According to U.S. News & World Report,

certified professional web developers earn an average salary of $64,970, nation wide.

First and foremost, you'll need to figure out what kind of site you'll be building.

Start by sitting down and creating a wish list. Users expect modern sites to be more than text on a page; they expect interactive web applications that actually perform complicated tasks, which is something you’ll want to keep in mind as you get your feet wet with your first web development project.

Surf the internet. See what other sites are doing.

Just list out the individual pages you know you want, and then organize those pages into categories.

Are there any aspects that serve no real purpose? Is there any content that is duplicated on multiple pages and might hurt your site’s search engine rankings?

Rough sitemaps also help you optimize your page design and ensure that all of your components are working together in the most efficient way possible. As an added bonus for developers who are collaborating together or working for clients, an effective sitemap will help keep everyone on the same page. And, because the sitemap can be as simple as a flowchart on a whiteboard, it doesn’t require any specialized skills to create.

Stack Overflow survey data can provide concrete information for you to use while you plan the structure of your site.

Additionally, Stack Overflow functions as a sort of forum where programmers and developers of all skill levels can come together to share tips and tricks, and crowdsource solutions to potential problems. In order to submit or answer questions, you’ll need to sign up for a free account, but non-registered users can still browse through topics and answers using a simple search function. And given that the average response time is 10 minutes, this resource may be essential in times of emergency.

With a working knowledge of a few popular languages, you’ll be able to create pretty much any aspect of any site you might need. However, there’s a difference between knowing every programming language, and knowing about every programming language.

Think of it like golf — you approach each hole with an entire bag full of clubs. And while you probably won’t use every club in a single round, knowing which clubs are best for which situations is still important. Similarly, you don’t need to learn every coding language, but you should learn enough about them to be able to choose the language or languages that best fit your needs.

Checking out the most recent Stack Overflow survey data on the most loved, most dreaded, and most wanted programming languages can give you an idea of which languages you might want to apply to your web development.

the parts that a general user will be able to see and interact with,

and

the parts that make up the digital infrastructure of the site, and are not user accessible.

Before we go further, recognize that a content management system isn’t strictly necessary. CMS is most useful for blogging and e-Commerce, but a modern web application usually won’t need one. Javascript frameworks make it easy to coordinate code and markup to keep your app concise and organized, and the right backend databases in conjunction with reliable web apps generally eliminate the need for CMS.

Still, CMS options are available, and some beginning developers do enjoy the shortcuts these options provide, while still allowing them to retain direct code access and hosting over their site (which are not options when using site builders).

Essentially, CMS solutions offer a selection of plugins and addons that you can combine to create a working product. To put it even more simply, CMS gives you the building blocks, but you create the structure. The CMS options themselves are often coded in PHP, SQL, or one of the other popular coding languages, so having some experience with those languages is still an advantage.

Any individual can register for a domain name, all it takes is a small fee to register with ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). There are many services that will help you with this such as GoDaddy, Network Solutions or Hover. Once finished, you will own the right to that name for one year, with yearly renewals needed to retain the domain for longer than that.

Containers contain every bit of code your site needs to deploy and run your application. In essence, the container is a self-contained version of your entire site, so that it doesn't matter what the host (server) has installed or running, because the container will run completely separately and independently of the rest of the system. Properly utilized containers result in near-instantaneous horizontal scaling, help ensure that development and production are always in sync, and can be deployed without having to worry about site downtime.

You’ll also need to be capable of maintaining your site for as long as you expect it to function. Schedule regular appointments to review your site, checking everything from the overall look and feel of the site, to the components themselves. Also, check to see if any information on your site (such as contact information) needs to be updated. Next, check to ensure that all of your security features are up to date. Finally, review coding standards, and implement any new versions of programming languages you might be using.

While building the perfect site is by no means a simple process, it is achievable. Figure out what the best way to learn web development is for you. Connect with the developer community, familiarize yourself with online resources, experiment with programming languages and tools, and get the coding education you need to make your dream site a reality.