[DAY 4] I Decided To Try FreeCodeCamp

For this day, I decided to enhance my coding skills through freecodecamp.org. My primary goal is to solidify my grasp on HTML by undertaking a practical exercise: constructing a cat photo app, as directed by the first course on the platform.

Lately, I've encountered a roadblock in my progress. Despite building my first webpage, I feel stagnant, uncertain of the next steps, and lacking in essential conceptual understanding. Thus, I've decided to veer away momentarily from my web page creation project to focus on refining my coding abilities.

Reflecting on today’s first course, here are my learnings:

1. I've embraced the importance of semantic elements such as <header>, <main>, <section>, <footer>, <h1>, <h2>, <ul>, <ol>, <li>, <form>, <input>, <button>, and <a> in structuring my HTML document. Utilizing these elements not only enhances accessibility but also augments SEO efforts.
2. Integrating images into my app via the <img> tag, while specifying src for image URLs and alt for alternative text, has bolstered its accessibility.
3. The incorporation of links using the <a> tag, both internally and externally, with appropriate href attributes.
4. Implementing a form using the <form> tag, alongside diverse form elements like <input> for text input and checkboxes, <fieldset> for grouping related elements, and <legend> for captioning each group's purpose.
5. Utilizing radio buttons and checkboxes within the form, while specifying attributes like type, name, value, and checked, has made option selection smooth.
6. By designating certain form fields as required using the required attribute, I've facilitated form validation.
7. Furthermore, employing the checked attribute to preselect a certain radio button and checkbox within the form has streamlined user interaction.

Though not explicitly covered in the provided material, I recognize the potential for further enhancement through CSS styling to elevate the visual aesthetics and layout of the CatPhotoApp. Next time, I’ll be able to do that since I think the next course would be about CSS.

The course I have taken so far has been a great experience for me and I have picked up learnings that would take me long to know by myself. Overall, I would come back again and plan to finish the succeeding courses as I think it would play a major role in helping me learn web development.