How can I develop and improve my programming skills?

A hardware specialist.
Well Web Design and Management is one thing.
Programming is other thing.
I am assuming you want to learn web design along with web graphics.
Here are some tips: Very firstly if you want to get in web industry then try to learn HTML.
Once you know what is HTML you will yourself figure out that you might need other things which you cannot do with HTML.
For layout and design you will be needing CSS.
Then for your web pages behavior you will be needing JavaScript.
How to learn them? I have wrote an article for this in another question section I am pasting some of its content as a part if you want to learn dynamic programming as well: For HTML, CSS try visit the site www.w3schools.com.
Here you can learn lots of things regarding web design.
Its is very good site for beginners who want to learn something about web.
Moreover practice them by making your own pages.
Be creative and give yourself the time to visit different forum and ask question which you do not know.
such as stackoverflow.com.
If you are looking for dynamic web page programming then you can read this section or you can skip this if you do not need it.
You want to learn PHP so it means that you already know some of the front-end web development such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript (JS).
If you do not know this, then you have to learn them first and PHP is the language of the Internet for development of the back end.
Even before learning web programming language should know required before it and HTML, CSS, and JavaScript (JS).
If you know of them allows me to tell you the steps.
Well dear, the very first thing is that you get the basic knowledge of programming language.
This means that you know what is the syntax required to write the program and practice them over and over again.
If you do not know the programming language, then I advise you to visit this site: www.w3schools.com/php/ has a very basic level material and methodology of good practice in learning.
Also try these sites; www.phpbuddy.com www.freewebmasterhelp.com/tutorials/ PHP See also PHP Site on the Internet which is the best for your reference: www.php.net / manual / en / index.php Visit the forum, do ask the question in the forum.
google.com search for lessons.
You will learn one way or another in this way.
Once you overcome this initial learning process, and then you can dive into more advance topics such as; Integrating PHP with my SQL OOP (object-oriented programming) Working with PHP frameworks MVC (Model View Controller) But with the start of the basic command and get the most out of it and the step by step process.
Once you know the initial process will learn in your own where to go next.

Hi - First decide what you want to be front end or backend developer, than look for basic languages like XHTML, HTML5, CSS, they are basic codes that are used in any language we want to implement in a webpage, start with tutorials avialable in w3schools.com, tizag.com, alistapart, htmldog website, try developing small programmes what ever you learn on daily basis, practise will surely help, be logical, analytical if you want to be a programmer after sometimes you will feel you are becoming better.....there are other languages too like, .net, php, java, javascript etc.
decide and move.....

- Have time to learn

- Practice more

- Create many unmeaningful projects just for a matter of creating and using hat you learned

- Read more and check open source real projects

- Teach it to someone

- Start doing real projects as volunteering 

For a "Hardware specialist" my suggestions are;

a) Embedded programming - C, C++ skill set are required.

b) Web Technologies - HTML, CSS, Javascript required.

c) Mobile Technologies -

  c.1) Go with Hybrid app development - Heavy Javascript learning is involved.

  c.2) iOS app dev - C (objective C) is required.

 

All the best.

- YD

solving different online contest or different books programming question solving or solving ACM programming contest question.

you are a hardwar specialiste ...
to be able to devlop web you must learing all the languges related to web devlopement like php and mysql ....oracle ...and of corse some of hieg level programing like java and c