The push for non-programmers to learn code is a hot debate. You don’t have to dig deep before you’ll find online essays begging you not to learn code while others would have your fetus registered for a course at conception.

Inspiration and curiosity are what you should be paying attention to-those make for meaningful, sustainable experiences. Being corralled or shamed into learning is so motivation 2.0.

We live in a software-dominated world and HTML has become a key language for success. You don’t need to be a coding genius, but knowing enough to inform your own work and set you apart could put a wiggle in your wobble (and that’s a good thing!).



Here are some ways designers, content creators, and entrepreneurs could benefit from a little code canoodling.

Web designers
  • You’ll have more empathy and respect for the development team, which means better communication and working relationships. A little bit of cross-training helps everyone on the team. (Yay team!)
  • You’ll know if your design is achievable - you’ll know what can and can’t be done
  • You’ll understand how the code ties into the design experience you create for users
"Being able to code allows me to understand and bend the rules of design for the web. It shows me the constraints and possibilities of my medium and makes me a better designer." - Steve Fisher

Content creators
  • You’ll be able to communicate better with developers and designers
  • You’ll sharpen your self-editing and precision skills-also used to code
  • You’ll understand why web formatting standards matter (because they really do!)
“It’s not as scary and complicated as it might seem, and you’ll be proud of yourself next time you create an article that is up to the standards of the web (and your web developer will thank you)." -Tess Neale

Entrepreneurs
  • You’ll have a better idea of what to look for in web professionals building your site
  • You’ll have a better understanding of what you need and what’s possible
  • You’ll have the ability and confidence to make small fixes to your site
“All other things equal, I’d dare say I would hire the person who knows how to code over the person with the 4.0 GPA or master’s degree for just about any position." -Shane Snow, Contently Co-founder

Challenge: Ask some of the coders in your life what they love about it. Enthusiasm is infectious-you might just catch the coding bug!

Resources for learning code:
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