How to stay up to date with web development?

Are you overwhelmed by all the new web technologies coming out every day? You’ve heard about HTML5, CSS3, SASS, LESS, AngularJS, Node.js, Boostrap and Foundation? Wondering if you should invest time and energy to learn all of the latest web techniques? Even if you do invest time, it would be impossible to master them all. How is it possible to update all the web practices?

Understanding the information

No need to know everything by heart. Today, any information is available and accessible at our fingertips. The most important thing is, knowing where to look and, understanding the information. Some sites like lynda.com, w3schools.com and alsacreations.com offer tutorials that help assimilate techniques very quickly. You can put these concepts into practice by using jsfiddle.net or dabblet.com. By understanding the logic of the most used web techniques, you will achieve versatility in your approaches to application development.

Filtering the information

Thousands of blog posts, tutorials and videos are published daily and put forth a lot of new techniques and ideas. It’s impossible to view them all. Some ideas are adopted and incorporated into practice, others are not. Time and millions of internet users are the best filters. Observing emerging trends is the best way to adopt the best practices. How? Following the experts in each niche, on Twitter for example, or reading articles and specialized blogs. Their task is to share the next technologies that will revolutionize our practices.

Managing the information

Obviously, any information absorbed will not be immediately useful. The final step, to be effective in this approach, is to keep track of what you read and find interesting. Are you building a well organized glossary or database with all your references? When working on a new web project, you’ll be able to refer to it quickly when you need it. It will allow you to access any information you need.

Find your own working method and most importantly, keep a critical approach to all the information found on the web. This will save valuable time and maximize your efficiency.