Learn how to learn to code

How to Code – Coding for Beginners and How to Learn Programming for Free

These days, there are a lot resources out there for learning how to code. And many of them are readily available online for free – so choosing one can be overwhelming.

But there’s definitely an upside: you don’t need to attend a paid bootcamp or university anymore in order to learn how to code. You can teach yourself.

In this article, I will share some tips and info about how to learn to code for free as a beginner. I’ll also point you to free learning platforms and resources.

What is Coding?

«Coding» is a commonly used term for computer programming. Some people use it interchangeably with programming, while others would argue they are not entirely the same.

By definition, «code» refers to a set of instructions that tells a computer what to do. Computers don’t understand human language, so over time, humans have created languages that computers can understand. And developers speak to them through those languages.

Examples of coding languages include HTML, GitHub Markdown, CSS, JavaScript, and Python, among many others.

When you learn how to code, you’ll be able to write instructions for computers to follow. This lets you make websites, applications, and software, and do some other cool stuff.

What is Programming?

If coding is the act of writing instructions for a computer to follow, what then is programming?

Many developers view programming as a more advanced term than coding, and a lot of others use both words interchangeably.

Programming still involves writing instructions for the computer to follow, but now data structures and algorithms are important. Some coding languages such as HTML, CSS, and Markdown don’t use algorithms and data structures, while others such as JavaScript, Python, Java, and C++ use them heavily.

This brings up a distinction that many developers make. In the web development industry, many developers don’t consider HTML to be a «programming language» in a strict sense, because it doesn’t perform any logic. It just determines the structure of a website.

On the other hand, languages like JavaScript, Python, C++, and Java, are all «official» programming languages because they handle complex functionalities and interactivity.

Some developers refer to anyone who codes in just HTML and CSS as a coder, and those who code in JavaScript, Java, C++, and other programming languages as programmers.

So you could say that all programmers are coders, but not all coders are programmers. But not everyone feels this way, so it’s important to do your own research and learn the skills before you take a side 🙂

Why Should You Learn How to Code?

The world is becoming a global village. And coding is a big reason it’s happening.

There are tons of reasons why you should learn how to code, and I will touch on some of them here.

First of all, learning to code greatly enhances your analytical and problem-solving skills.

You can work for the biggest tech companies: learning how to code open up doors for you to work at the biggest tech firms like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Facebook. If you’re a fan of FAANG, you should definitely consider learning to code.

You can work independently: a lot of developers have years of experience in their respective industries and have never worked for any other person or company as an employee. By working for yourself, you work on your own schedule, at your own pace, and on your own terms.

How to Learn How to Code for Free

As I pointed out earlier, there are tons of resources online for learning how to code. You can find any resource you want by searching on Google, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Learn to Code on YouTube

YouTube has often been described as a free «university». A lot of people have become software engineers, web developers, data analysts, database engineers, and administrators by watching YouTube videos and putting what they learn into practice.

freeCodeCamp has a YouTube channel with over 1,000 videos on web development, data science, machine learning, freelancing, databases, and everything related to tech.

In addition to the freeCodeCamp channel, there are lots of other great channels such as Traversy Media, NetNinja, WebDevSimplified, Florin Pop, AmigosCode, and a lot more.

Learn to Code with freeCodeCamp

To narrow it down a little from Google searches and YouTube, freeCodeCamp is a great platform where you can learn how to code – it’s one of the best in the world, actually.

And one of the best parts? You don’t have to pay anything to learn to code because freeCodeCamp is a non-profit and all of its resources are completely free to use.

To get started with freeCodeCamp, you can log on to the curriculum website and sign up. Then you will get full access to the entire 3,000+ hour curriculum that can take you from zero to hero, novice to ninja, and beginner to expert in coding.

Apart from the curriculum, freeCodeCamp has a solid presence on YouTube in English and Spanish, as I mentioned above.

There is also a forum like StackOverflow where you can interact with fellow campers (that’s what freeCodeCamp users are called), ask questions, and get your coding issues resolved.

And of course there’s freeCodeCamp’s publication, where you are now, that contains over 7,000 tutorials on a wide range of tech topics.

Learn to Code with the MDN (Mozilla Developer Network)

MDN has one of the largest collections of documentation for web technologies and APIs such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript.

If you are the type that likes to learn by reading, MDN is a great place to learn coding and web development.

The beautiful thing about MDN is that the documentation is regularly updated and so you learn everything in a modern way.

Learn to Code with Sololearn

Sololearn is a social and interactive platform where you can learn any programming language and many of the popular frameworks and libraries. I used the platform myself while starting out, so I can testify to how helpful it is.

The curriculum is not really the most attractive thing about Sololearn – rather, it’s the community. Millions of people all around the world get to interact and brainstorm on coding, so you can ask questions openly and resolve your issues, post your projects, and get feedback.

In addition, you get the chance to compete with other people in quizzes and send them direct messages.

Sololearn is available in web and mobile versions. You can download the mobile app from the app store.

Conclusion

Coding is increasingly becoming an integral part of our world. Learning to code has changed a lot of lives as it can give you the skills to get a great job and earn your financial freedom. And there are tons of employment opportunities out there right now.

If you are willing to learn how to code, you don’t need to worry about the cost. There are tons of free resources online available for you to explore, as we’ve seen in this article.

So what are you waiting for? Learn how to code today.

How to Learn to Code in 2021 – 10 Free Websites For Learning Coding

With 2020 keeping us home for extended periods of time, more and more people are growing their skillsets online. Learning online is affordable, flexible, and easily personalized.

This learning led me to build a website from scratch for people and students to work from home. Pretty cool, right?

