{"id":21259,"date":"2024-11-21T14:00:17","date_gmt":"2024-11-21T14:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fifteen-staging.fifteen.dev\/blog\/mistakes-new-web-developers-make-and-how-to-avoid-them\/"},"modified":"2024-11-21T15:20:41","modified_gmt":"2024-11-21T15:20:41","slug":"6-web-development-and-coding-mistakes-and-how-to-avoid-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fifteendesign.co.uk\/blog\/6-web-development-and-coding-mistakes-and-how-to-avoid-them\/","title":{"rendered":"6 web development and coding mistakes and how to avoid them"},"content":{"rendered":"

Creating a website that is both visually appealing and functional is crucial for success, and the process of creating such a project can be complex. No matter how experienced a web developer may be, there are some common <\/span>web development<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>coding mistakes<\/span> that can be easily made that can hinder the effectiveness of your site.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this blog, we highlight six common <\/span>web development mistakes<\/span> and <\/span>coding mistakes<\/span> that should be avoided along with some practical tips on how to steer clear of them. Let\u2019s get straight into it.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Naming things incorrectly<\/b><\/h2>\n

This may sound trivial, but naming things is one of the hardest things to do in web development. When naming variables, functions, classes, or any other elements of your code, it’s important for developers to choose clear and descriptive names that accurately reflect their purpose.<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, imagine you have a web page with a header, a footer, and a content area. On the outside, this sounds simple, however the content area features an image to the left and some text sitting on the right. Now imagine below the first image and text, you have a second row of image and text, but this time it\u2019s alternated right to left. This is where things can start to get tricky.<\/span><\/p>\n

Header<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

text \u2013 image (row 1)<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

image \u2013 text (row 2)<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Footer<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

In this case, you want to give CSS classes to each element in that web page, so the text would have a CSS class of \u201ctext\u201d or \u201ccontent\u201d and the image \u201cimage\u201d. However, this doesn\u2019t differentiate the second alternated image and text. This can leave developers falling into the trap of adding a second class to the second image of something along the lines of \u201cleft\u201d and this should be avoided.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is because \u201cleft\u201d is an extremely vague name and could mean a number of things such as the image is on the left, or the image is aligned to the left. The CSS class name of \u201cleft\u201d doesn\u2019t actually specify that it applies only to an image and so can be very confusing.<\/span><\/p>\n

How to avoid this web development mistake:<\/b><\/p>\n

The best way to avoid this mistake is to adopt what is known as a naming convention in your code. A naming convention is a systematic method for naming files and data that make it easier for you to find and retrieve them at a later stage. There are many naming conventions you could use including BEM, SMACSS, KISS, and OOCSS for example. Adopting this organised way of working can help you quickly and easily manage and identify your web page elements and reduce confusion when building a website.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Using old code<\/b><\/h2>\n

Using old code is one of the biggest <\/span>coding mistakes<\/span> a developer can make. Just because old code works doesn\u2019t mean it actually <\/span>works<\/span><\/i>. Outdated code can lead to several problems with your site such as security vulnerabilities, compatibility issues, and overall poor performance of your website. With new technologies emerging all the time, the way developers code in today\u2019s digital world is evolving and in order for your site to succeed, you should be staying away from old code.<\/span><\/p>\n

How to avoid this coding mistake:<\/b><\/p>\n

It\u2019s highly recommended to stay updated with the latest coding practices, technologies, and frameworks to ensure seamless functionality with your website. Attending webinars, reading articles, and even connecting with online web development communities are all great ways of doing this.<\/span><\/p>\n

You should also regularly review and update your codebase to ensure that you are using modern standards and best practices. Using <\/span>version control systems like Git<\/span><\/a> allows you to track changes easily and efficiently. Doing this will keep your codebase fresh and up-to-date, which will enhance the functionality and longevity of your website while minimising potential technical difficulties down the road.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Copying and pasting code<\/b><\/h2>\n

When it comes to learning a particular skill, many people learn by doing, and when you\u2019re unsure on something, you\u2019ll more than often not turn to Google for an answer. Whilst there\u2019s nothing wrong with doing this, in the world of web development this can pose a few issues.<\/span><\/p>\n

Using Google or even <\/span>Stack Overflow<\/span><\/a> to find an answer to a particular problem is all well and good – especially when you find a nice chunk of code to go with it – but if you don\u2019t do your research, you could be blindly copying and pasting code without fully understanding how it works. This could potentially introduce bugs, security vulnerabilities, and compatibility issues with parts of your website.<\/span><\/p>\n

How to avoid this web development mistake:<\/b><\/p>\n

The first thing you should do to avoid <\/span>web development mistakes<\/span> like this is ask yourself these questions:<\/span><\/p>\n