Why I Wanted to Learn How to Code

Do digital marketers really need to know how to code?

Last month, I came across a web development course in one of Udemy’s many sales. It promised that it was “the only course you need to learn web development”, and it was reduced to a mere £12. For £12, I was reluctant to think it was going to turn me into a master developer overnight, but it was a low enough risk that it felt like it was worth a shot. I grabbed a copy of the syllabus and asked the Add Jam team if it looked like a decent introduction to web development and the associated skills, then I figured I’d give it a go.

I’ve wanted to learn more about coding and development for a while, but it was one of those things I just hadn’t got around to. My main focus is marketing, so I can get away with not knowing too much about the technical side of the digital landscape, but it interested me regardless. I’m relatively literate when it comes to technology, I’ve been “building” websites since I discovered Piczo in 2005. I taught myself bits of HTML and CSS to create MySpace and Bebo profiles that all my friends were jealous of, and I’ve had a blog since I was 15. Along the way, I’ve picked up lots of tidbits of technical knowledge, but I’d never really applied them outside of my own sites.

A better understanding

Since I started working with Add Jam in 2017, I’ve enjoyed learning more about the development process. I’ve spent a lot of time googling terms and trying to get to grips with how things work under the hood, and I find it genuinely interesting.

A lot of marketing comes down to understanding the product life cycle and customer journey, so I thought that having a better grasp on the development process would ultimately help me become a better marketer. It’ll teach me what questions to ask and show me what’s needed at each stage of the production process. I’ll (hopefully) learn more about how processes differentiate, and what the unique selling points of different technologies and development methods are. I’ll know what makes each Add Jam project different, and I’ll know why that matters to clients.

The digital landscape

I work primarily in digital marketing, and I’m currently studying towards a Masters in the topic. Code and development are a fundamental part of working in digital, and I think that having an understanding of the theories and practice that underpin the digital landscape will be a huge help in putting things into context. I’m hoping that building my technical knowledge will make it easier to communicate with the people at the other steps of the process — like developers and designers — ultimately making the process smoother and more efficient.

Digital marketing is about more than communications, there are technical elements like site structures, search optimisation and analytics too. For marketing to work well, it shouldn’t be independent, it has to be part of the bigger picture. It’s reliant on other functions and processes to work efficiently and I think it’s important to get to grips with as many of the moving parts as I can.

Thinking differently

I’m a creative person, and I always have been. I do enjoy logic and reason, but I also like things that are open to interpretation. Having worked in a more creative field for so long, I think it’ll be beneficial if I step outside of my comfort zone and get to grips with a different way of thinking. Applying the fundamentals of development to other aspects of my work, and vice versa, will hopefully help me improve my problem-solving. It might not be inherently obvious, but I think that just absorbing the information and processes required will have some sort of impact on the way I think.

I’m also hoping that looking at things from a different perspective will spark some inspiration, and uncover new opportunities for projects and clients that I might not have necessarily considered before. Understanding what can and can’t be done highlights what paths are available to take, what’s realistic and what’s maybe more of a pipe dream.

Working smarter

As much as I find the technical side of digital interesting, I don’t want to be a developer. Instead, I think that learning more about how to code will make me a better marketer. Understanding how all of the moving parts relate to each other and how things work together will help me see how I fit into the process. One of my favourite parts of what I do is writing microcopy, and understanding the development process will undoubtedly help me produce copy that better reflects the intended user experience.

Plus, it’s just useful to know. I can make changes to my own sites without relying on other people — which is useful for someone as impatient as me. Improving my knowledge helps me add value to the work I create, and if it saves me time then that’s an added bonus.

…why not learn?

I find user experience really fascinating, and I want to spend a lot more time investigating the way that copy and marketing play into the process. I’d love to do more work in user experience down the line, so I think that understanding code will be hugely beneficial in that. I think there’s a lot of overlap between marketing, branding and consumer behaviour within user experience, and it’s something I want to explore more professionally.

That being said, I don’t think that learning how to code going to dramatically change the way I work overnight, and there are other things I think I need to learn too, but I think it’ll help me better understand the sphere in which I work and communicate better with the people I work alongside.