Why Bloggers Should Learn a Programming Language

Bloggers choose hosted blog sites or mainstream blogging software so they can focus on their creativity rather than on code. After all, bloggers want to write, produce videos, post images, run advertising campaigns, and talk with visitors: there’s no time for anything else. Still, on occasion, bloggers require technical assistance to tweak a post’s appearance or to improve the visual appeal of a theme. Sometimes things go wrong too, making a post illegible, a video unwatchable, a sound inaudible or an ad unclickable. In fact, there’s virtually no limit to the kinds of problems bloggers might encounter that require technical expertise, often programming. Bloggers should learn a programming language for a variety of reasons, six of which are listed below.

1. Independence

If you’re a blogger, your blog means a lot to you. It reflects upon you personally and it might even provide a significant portion of your income. When something goes wrong or needs to be corrected, you want it done now, but if you don’t know the programming language, you’re in for some potential embarrassment and costly delays. Relying on someone else to help you can be frustrating. To begin with people don’t give your problems as much priority as their own, even if they get paid. If you want something fixed, learn how to do it yourself and you don’t have to wait for someone else to get around to doing it.

2. Knowledge

The old saying is “Knowledge is Power.” How true that is. As a blogger, once you gain the knowledge of programming, you understand how blogs work, giving you power over the masses that don’t. Suddenly, you are in the driver’s seat. You know what can be done and what can’t be done and how hard it would be to make changes and add features. When you know a programming language, you are limited only by your creativity and persistence when it comes to making your blog work the way you want it to. Also, you now have a whole new world of opportunity where you can be the one getting paid to fix other people’s Web sites.

3. Expansion

One of the nice things about blogging platforms such as WordPress is that plugins and add ons are available that can extend features and implement customizations. But what if you can’t find a plugin that does what you want to do? Once you have learned a programming language you can make a plugin yourself. Chances are that if you needed that feature that other people do to. You can make a name for yourself by offering your plugin to other bloggers for free or for profit. By learning a programming language, a blogger can expand the blogging platform being used and expand the community that is supporting it.

4. Resume Enhancements

In this tight economy, jobs are hard to come by. If you’ve been affected by a layoff, wage freeze, pay cut, added responsibilities, or other unfavorable workplace conditions, make yourself more valuable by learning a programming language. Once you have invested the time and gained some experience, you now have reason to either get paid more or to get another job that pays more. If you have enough drive, you can even go to work for yourself either as a contractor or as a small business. By learning a programming language, bloggers gain an important edge in their resume or CV.

5. A Side Job

Even if you’re happily employed, you may want or need to earn extra money. By learning a programming language, a blogger can work on the side providing services, software, or solutions for pay. You can advertise your skills and use your blog as an online portfolio, showing off your accomplishments and capability to a limitless online audience. You can advertise for freelance or contract work or you can join one of the many freelance communities that connect talent with paying customers.

6. Mental Health

Studies have shown that reduction in mental performance is most likely attributable to lack of use. Therefore, to keep a good mind, you should keep learning. When it comes to programming, there’s no shortage of new things to learn and do, making it the perfect way to keep your intelligence humming along even as you age.

This guest post is brought to you by Tom Walker, a blogger working with a UK based specialist in HP supplies. He is the editor in chief and contributor to their blog where he writes about print media design and advertising.
Thanks Tom I often feel weird not writing more about PHP and Ruby on Rails simply because it’s a big part of my daily activities I guess I thought bloggers weren’t very interested but they should be.
Also blogging gets boring and learning code is a great challenge and way to keep busy Thanks