Building a website can be fun as well as a lot of hard work. While there are many CMS (content management system) that do most of the work you will find that even if you are not writing the code understanding it and being able to alter it can be enormous assets in your web development toolkit. There are many different computer languages to learn for web development but here are the first five you should delve into (in order of importance).

XHTML/HTML5 HTML (hypertext markup language) is the backbone of your website. Web documents contain three main sections: the head, the title, and the body. These sections are written in HTML. The head includes the webpage's identifying information. Search Engine's like Google are only capable of reading the HTML of a website. The head section of the webpage is essential if you want your website to show up in Google's results page. The title is what appears in the browser's URL tab and is what your website will be known as throughout the internet. The body is where the content visible to visitors is written. Text and graphics can be adjusted using HTML tags (commands).

Your preparation should begin before you arrive at the career fair. The first thing that you need to do is identify your goal. What do you hope to accomplish at the fair? Are you looking for an internship, a job, or to network? Perhaps it is all three, but knowing exactly why you are going will help you determine how to best prepare.

As the fair gets closer review the list of companies that will be attending and identify the ones that you would like to speak with. Place them in three priority groups; those you must talk with, those you would like to talk with, and those who you will talk with in your extra time. This will save you time at the fair as you know exactly where you are going.

Prepare your pitch. Know what it is you are going to say and what you would like to ask. Do background research on the most important companies and write down notes to bring with you to the fair. Before you speak with a company look at your notes so you are able to make better use of your time instead of asking ignorant questions like what the company does.

Make sure to dress the part. Look professional and hirable. Some students wander through the fair dressed casually talking to companies.

The latest version of CSS is CSS3. You can go ahead and learn that one first without worrying about differences that exist in previous versions. Remember, you can surf the web looking for designs you like and borrow the code. A better method would be to buy a design template that gives you alteration rights and work from there. You can also use free programs like composer to better see your CSS in action. If you are hoping for greater control Dreamweaver has always been a favorite but unfortunately it is not free.

Java & PHP I am lumping these two languages together because they are the key languages for dynamic web pages and are interchangeable at times (you can use either one to get very similar effects). Dynamic web pages include things like games, chat abilities, image viewing, interactive apps or advertisements. Java was originally developed for software and in-browser applets and has become a key infrastructure for web apps. Java shares many similarities to C++ (which can be a nice benefit if want to learn different languages in the future). Java allows the same program to be executed on different operating systems. No need to fear if a Mac, Linux, or Microsoft user makes their way to your website. Java contains build in support and is easy to use.

Pull out your list of companies and make your way through the fair in the order you have prepared previously. Approach each company warmly with a firm handshake. Be friendly and listen to the recruiter so you can best explain how you can solve the company's issues. Often you have to wait in line to speak to company contacts. Listen to the conversations ahead of you while you wait to gather in background information that will help you in your turn.

Listen to each person you speak with even if you are not interested. Don't burn bridges before they are even built. Perhaps one of these contacts will be useful in the future as you look for other jobs. Take notes of what the individuals talk about.

Make sure you have the contact for the area you are interested in. Often the needed contact is not the recruiter but the head of another department so make sure to ask. Give out your resume. Underline your contact information your graduation date and write a note about what you discussed to help the recruiter remember you.

After The Fair

The language is also easily scalable but the more information you place in the database the more processing power you will need to dedicate to it. If you are carrying personal data in your system MySQL also has a high level of security built into it. Built to work well and be easy to use MySQL is probably where you want to start (although there are other languages you could use). Really no special tips for learning this language. If you have already learned the languages above MySQL really should not present a problem for you.

Hopefully this article answered some of the questions you may have had and gets you on your way to being a first class programmer and web developer. You can choose to learn these different languages on your own (there are tons of tutorials scattered throughout the web. However if you prefer the classroom or hope to make this a future career you will want to of find a degree like Computer Programming (AAS) where they will teach you these skills and hand you a diploma.