importance. Also, avoid acronyms like LMAO and ttyl. They really make you sound…your age. The occasional gtg is probably acceptable though. Proper usage will impress your clients, friends, and parents. I went through this same transformation, and I can't tell you how beneficial it was. Knowing that your client thinks you're in your thirties is such a fun feeling.

Web Standards or Die

If you're just starting out - you're in a good position. You can completely bypass all that garbage HTML with spacer gifs, tables for layout, etc., and get straight to the good stuff. But chances are you've already got some bad foundations you've acquired. They could be from Front page and its ilk (yes, Dreamweaver is no good either), they could be from some ancient HTML book you own, or they could be from MySpace. Wherever they're from, forget them ASAP! Web Standards are the most important step of morphing from a little script kiddy to a serious developer. If you don't think they are important, let me tell you: You'll get nowhere without them. Your progress and skill level as a web developer will remain in a stand-still. The first few months of learning web standards are the toughest - moving from those oh-so-comfortable <tables> to CSS and XHTML is by no means easy. But every one who has made the transition to the other side will tell you - they'd never go back.

Don't get bitter about IE

Every new web developer catches the strangle-internet-explorer's-developers bug. I had it for a solid year or so. Explorer is the bane of every fledgling web designer's existence. It can have you in tears at your keyboard for days at a time. And you think it will never pass - but it will. Over time, as your experience increases, your hatred of IE will fade. The thing is, as you learn what ties Explorer in knots, you also learn how to avoid it. And then next time you have to accomplish a similar effect, you'll be ready. I've been incredibly surprised at how little trouble IE has caused me with my latest projects. Not to say it hasn't had its quirks, but because of all my prior experience, I've been able to sidestep areas where IE will certainly have trouble. Don't take extreme measures to punish IE users. Telling them that they suck isn't going to win you any friends! You have to accept that IE is a staple of the internet and it won't simply go away. Convert all your friends and family to firefox, get an FF t-shirt, but don't hate the ignorance of IE users.

CSS is probably the toughest area in which IE struggles. You'll just have to persevere and keep your eyes on the goal. Also, be inventive. If something's not working, don't spend too much time trying to figure out why. You have to accept that IE is twisted to the core and it will never make complete sense. Move on to a new method of solving your problem. Having a complete knowledge of CSS is essential - and it will come with experience. But remember to have hope - IE 7 is up and coming, and it looks to be a nice dose of relief.

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