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I have a wide range of skills in various aspects of Web Development. Some are core skills used in creating websites while others add the ‘special features’ to sites. A couple of skills I have expand my Development workflow, making it quicker to build sites.
HTML is the backbone to all websites. It is what creates the page content to be displayed in the Web Browser. HTML5 is the latest version of the HTML specification which allows even more awesome things to be done on websites than what was possible before.
CSS is what makes websites look good. CSS3 is the latest release of the CSS specification, and is still being added to Web Browsers. CSS3 allows for more advanced features to be added natively to websites, that would have previously only been possible with JavaScript.
jQuery is a JavaScript library which adds the functionality to a website. It adds more interactivity to a page than what can be done using CSS alone, such as image sliders, as well as initialising functions to load content 'on-the-fly'.
PHP, or PHP Hypertext Pre-Processor, is a server-side scripting language with a wide range of uses, from loading content from a database, to processing email forms, and everything in between.
WordPress is a Content Management System (CMS) originally developed for blogging. It has since grown into an extremely powerful and customisable CMS, and powers an increasingly growing number of websites.
MySQL is a Database Management System, which uses Structured Query Language, or SQL, to manage the data in a database. It is used for adding, deleting, and updating data, creating, deleting, modifying table structures, and returning data from tables to display on a website using PHP.
Git is the Industry Standard version control system. It manages and backs up files of a website, creating a version history of the files committed to a repository. Git requires a repository website such as Bitbucket or Github to store the files.
Magento is an eCommerce platform, specifically built for 'big data' online stores. It is also capable of managing large-scale stores with multiple store fronts.
API, or Application Programming Interface, is a third-party library supplied by organisations to allow developers to use their services on websites. Companies such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter provide APIs to add various features to websites.
Responsive Web Design involves making websites fit the screen size of any device by changing the styling of the site. Making sites responsive removes the need to have separate websites, or apps, for mobile devices, and ensuring that the same content is added to all websites.
AJAX, or Asynchronous JavaScript and XML is a client-side script which runs in the users' web browser. It provides callbacks to fetch data from a server to be displayed on a webpage, without re-loading the whole page.
WooCommerce is an eCommerce extension to WordPress. It provides an easy-to-use ordering system for administrators, and allows the power and customisability of WordPress to be brought into an eCommerce store.
SASS, or Syntactically Awesome Style Sheets, is a CSS Pre-Processor which compiles into CSS. SASS provides 'mixins', 'variables', 'partials', and nesting, which allows CSS to be written in a more logical and reusable format.
XML, or Extensible Markup Language, is a markup language similar to HTML. It was originally designed to store and transfer data. It is a self-descriptive form of HTML, which allows developers to define their own tags for the data.
Search Engine Optimisation, or SEO, involves optimising websites for Search Engines, such as Google. If websites were not optimised for searching, search engines would have a hard time finding the website to display it in the listings for a particular search term.
Web Standards involves building websites to a standard, set by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). These Standards cover 90 topics including Web Architecture, Semantics, Web Browsers, Devices, Usability, and Accessibility. Standards are an important part of websites which allow all users to access them, regardless of their device, or needs.
Usability and Accessibility involves building websites for all audiences. Websites must be easy to use, and avoid ambiguous icons. Sites should also follow design patterns, where previous experiences are carried through to other sites. Websites must also be accessible to all, allowing all users to have access to the site through various devices / software.