My First Month Learning Web Development: From YouTube to Building My Own Projects

dheeraj — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 09:02:50 +0000

When I first decided I wanted to learn web development, I was very hesitant to buy courses. I knew I needed a structured path. I started searching YouTube for free tutorials.
That’s when I stumbled across a free full web development course by Scrimba on freecodecamp youtube channel.
Before finding Scrimba, I was trapped in tutorial hell. I would watch a video, nod along, and then completely freeze when I opened my own code editor.
Scrimba was different. There is a challenge with every module and submodule. I started to understand things the websites which when i used to see before and i used to get awed away now they seem like a piece of cake. scrimba made me confident I started exploring myself and i learned things.
"You don't learn to code by watching others code. You learn by writing code yourself."
I had heard this quote before, but this platform actually forced me to practice it. Whenever I didn't understand how a CSS property worked or what a JavaScript function was doing, i learned how to research on your own and get things done.
3 Major Things I Learned This Month
Over the past four weeks, I've gone from staring blankly at my screen to actually understanding how the web is built. Here are my biggest takeaways:

Structuring with HTML: i learned that html is like the bones of a website. before i thought it was hard but making things like forms and putting images on the screen was actually really fun and simple once i got the hang of it.
Styling with CSS: styling was a bit tricky for me at first. flexbox confused me a lot because things would just go where i didnt want them to go and break the layout. but when i finally made a webpage look good and change colors, it felt amazing. i really enjoyed making the layouts look like actual real websites.
The Magic of JavaScript: this was the hardest part but also the most rewarding. making a simple button actually do something cool when you click it felt like real magic. i still have a lot to learn in js but making my first interactive thing made me feel like a real programmer.

At that point of time i didn't realise that what i m watching on youtube is not complete version and i was shocked bcs if this is the free content I wonder how amazing the paid course would be. in my whole life scrimba will be my first subscription.
If you are a beginner like me, hesitating because you think coding is too hard or too expensive to learn, i highly encourage you to try this interactive approach. it changed everything for me. You can start your own journey and check out the platform here: https://scrimba.com/?via=community
some mini projects i did
I designed a chess board.

I made a face painting machine, i havent deployed it yet.

Thanks scrimba, for this wonderful course.

DEV Community: dheeraj

My First Month Learning Web Development: From YouTube to Building My Own Projects