Goal: Gain an overview of web development as both a career and craft. Dismiss some common misconceptions regarding the industry and web technology; set expectations for the learning ahead.
Required skills: none
Total time (core material): 30 minutes
Core Material
Your Web Development Career
What Is The Web?
What is HTML?
Why Learn HTML?
Why not DreamWeaver?
Roles of Web Technologies
What You Think You Know
Starting Your Education
Supplementary Material
Watch the first two segments in the “Don’t Fear The Internet” video series by Jessica Hische and Russ Maschmeyer: Fear Not! and Not A Series Of Tubes. (6 minutes)
Watch HyperText and The Web at the Treehouse site. (6 minutes)
Read “An overview of how the Web works” on marksheet.io (6 minutes)
Recommended Reading
Read The History of the Web (español • 日本語 • Türkçe) and How Does The Internet Work from WebPlatform Docs
Read Preface and Part 1: Getting Started (Chapters 1, 2 and 3) in 
Learning Web Design: A Beginner's Guide to HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Web Graphics
Read “So What Does a Web Developer Actually Do?” at The Odin Project.
When You’re Finished
After completing the core material, you'll be ready to set up your web development tools, including a basic text editor and your browser, addressed in the next article.
If you feel that there is something missing, or have suggestions for further resources, please feel free to add them in the comments section below!
Photograph by Ben Canales, used with permission.
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