7 Essential Books For Web Developers
Improve Your Knowledge of Coding and Web Development by Reading These Extraordinary Books
Cover Photo by Anastasiia Kamil on Unsplash
As developers, we live in a world where we are in no shortage of resources for learning any aspect of programming. This era is also known as the era of MOOC — Massive Open Online Courses. These are offered by websites such as Udemy and Coursera.
Although the world is moving towards digital content, printed paper still deserves its place. Some people do not want to miss reading their favourite book. There are many good books covering technology-related content. This post will be limited to books on web development.
Finding great books for web development is no easy task, as most books become outdated as the technology industry is evolving at a high pace. Yet there are some books which are always useful as they teach the basic core concepts of web development. Technology can run as fast as it can, but it still walks on its feet. These basics can be taught to you by these awesome books.
Fundamental Concepts for Web Development: HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript and much more!
The web has evolved a lot from where it started. Despite all this, it still is very technical with a strong basement. This book contains topics which have been categorized in a way such that it makes it easier even for newbies to learn from scratch. This book will not make you a professional overnight, instead, it prepares you with the basics. You have to get your basics right before you master anything.
The book also provides you with tips and tricks to not fall into common web development traps. For the technical chapters, you will be asked to perform some exercises and will be given the corrections, so that you can improve yourself as much as possible.
Fundamental Concepts for Web Development by Roxane Anquetil
HTML & CSS, and JavaScript & JQuery
This book was written by John Tucket. According to Kris, John Tucket’s books are very popular because they explain the topics very well and are designed excellently. It uses a clear and simple visual approach using diagrams, infographics, and photographs to explain the concepts of JavaScript and JQuery very clearly. It is a two-book set split into HTML, CSS and JavaScript, JQuery. Together, these books teach you the right basics of web development and are ideal for anyone who wants to master web development from scratch.
HTML & CSS, and JavaScript & JQuery by John Tucket
You Don’t Know JS
However much experienced you are, there is a higher chance that “You Don’t Know JS”. You will be surprised to know some simple statement in JS not performing the way you expect it to. This happens when you skip the basics. This book makes sure you learn the most important basics of JavaScript.
This book is not a huge book unlike other JS books out there. Instead, this book consists of six small books — dedicated to each topic in JS.
Learn about scope, a set of rules to help JavaScript engines locate variables in your code
Go deeper into nested scope, a series of containers for variables and functions
Explore function- and block-based scope, “hoisting”, and the patterns and benefits of scope-based hiding
Discover how to use closures for synchronous and asynchronous tasks, including the creation of JavaScript libraries
- Link — Github
You Don’t Know JS by Kyle Simpson
Although the above books teach you the basics of web development, they do not teach you any specific framework like Angular or React. But as you become thorough with the basics after reading these books, you should have no trouble whatsoever in understanding how frameworks work and their basics. Let us now focus on more core concepts such as UX basics, coding concepts and career development.
Front-End Developer Handbook — 2019
This online book by Cory Lindley is a free, comprehensive solution for an overall understanding of web development. This book also contains a list of useful tools to be used by every front end developer. It gives you an overview of what front end development is, and educates you on the situation of the industry. It also contains resources for you to learn essential front end development skills.
I personally recommend this book to anyone willing to spend their time reading quality content. If you want a quick way to get up to date on what’s current in this quickly-moving industry, you’ll find this book indispensable.
Front-End Developer Handbook — 2019 by Cory Lindley
The Clean Coder: A Code of Conduct for Professional Programmers
Although this book by Robert Martin does not address web development, it addresses from the perspective of software development, which I find relatable to be included in this article. This book teaches you one main concept you should learn to survive at work — When to say “NO” and how.
Martin shows how to approach software development with honour, self-respect and pride. Yet according to Simon, this book should be read carefully and critically as it contains many “ anecdotes” and “hypothetical conversations” that most of the time conclude that the developer is at fault for whatever they do. He even goes further to pick up an example from the book, “ This goes so far that in one statement, the advice for a developer whose code produced a bug is to reimburse the company financially for the money loss”.
Great software is something to marvel at: powerful, elegant, functional, a pleasure to work with as both a developer and as a user. Great software isn’t written by machines. It is written by professionals with an unshakable commitment to craftsmanship. The Clean Coder will help you become one of them–and earn the pride and fulfilment that they alone possess.
The Clean Coder by Robert Martin
The Pragmatic Programmer: Your Journey to Mastery
The Pragmatic Programmer is one of those rare tech books you’ll read, re-read, and read again over the years. Whether you’re new to the field or an experienced practitioner, you’ll come away with fresh insights each and every time.
This book elaborates on modern-day development by speaking about topics ranging from personal responsibility and career development to architectural techniques for keeping your code flexible and easy to adapt and reuse. Although this book does not directly address web development, as I mentioned above, this book is very suitable for anyone in the software industry and is a must-read.
According to Giorgos, the tips provided by this book are very practical and should be understood by implementing them in our daily lives. “ When you pick up the book, try to go slowly and reflect on the authors’ advice the next time you are programming. This is not a one-time read, but rather a workshop in good practices”.
The Pragmatic Programmer illustrates the best approaches and major pitfalls of many different aspects of software development. Whether you’re a new coder, an experienced programmer, or a manager responsible for software projects, use these lessons daily, and you’ll quickly see improvements in personal productivity, accuracy, and job satisfaction. You’ll learn skills and develop habits and attitudes that form the foundation for long-term success in your career.
The Pragmatic Programmer by Dave Thomas and Andy Hunt
Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web and Mobile Usability
Ever heard of the terms UX or UI but never really understood what they meant. Rest assured, this book will teach you all the basics of web designing. The goal of this book is to teach you to build websites that people love using.
It is short, profusely illustrated, and best of all — fun to read.
If you’ve read it before, you’ll rediscover what made Don’t Make Me Think so essential to Web designers and developers around the world. If you’ve never read it, you’ll see why so many people have said it should be required reading for anyone working on Web sites.
“After reading it over a couple of hours and putting its ideas to work for the past five years, I can say it has done more to improve my abilities as a Web designer than any other book.”
–Jeffrey Zeldman, author of Designing with Web Standards
Don’t Make Me Think by Steven Krug
To summarize things, this article included several handpicked books that can improve your skills as a web developer. I would recommend you to check out the “Front-End Developer Handbook” as it contains a lot of resources and tools for the modern-day developer. I also suggest you read other evergreen books as well to inculcate yourself with the basics and industry standards on web development.
If you have any comments, please feel free to hit me up in the responses below. Happy Reading and Happy Coding!
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