• 51 Opebi Road, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria
  • +234 812 647 6445
  • hello@tckzone.com
kids on laptop

Recently, many schools / STEM clubs have been actively supporting kids to get into tech at their early stage using Scratch programming, lego robotics etc but learning web development seems to be hard, especially for kids. CodeDragon happens to be the best way to master web development due to the ability to enable everyone to learn and use HTML and CSS where they get to understand the basics of HTML syntax.

In this article, you will learn:

  • What is meant by CodeDragon
  • Features available in CodeDragon
  • Overview of the CodeDragon editor
  • How to create your first Hello World Website.

What is CodeDragon?

CodeDragon is a free browser-based platform that teaches kids web development through a drag-and-drop code editor for HTML/CSS and is labelled with actual HTML syntax which works the same way as the actual code.

CodeDragon is very similar to how Scratch Programming works but with a huge focus on simplifying the way to learn and play with HTML and CSS using the drag-and-drop blocks.

Features available in CodeDragon

  • Drag-and-Drop HTML/CSS Code editor

This is a blockly-based drag-and-drop code editing interface for HTML and CSS similar to that of Scratch

  • Fun Social Environment

CodeDragon builds its editor to be a collaborative platform where you can like a project, comment, follow each other and discover more awesome projects created by other creatives like you.

  • Easy Learning Curve

CodeDragon is the best platform to master the fundamentals of web development using the drag-and-drop editor. If you’re coming from the Scratch programming end, you will get the same experience in CodeDragon.

The team are constantly writing helpful tutorials using their unique method of teaching web development in a child-friendly, engaging language.

Check out the tutorials.

  • CodeDragon for Schools

CodeDragon offers a unique teacher dashboard system for schools/organizations/STEM clubs that enable them to teach web development easily and manage tasks for their students which is also free.

Learn more about CodeDragon for Schools.

Overview of the CodeDragon Editor

The CodeDragon editor comprises several sections with different functions and controls. They include;

  • HTML Tags Sidebar
  • Top Navigation Bar
  • The Canvas
  • Preview Panel
  • The Bottom Navigation Bar

HTML Tags Sidebar

This section contains HTML elements/tags and their attributes which include Structure, Modifier, Style, Text, Organization, Forms, Media and Snippets.

html tags sidebar

Each of these tags also has its attributes included which are then defined in blocks. They can be distinguished from each other due to their block colours, for example, the structure tags are in colour blue while the modifiers tags are in colour green.

Top Navigation Bar

These consist of several links through the CodeDragon platform from the editor.

Top Navigation bar

These include;

The CodeDragon logo

This links back to the CodeDragon homepage.

Live Preview

This allows you to be able to preview your website by opening a new browser window so that the changes can appear as you are building your website.

Help

The help links to the tutorial section which enables you to find solutions to any problem you encountered when building your projects.

Projects

The project tab foldouts a drop-down menu that links to the following;

build
  • Preview: This allows you to view your websites with shareable links that can be accessed by anyone to view how your website looks like.
  • Export real code: Clicking on this downloads the HTML code of your website which was built with blocks and you can open it in any code editor.
  • Download blocks: It enables you to download the blocks you assembled on the canvas.
  • Upload blocks: It makes it easier to reuse the downloaded block for an existing project you are working on.
  • Embed project: This gives you the ability to embed your projects anywhere using the iframe element.

 

You

The “You” tab relates to the user (you) building projects in CodeDragon and it links to your project dashboard, your profile, create new projects, your profile settings and sign out.

The Canvas

The canvas is where blocks are dropped and assembled, it enables you to structure your block in the right way.

the canvas

It also has the Zoom in, Zoom out, focus and delete controls.

Zoom in ( + ): This let you manipulate the display of the canvas to make it larger and possibly more detailed.

Zoom out ( — ): This lets you manipulate the display of the canvas to make it larger and possibly more detailed.

Focus: This adjusts the current blocks in the canvas and brings them to a position where they can all be seen clearly.

Delete: This enables you to restore your deleted block and it functions like recycle bin in computers.

Preview Panel

The preview panel has two tabs which include the plain preview tab and the code preview tab.

Preview panel on codedragon

The plain preview visualizes your blocks in real life while the code preview shows the actual code in HTML format which you can export from CodeDragon.

preview 2

Bottom Navigation Bar

The bottom navigation shows the name of the project you are working on and its creator which is you. It also has 3 button controls which include; the save button, exit button and the clear button.

bottom navigation bar

The Save button makes it easier for you to save your projects by just clicking on the button.

The exit button saves your projects and then close the editor immediately.

The clear button deletes all blocks available on the canvas. This action cannot be reversed because it resets the entire project.

Creating your first Hello World website

Since you have gotten familiar with the CodeDragon editor, start by creating an account on https://codedragon.org if you don’t have an account before.

creating a codedragon account

Create a new project, click on a blank project, write the title of your project, add a little description about your project and choose a privacy option.

creating a codedragon project

After creating your new project, it will show a project card that shows the title, creator and description of the projects. You can clone, code and change the project settings.

Editing Codedragon Project details

Click on the code button to continue, the action opens the editor where you will be able to build your website.

Follow the steps below to create your first Hello World website;

Step 1: Click on the Structure elements, click on page, drag and drop the first complete HTML tag into the canvas.

html tags

Step 2: Edit and change the title value to “Hello World!”.

Edit to write hello world

Step3: Go back to Structure, click on layout, drag and drop the divider tag into the canvas.

html codes

You are halfway done!

Step 4: Click on the Text element, select the Header tag, drag and drop it into the divider tag you added earlier in the canvas.

adding text element on codedragon

Step 5: Edit and change the text content to “Hello World”.

changing text content on codedragon

Conclusion

Now, you have learnt about CodeDragon, how to navigate through the CodeDragon editor and also successfully built your first hello world website in CodeDragon. You can preview your website by clicking on projects > preview.

Preview link: https://codedragon.org/full/1c92d8e61e521c2c75ab850e44464023

You can copy the link on your browser after previewing it and share it with your friends and families.

If you found this article helpful and educative, you can support us by dropping a comment and sharing.

Tags:
Share:

Soliudeen Ogunsola

Editor of Visual Developer Space and Soliudeen Case Studies

What a joy it is to introduce

You May Also Like