Why do I code all of my websites without any tools?

If the curious ones among you ever hit inspect element on any of the websites that I built, you would have noticed that I do not use any website builder services like Wix or WordPress. Instead, I have written all my websites using HTML and CSS and added dynamic components using JavaScript.

Although it cost me a lot of time and effort to get all the components aligned and designed, I believe it was worth it. I enjoy long hours of typing frantically on my keyboard and hitting the reload button to see the changes reflected on the website. Other than that, I also enjoy the freedom that comes with coding sites:-

• You can tailor the design to your expectations without making any compromises.
• You can change the elements locally without visiting the builder’s website.
• You can also introduce major updates, like pushing a blog to the website, easily with a self-coded website.
• And above all, you learn many valuable skills in web development. Implementing these skills regularly would keep you in touch with the latest updates in the field, potentially providing a breakthrough in your career.

So far, I have enjoyed the freedom to design the various projects I have engaged in and the practice I have put myself through. Back in high school, when I was almost addicted to designing webpages, I used to ferret around on Pinterest for design inspiration. In those days, my goal was to upgrade my web development skills to such a level that I could replicate any website to the finest detail. I would then push my website designs to CodePen.

Now that I am very close to achieving my goal of fine-tuning my skills, I find self-coding websites more appealing than using website builder services. Looking back, had I started my journey by using builder services, I would have missed the fun that now binds me to web development. It also inspired me to learn different programming languages and implement web development to create Graphical User Interfaces (through SpringBoot in Java and Flask in Python).

I am glad that I made learning HTML, CSS, and JavaScript an integral part of my learning and career journey.