Heard a guy say "HTML isn't real coding" and it got me thinking about gatekeeping

I was at a coffee shop last week (working on a little landing page project) when I overheard two guys arguing. One said something like "HTML isn't real coding, it's just markup" and the other was getting defensive about it. It made me wonder - where do we draw the line for what counts as "coding" for beginners? On one hand, HTML is super limited and not really logic-based like JavaScript or Python. But on the other hand, it's still writing instructions for a computer, and tons of people start their coding journey with it. I started with HTML myself (back in 2016) and felt like a fraud until I learned actual scripting languages. Do you think we should welcome HTML/CSS as part of the coding world, or is it helpful to keep that distinction so beginners know what they're getting into? Has anyone else felt put down for starting with HTML?

3 comments

3 Comments

drewsullivan1mo ago

HTML isn't real coding" - that exact phrase got a buddy of mine real upset a couple years back. He was building his first website with just HTML and CSS, showing it off to some developer meetup group. Some junior dev laughed and said that exact thing to him. My buddy almost quit right there. He told me later he went home and cried a little. Felt dumb for being proud of his site. But you know what happened next? He got stubborn. Learned JavaScript in 3 months. Then React. Now he's a full stack dev making twice what that junior makes. Point is, HTML might not be coding in the strict sense. But it's a door. A real one. And slamming it on beginners is just dumb. We need more people in tech, not less.

dylan_bell1mo ago

Man same thing happened to me years ago when I showed off a little HTML page I made at a job interview. The interviewer literally said "that's not real programming" right in front of me. I was so embarrassed I almost walked out. But @drewsullivan is dead on about that door part. For me, that little HTML site got me curious how buttons actually worked, then I learned a tiny bit of JavaScript to make a popup, then I was hooked. It's like learning to ride a bike with training wheels and someone yelling that you're not really riding. But you know what? Months later I built that same interviewer a whole landing page for his side project and charged him $500. Startup gatekeeping is real and it hurts people for no reason.

drew_park1mo ago

Alright but hold on, @drewsullivan's buddy sounds like a tough guy and good for him, but isn't part of coding actually getting your hands dirty with logic and variables and all that? HTML is more like setting up the furniture in a house, not building the house itself. I feel like if you never move past it, you're kind of just decorating, you know? Or am I overthinking this?