Why I started learning about web design and how you can do it too

This content originally appeared on Zell Liew and was authored by Zell Liew

Until a few months ago, I always thought programming was something that I would never venture into. I really see the value, yet, I never really dared venture into the massive lines of code.

Honestly, I was afraid. I was afraid of the thought of giving up halfway because the workload was so tough. I gave up along the way a few times, but managed to pull through till today. It wasn’t as bad as I thought after all. People have the misconception that you have to be damn smart to program, but it really isn’t the case.

If you feel the same, this post about my story could give you something to think about.

My story

Some facts before I start:

• I was 24 when I finally decided to learn about web design.
• I had neither prior design nor coding experience.

I come up with a few ideas that I am excited about every now and then, but, I always run into problems. I didn’t know how to materialize ideas myself, and I was not able to find someone to do it for me. Did that happened to you too?

After sitting around for 5 years, I came across to a cold hard fact:

Who am I to dictate a programmer to work on my idea, if all I can do … is nothing?

With that, I finally jumped into the sea of codes.

I initially started with learning photoshop for purely design purposes, but I quickly felt that I needed to learn HTML and CSS to convert these designs into something workable and presentable. The more I learnt, the more I felt I needed to learn. Semantic HTML, responsive design, Javascript, backend programming like PHP or Python all came into the mix one by one. I was overwhelmed.

I felt this whole programming thing was too hard and not my cup of tea. I quited. A week later, realizing I was back in the same position where I started, and I still could not get anything done, I grumpily decided to plow on with learning.

Instead of trying to learn everything under the sun all at once, I decided to focus on the basic aspects: HTML and CSS first, and I plowed on to this day. The results from that process my current blog theme.

And that is the story of how I got to where I am today.

The purpose of this blog

My purpose of starting this blog is simple.

I want to help you.

If you have kept reading till this point, something must have been similar in our experiences. Having threaded the path before you, I know some ins and outs that have made me stall for a couple of times, and I want to make it easier for you.

If you don’t know anything about programming at all, its okay. As long as you are willing to learn, I believe you will be able to do it. Also, it is never too late to start. I was 24 when I started, and it was already much older than anyone around me.

I have to admit though, that the learning process is not easy. You have to be ready to be frustrated with yourself in order to improve.

If you want to find out more, I invite you to join my community and fill in your email address below.

Till then!

P.S. I’d love to hear your questions, comments and feedback below. If you want to keep the conversation private instead, feel free to the use the contact form. I’ll read everything and reply as soon as I can.

This content originally appeared on Zell Liew and was authored by Zell Liew