Need for Speed: Tips to Become a Faster Website Builder

To be a successful web developer you must be fast on the computer. Either that, or, you must have the money and resources to hire people who are. Persistence is certainly important, but if you aren't quick and efficient, frustration is inevitable. You must be good at using your mouse and keyboard if you want to keep up with the pros. In this post I'll give you a few very basic tips to on how to speed up your web development game.


Learn how to type. We all had typing classes in school. Maybe you didn't pick it up as quickly as some of the other kids. Your finger pecking style is good enough to get you by in most professions, but in web development it's not. Have another go at it and learn to do it right.


Use these 6 shortcuts:
Ctrl + C = Copy
Ctrl + X = Cut
Ctrl + V = Paste
Ctrl + Z = Undo
Ctrl + Y = Redo
Ctrl + S = Save

You must enter these shortcuts with just your left hand, so your right hand can remain on the mouse. If you use both hands it's not any quicker. There are other shortcuts like this, but learning just these 6 will help you go much, much faster.


Increase your mouse tracking speed. Set it as high as you can handle, then set it a little bit higher. Your accuracy will improve after you have used it at that speed for awhile and you become accustomed to it.


There are many games and programs which you can use to help yourself improve. What has helped me the most in recent years was playing Starcraft 2. This is a real-time strategy game that forces you to use keyboard shortcuts, have a fast and accurate mouse hand, and to think at the same time. It's also quite addictive, so beware!


Improving our most basic skills is something that we all often overlook. It's easy to become set in our ways. I hope that these tips on how to become a faster web developer will be helpful to some of you.