Web development work’s popularity is increasing because of how websites are critical for business and all other areas of life. Competent and experienced web developers are highly marketable, earning significantly higher salaries.
Understanding web development languages will not only improve your proficiency in web development, but also present more job opportunities. This blog explains the most popular web development languages and shows you how to choose the best one.
What are web development languages?
A web development language or a programming language is a vocabulary and set of grammatical rules used in instructing a computing device to perform certain tasks. It is commonly referred to as coding language. In web development, the developer uses coding or programming language to create websites and ensure those sites look good and are easy to navigate, while monitoring and maintaining their capacity and performance.
What are the popular web development languages?
Python
Python has become the most popular programming language, one step higher than JavaScript. The language is beginner-friendly, versatile, and suitable for AI development. Its simplified syntax makes it beginner-friendly and easily the easiest coding language to learn. Even experienced web developers are learning the language, further stressing its importance among programming languages.
JavaScript
JavaScript is a compulsory language to learn for anyone interested in web development. It is arguably the best language for web development, holding the number one rank for eight years in a row as of 2020.
Web developers rely on JavaScript to create dynamic web elements like interactive maps, animated graphics, clickable buttons, etc. In addition, most web browsers use JavaScript, which irons out most compatibility issues for websites. Furthermore, its simplicity means those without coding experience will have an easy time learning the language. It helps that there are numerous online institutions offering training in JavaScript, and a strong support community to help you address any issues you might face.
Java
Java is a general-purpose programming language that works on virtually all operating systems. It’s the preferred language for most back-end system support activities. In addition, it is a robust and secure language with an extensive library of tools for development work. It also has simple syntax, which makes it easy to learn.
Java’s popularity, simplicity, and versatility make it ideal for more than web development. It’s commonly used for desktop GUI applications, mobile app development, gaming, web-based, cloud-based, and IoT applications.
HTML
HTML is a markup language for structuring a web page and its content. While some argue that it’s not a coding language, it is nonetheless an important language to learn for web development. Without it, all the sections, headings, links, and paragraphs of text in a website would be disorganised.
Besides structuring web pages, HTML is used for navigating the internet by linking web pages, enabling client-side data storage and offline capabilities, embedding videos and images, and interacting with native APIs.
PHP
PHP is a server-side scripting language embedded in HTML. PHP is simple, fast, and flexible, preferred by most web developers, considering that 79.1% of websites with server-side programming rely on it.
Major users include Facebook, Wikipedia, WordPress, and Zoom. Web developers use it to manage databases, dynamic content, and to build e-commerce webpages.
How do I choose the best language?
Choosing the best programming language depends on what you aim to accomplish. As a web developer, it’s essential to be at least familiar with the languages on our list. Proficiency in several, depending on your area of web development specialisation, is a bonus. Considering that the best here is dictated by need, here are some questions to ask to choose a language for yourself:
How easy is the language to learn?
If you need to learn the language fast, or you can only learn it part-time, you’ll need to pick an easy one to learn. Fortunately, most of those on our list aren’t too complicated.
How popular is a language for web development?
While coding is extensive, those on our list are the most sought-after for web development work.
How versatile is the language?
Web development is extensive, meaning you also need to have extensive skills. Learning a language that matches that criterion should be your priority.
Are there ample learning resources?
Some programming languages have a multitude of learning resources, including guides, how-to videos and more. Others are more limited in what they provide or what other users have created.
Why do you need to learn the language?
If you’re learning for personal development, you have more leeway over the choice. In contrast, you probably have specific ones to learn if it’s a work requirement. For career progression, learn the most marketable ones in your field.
Conclusion
Web development languages are critical to web development work and increasingly important in other careers, considering all organisations and even individuals have a website. Therefore, you need to learn one or two if you’re looking to accelerate your career progression and comfortably navigate the new world.
We know web development language can be a confusing world for those who are not already familiar with it. That’s where our experienced web development team comes in. They’ll advise you on the best solutions based on what you’re trying to achieve. Take a look what else the team can help you with and be sure to contact us if you’d like to discuss in more detail.