Top istakes Beginner Web Developers Should Avoid

Starting web development can be quite exciting and very easy because the starting point, which is HTML, is extremely simple, and it gives a good momentum. However, there are some mistakes that beginners make in their web development careers, which you should avoid as a beginner.

Mistake 1: Giving Up Too Early and Focusing Too Much on Design

The first mistake beginner web developers make is giving up too early and focusing too much on design. Let me explain. What happens is that when a beginner starts learning web development, they come to HTML, find it easy, and complete it. Then they move to CSS, but CSS can be a little overwhelming. You cannot remember every property at all times, and at some point, something will slip out of your mind. If you give up because of this, it would be called a very funny mistake. I call it a funny mistake because many web developers start with HTML, move to CSS, and then give up, saying, "This is not for me; it's too boring."

What should your approach be? Learn some HTML and a little CSS, then move to JavaScript. After that, focus on being a developer. If you are a web developer, let go of justifying things unnecessarily.

Mistake 2: Relying on Old or Poor Templates

Now, if you are going to build a serious project, I would recommend not using your old templates if they don’t look good. Instead, use a great template downloaded from the internet or use packages and libraries that help you create such templates. People try to build authentication systems, UI components, and entire dashboards and either fail or waste too much time, never completing their main project.
When you have so many amazing libraries, there is absolutely no need to reinvent the wheel.

Example: Clerk for Authentication

For example, for authentication, there’s a great library called Clerk. Clerk has changed the way we integrate authentication into our web applications. I’m sharing this because, for the past year, since Clerk came into my life, the implementation of authentication has become more straightforward, easier, and more powerful than ever.

Clerk is a library you install, and it handles authentication for you. This means you don’t need to create users in the database or write login/logout code every time. Simply use Clerk Provider, and Clerk gives you functions to fetch users. It works in Next.js, React, Express, and basically provides a complete authentication solution, including a dashboard where you can see login activity, from which device someone logged out, and all such details.

Mistake 3: Not Learning SPA Frameworks

Coming back to the next mistake, which is not learning SPA frameworks. Now, what are SPA frameworks? The most popular one is React. What people do is, after learning everything, they think, “Why do I need to learn a new framework?”

Why SPA Frameworks Are Important

The reality is that you need to learn a new framework that is a single-page application framework because modern web applications are being built as single-page applications.

The demand coming in the market is also aligned with single-page applications. If you fall behind or decide, “I won’t learn React,” it becomes a big problem. You don’t want to do that, guys.

Recommended Frameworks

If you’re unsure whether to choose Angular, React, or Vue, I’d say go with React or Next.js. The experience of building applications with these frameworks is entirely different. Modern applications are mostly built using frameworks like React, Angular, or Vue these days.

Mistake 4: Not Building Industry-Grade Projects

Another mistake is not building projects—or, to simplify it, not building industry-grade projects. What happens is that we all build basic projects like to-do apps, note-taking apps, timers, stopwatches, clocks, and alarm clocks. But the real deal is when you build an application that solves an actual problem.

Why Build Complex Projects?

It might include user authentication, processing, or something else. To build such an application, you first need to create basic applications, gain experience, and then work your way up to such projects. But the mistake most people make is saying, “I don’t want to build such applications; I’ll just keep studying theory.”

Portfolio Projects

Build an application so complex that you need to explain it to the client. Your client should take some time to understand what you’ve built and appreciate that you’ve created something big. At least one such project must be in your portfolio.

Mistake 5: Using AI Too Much

The next one, guys, you’re not ready for this. Let me tell you, you’re not ready for this next mistake. And that is using AI too much.

The Problem with Overusing AI

Today, I see AI being used excessively, which is good. I use AI daily to increase my productivity and save a lot of my time. But the thing is, I’ve noticed beginner web developers open ChatGPT and look at the kind of prompts they give: “Create an e-commerce application,” “Create an Amazon-like website.”

Eventually, you won’t be able to build an e-commerce website. Some errors and problems will come up during your journey that the AI might not even know, but you, as a human, will know and solve yourself.

Smart Use of A

Your approach should be to break down a big problem into smaller chunks and solve them one by one. For example, if you want to create an e-commerce website, first focus on building the UI, starting with the navbar. Then move to the homepage, etc.

My Final Thoughts

These were, in my opinion, the five mistakes beginner web developers should avoid. Did I miss anything? Or is there a mistake you made initially? If you are an intermediate or advanced developer today, share it in the comments so our beginner brothers and sisters can avoid those mistakes. I hope you liked this beginner-friendly guide. Thank you so much for reading to the end, and I’ll see you next time.

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