Web Development & Design Skills You Need to Learn To Become A Blogger

Becoming a blogger can open up fascinating opportunities, including travel, going to some of the biggest events in the world and the opportunity to work with some of the biggest brands.

However, blogging has become about way more than just words in the modern era. To be successful, the modern blogger has to have a suite of skills including web design and graphic design skills.

Fortunately, there are many tools that can get you started, like the Adobe Express design app for easy graphic design and apps like Adobe XD for web design. By mastering these tools, to begin with, you can develop your industry skills in a hands-on way and enhance your reputation, making you a more desirable writer and blogger and a shoo-in to cover big events and big brands.

Want to know exactly what skills you should be looking to develop as a blogger? Then read on, so you can start your journey toward becoming a tech-savvy, self-sufficient, and forward-thinking blogger.

HTML & CSS: The Building Blocks of Web Design

In the old days, you would want to know everything about the publication you were writing for before you commenced writing. You would need to understand the space limitations and layout elements included to match your writing and imagery with the page.

The internet is no different. To be fluent in customising your blog’s layout, it is essential to understand at least the basics of HTML (HyperText Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). This will give you far greater creative control over the final product and the ability to create a better blog that matches the target website and audience.

You can start dabbling with HTML in a variety of ways, including by coding a website yourself, by learning HTML basics with mobile apps that are designed for learning how to code in HTML and CSS, or even by fiddling around with our free online HTML editor to see how the language works for yourself.

JavaScript

This one is a no-brainer. As of 2024, almost 99 percent of all websites are using JavaScript on the client side for webpage behaviour. This coding language allows you to build interactivity into your blogs.

JavaScript allows you to interactively modify the content, aesthetics, and layout of HTML elements in response to user actions or specific circumstances. For instance, JavaScript can be employed to alter a button's text upon being clicked, reveal or conceal elements depending on the user's input, or modify a webpage's background colour.

It is one of the most popular programming languages in the world for a reason, it adds all of the dynamic elements to your blog with extra functionality and interactivity for the reader which is going to make it a better product all round.

WordPress & Content Management Systems (CMS)

Having the ability to upload blogs to a website is a crucial skill and understanding the different CMS options available is vital when it comes to being a successful blogger.

If you cannot upload your words to a website, it is going to slow the process down and there are many websites that will not even look at your content unless you have the ability to upload it as well.

WordPress is the diamond standard and used by the vast majority of websites. Around 810 million websites use WordPress as of 2024 which represents about 43 per cent of all sites - a figure that is rising rapidly. Other leading CMS options to get acquainted with include Joomla, Drupal, Magento, PrestaShop, Concrete5, Contentful and Sitecore.

Responsive Design

Unlike the old days of the printed press, readers consume their information on a range of different sized screens which needs to be taken into account with modern blogs.

It can be easy to generate a word-heavy piece of detailed content, but how is that going to look on a mobile device? Almost 60 percent of all web traffic is viewed on mobile devices, so catering is essential.

This is where responsive design comes in. It means your content will adjust to suit the screen it is being viewed on, with different screen sizes, fonts and resolutions. Optimising your blogs to suit all devices with responsive design is a vital skill you will need to learn early on.

SEO & Web Analytics

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and web analytics are crucial for any blogger aiming to increase their online visibility. SEO involves optimising your blog’s content and structure to improve its ranking on search engine results pages.

Meanwhile, web analytics tools like Google Analytics allow you to track and analyse your blog's traffic. You can see which posts are most popular, where your visitors are coming from, and how they interact with your site.

Understanding SEO and web analytics can help you make data-driven decisions to grow your blog. These skills are also highly valued in many digital marketing roles.

Cybersecurity Basics

Finally, with the rise in phishing scams and hacking activity across the globe, there are more cyberattacks being recorded now than ever before. And nobody is safe – not even your humble domain. That’s why even independent bloggers can benefit greatly from engaging with cybersecurity basics and what measures they can take to protect their website from being infiltrated by opportunistic hackers from its backend.

And what if you manage blogs for brands or other individuals? Well, that means you have incredible responsibility when handing the keys to a client’s website backend. Be familiar with all of their cybersecurity policies and understand basic cybersecurity concepts like secure socket layer (SSL) certificates, safe password practices, two-factor authentication, and regular backups. By engaging with and understanding these cybersecurity measures, you can not only safeguard your blogs but also bolster your reputation as a web content professional.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the modern blogger has to wear many hats and become an all-round expert when it comes to web development, design, layout, functionality and security. It is no longer enough to just have great words and images, you need a holistic set of skills to become desirable for those big projects that you crave.

Additionally, developing these skills will make you autonomous and independent, so you can build your websites and host your own blogs, paving the way for your own success without depending on companies or other people. It is hard work, but you can be guaranteed that it will pay off in the end.