This course has been created for those interested in learning how to plan, design, and create a portfolio website while learning how to make a progressive web app (essentially a website that can function offline). We will accomplish this through the Angular 8 CLI, and we will use Google Firebase to host our project online for free.
This course is intended to enable anyone, even if you are starting with no knowledge or experience, you will learn the ability to create progressive web apps, understand the basics of Angular, and learn best design practices along the way.
I would recommend pausing the videos to code along, and I would also encourage you to try to understand the process while watching and taking notes in your own words to reinforce and accelerate your learning. Lastly, I think an ideal setup would be having a multiple monitor system as you can have the course on one screen and your code and browser on the other. These are all strategies that I employed when I was teaching myself to code using online courses just like this one, and I can tell you that they proved extremely helpful.
Even the longest journeys begin with just a single step. I hope you will take your first steps towards becoming a developer with me.
What will you learn in this course?
Contents and Overview:
The course will start by setting up all the software. This will begin with installing Git For Windows to integrate with GitHub, Visual Studio Code, Node/NPM, Angular CLI, and Firebase Tools.
We will discuss the importance of the planning stage in building a website, as well as implementing best design practices. Then we will discuss what a progressive web app its long list of benefits, including being able to function offline.
Jumping into our main project, we will work through our project in sections. We will begin with the home page, which will feature a responsive video background.
Next, we will add our navigation as a shared component. Later on, we will make a responsive version that will display on mobile devices.
We will then create an about section with a short bio and link to a resume. Next, our projects section will involve learning how to create mock-ups for other web projects using Photopea (an online free version of Photoshop).
We will wrap up the main page content by adding a contact section, as well as a small footer.
After this, I will discuss the importance of responsive design, going through how to alter a desktop website to look good on a smartphone in vertical and horizontal orientations. I will explain how this is done, using the developer tools in Chrome and then give students to opportunity to finish the rest on their own.
In the last section of the course, I will show how to make and implement icons for a PWA. Then we will look at lighthouse audits to optimize our project further. We will finish by building, optimizing, and hosting our web app online for free with Firebase.
Why should you take this course?
If you are starting the process of learning to become a web developer, or even if you are already working as a web developer, you will find value in this course. There is an emphasis on design principles throughout, and a unique workflow to efficiently create progressive web apps that are much more functional than regular websites.
You should have access to a computer with an internet connection. Make sure to install all suggested software through the course (it's all free).