Web application development is one of the most in-demand skill sets and areas of expertise in the world today. It’s needed by everyone from independent freelancers to global enterprises and even world governments.

But every application development environment is different, and some developers may work well with one more effectively than others.

This is part of the reason why Systems Applications and Products (SAP) has its own web application developer standards, processes, and coding language, among other assets. This means that there are web application developers — and then there are SAP web application developers.

The difference is that the SAP web application developer has mastered the common elements of application programming and continued their self-education to the complex environment of SAP.

Incidentally, this also makes SAP web application developers key assets for the organizations where they work. They’ve mastered the methods and techniques needed to customize SAP to an extreme for an individual organization, which can play a pivotal role in that organization’s growth and longevity.

So where can you start with becoming an SAP web application developer? And how can you ensure you continue to grow after you learn these essential skills?

In this blog, we’ll cover five ways you can start your journey to becoming an SAP web application developer.

1. Starting with the Basics

Because SAP web application development requires an in-depth understanding of SAP, it’s crucial to start with these foundational skills.

These skills include simple concepts like navigation, reporting, and generally knowing your way around the default settings of SAP as software.

It may sound overly-simplistic to start your training this way, especially if you’re already an expert web application developer who’s eager to start building with SAP.

But these beginning pieces form the scaffolding of your future learning in SAP. Without them, it becomes much more challenging to advance through the following steps.

2. Continuing with SAP Web Application Design

In this phase of learning, your focus is 100% on the web application design aspect of SAP. This means that spending any time teaching yourself navigation or other basic skills will be a detriment to you learning the first pieces of web application design itself.

As you work through everything in this phase, you’ll learn about advanced configuration options, dynamic customization, data display options, creating sequences to execute multiple commands, and even rolling multiple queries into a single application.

You’ll also dive into templates, the pattern wizard, online items, and key graphical elements (like buttons and tabs) that can help you structure your web applications for the easiest possible use.

3. Understanding OpenUI5 Apps

OpenUI5 is a robust and powerful framework that allows web developers like you to create applications that are accessible across platforms. Laptops, smartphones, tablets, and more can all use an application that runs on OpenUI5, which is why SAP now maintains this framework for others to use.

OpenUI5 is crucial to the accessibility and usability portion of your application development experience. It allows you to create an application by using an existing library of data that SAP maintains.

You’ll also gain an understanding of the model-view-controller (MVC) system that is integral to many modern user interfaces. This system requires a developer to consider the data (model), view (user interface), and controller (input processes) that completes the front-facing portion of an application.

4. Building Applications Yourself

Web application development is the most fun when you’re building. While it may have taken some time for you to get to this step, this is the portion of your SAP education that will let you start working in earnest.

This is the phase where you’ll build a web application, like an AI-controlled chatbot, that will allow you to understand the creation process in SAP and how your work powers the application itself.

The best part of this learning phase is when you launch your application to a website or channel, allowing you to test it in the ways you need to ensure that it functions and displays exactly as intended.

With this done, the final piece of your SAP web application developer journey is to take your certification exam and pass.

5. Continuing Your SAP Training

SAP is an enormous, robust, and near-infinite framework that helps enterprise businesses thrive. As a result, it’s possible for someone like a web application developer to expand their skill set to master other elements of SAP.

This could include learning other aspects of application creation, learning more about reports, or even diving into data science by creating predictive analytical models.

All of these options (and more) are at your fingertips once you have the SAP web application development processes under your belt. And by learning more, you make yourself a more versatile and reliable employee, ensuring you can complete tasks alone that may have required teams in the past.

This diversity in learning can play an enormous role in your future career, especially as you continue to grow as a professional and within an organization.

Showing that you’ve earned your certification as an SAP web application developer is excellent. Showing that you’re also certified to create predictive analytical models is a professional differentiator that can truly set you apart from the other developers on the market.

Are You Ready to Take the Next Step?

We understand how much energy and effort goes into becoming an SAP web application developer. In fact, we’ve created a curriculum that walks you through everything you need to earn your certification.

So if you’re ready to take that next big leap in your career, here’s how you can do it.

Click here to start your journey to becoming an SAP web application developer today!