Stop being the Idea Guy

Everyone has their reasons for wanting to learn web development. Some want to work as a web developer at a company. Some want to just be up with the times and don't want to be left behind. Some think it will add value to their resume.

For me, I wanted to stop being the Idea Guy. I've always been the Idea Guy; the one that has the ideas but no knowledge of how to build it. I hired developers to build everything for me. Plenty of my ideas have worked out and made money, but I was still always just the Idea Guy.

Learning to build web apps was my way of escaping the monicker of always being the Idea Guy. Why did I want to stop being the Idea Guy? Because having ideas is the least valuable part of building something meaningful. Ideas are cheap. Execution, the ability to make ideas come to life, is where the action is.

Update #1 regarding the New Method learning handbook

I'm excited, folks. The handbook is coming along really well. I have a detailed outline of all the content: every chapter, section, lesson, and project. I've written the first two introductory chapters that cover lots of foundational instructions as well as guides for how to use the handbook and what to expect. Read more about the scope and purpose of the handbook.

But the content of the handbook is only part of the cause for my excitement over this project.

Feedback has been excellent. Every beginner web developer I've talked to recognizes the problem of attempting to learn web development online on your own. It's apparent to any adult who's tried to teach themselves web development.

Master this one skill to become a web developer

I maintain a deeply held conviction that there is only one skill that you must master to become a web developer. It's something that I've struggled to understand all my life. It's a skill that I learned while training for my first triathlon in 2011 and I relearned when raising my son.

Without this skill, you'll accomplish nothing in life. And the web development trade will always be just out of reach if you don't master this skill first.

Ok, enough teasing. What is it?

Why you should be a web designer

I want you to be excited about learning the web design trade. It's an amazing time to be a web designer. The web has matured and standards are now prevalent, making what used to be a scattered s

I'm Erick Rodriguez and I want to be a web developer.

Hi, my name is Erick Rodriguez. I’m 31 years old. I’ve been married to a beautiful woman for 5 years. I have a two year old son and another son that will be here in a few weeks. I work full time for a large equipment and machinery company in Illinois. Along with all the responsibilities that come with what I listed above, I want to be a web developer.

Use Sharpies to keep your wireframes messy

You may know that I'm a fan of using Sharpies for wireframing layouts instead of specialty wireframing apps like Balsamiq or Mockingbird. I stated several reasons for my Sharpie affections a couple weeks ago in a post called Cheap, powerful desktop and mobile wireframing tools.

This time I want to hone in on one major benefit to using Sharpies for your initial wireframes. Messiness.

Cool Tools: Adobe BrowserLab

BrowserLab is a free service from the good people at Adobe which lets you see how a page is rendered in various browsers. You can test in Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer 8 & 9. One neat feature is that you can view how your site is rendered by 2 different browsers either side-by-side or using the onion skin view.

Note: The service does require you to create a free account with Adobe.