With the right resources and tools, you too can achieve learning outcomes that translate into immediate results and help you build products.

But finding all of the right tools to enhance your education in one place is hard. This article addresses that: by making it easy to find all of the resources you need to learn how to code in one article, I hope that you can start learning sooner.

How does online learning work?

Some people are skeptical about learning online. The old-school thought is that you need 1:1 lessons, real time feedback, and collaboration among peers.

But guess what? All of those core benefits are now online. One of my best friends is not in technology, but practices law. He told me about his time in law school practicing and deploying the Socratic method.

This form of cooperative argumentative dialogue between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking, helped him retain material, deeply understand core concepts, and practice.

These websites deploy a similar set of experiences for users: you are forced to learn, practice, engage, actually code, see your mistakes, understand what you have done well, and track your progress.

Much like the Socratic method, these websites hone your critical thinking skills. And they are relentless in their focus on improving your general aptitude to see problems, recognize patterns, and ultimately improve.

Without further ado, here are the best free, most reliable, educational websites for learning how to code.

freeCodeCamp

freeCodeCamp is a non-profit organization in the United States, dedicated to helping people learn to code for free.

Through their content, which includes interactive coding tutorials supported by videos and articles, they have assisted 40,000 learners in landing their dream jobs in companies like Google, Spotify, Microsoft, and more.

You can get certifications by completing courses in various categories. freeCodeCamp offers content on Web Design, Quality Assurance, Data Visualization, Machine Learning, and other additional topics. They also cover coding adjacent frameworks such as Agile/Scrum methodologies.

In addition to the 3000 hour (free) curriculum, they have a popular YouTube channel and technical publication.

Coursera

This website is one of the best references for students, employees, or managers to grow their skills and keep up with the newest in their fields.

It offers free courses, tutorials, and a ton of resources on almost anything you would like to learn. These options are compiled and taught by professors from the top universities from all over the world.

You can explore so much coding-centric content on Coursera. It’s worth noting that if you want certifications through Coursera, you will hit their paywall.

However, you can learn an introduction to programming, HTML, CSS, loT programming, C language, Python, Java, and more for free from a beginner’s level or higher.

Coursera also has non technical content, which can help you understand a broader array of topics including product design, digital marketing, and even tax planning. All interesting and relevant content.

Codecademy

Codecademy is a platform dedicated specifically to coding. According to their website, 45 million learners have developed their coding skills through their website in only seven years.

You can start your Codecademy learning journey by evaluating your coding skills in order to find out which level suits you the best. Or, if you are a beginner, get ready to begin coding within minutes.

Their learning software allows you to learn by doing, aka ‘practice makes perfect’. With instant testing of your coding skills, you are assured that you are correctly applying what you are learning.

They offer great tool tips and real time feedback to unblock you as the learning modules increase in difficulty.

You have a variety of options with the subjects you could learn including Web Development, Data Science, Computer Science, Machine Learning, Web Design, Game Development, and Mobile Development.

You can also start learning languages right away with courses on HTML & CSS, Python, Javascript, Java, SQL, C++, PHP, and more.

edX

edX offers free online courses by esteemed and reputable universities like Harvard, MIT, Georgetown, the University of British Columbia, and more. They have several categories to choose from but if you are after learning coding, you will definitely find the ones for you.

I recommend you check out their Computer Science and Data Science categories for in-depth courses on Full Stack Development, Javascript, Python, AI, Machine Learning, and more.

To get a verified certificate, you will have to pay. There are also some courses that require paying but for the most part, you could learn a great amount just by attending the free courses.

Udemy

Udemy is quite a unique learning platform since it is the home to the world’s largest collection of courses. Well, that’s because all of their content is user-generated so your instructor can be an expert, a professor, or a fellow coder.

Then, start learning Design, IT, Software Development, and level up from beginner to professional.

Udacity

This platform provides a wide range of free and paid courses that help learners perfect their desired skills by practicing in real life projects. That aids in landing a job right after improving your professional and technical skills.

You have free range with the time you need to master your next tech skill as well as the liberty to choose from their diverse options. Their categories include Programming, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing, and more.

W3Schools

W3Schools is one of the oldest and largest online schools. It’s really great if you want to brush up on current schools. I highly recommend their SQL tutorial. It works to not only assist you in learning coding but also in consistently re-learning certain syntaxes and commands.

I used to reference their SQL documentation on a regular basis when I was starting out.

So even if you are a coding professional, W3Schools is filled with references and examples to help you stay on top of your game at all times. They also have a pretty decent video library of tutorials.

You can always go for their paid alternative for a certification. But if you are just a beginner, you can easily grasp a lot from this platform. Whether you choose HTML & CSS, Javascript, PHP, Python, Java, or any of the diverse languages available, you will be coding in no time.

A former colleague used this site to learn how to build an SMB server as he was brushing up on his devops skills. The content that you can learn and practice is, in other words, immediately applicable.

SoloLearn

This amazing platform has transformed learning to code into something very social and interactive. SoloLearn works to create a community of developers where learners can interact, collect points, and appear in their ‘Top Learners’ section.

It is available both on the web and on a mobile application so you can learn anywhere, anytime. In addition, you can become part of the conversation. You can ask questions, answer other people’s questions, and have fun with other learners on the ‘Code Playground’ and ‘Discuss’ sections.

With courses on Python, C++, Java, Javascript, SQL, PHP, HTML & CSS, React, Angular, and pretty much anything code-related you could think of.

Microsoft Learn

Microsoft is now offering a new platform that presents an interactive experience to learn technical skills that compliment Microsoft products and services including Azure, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Dynamics, and more.

Microsoft Learn helps learners get hands-on with coding whether they are at beginner or advanced levels.

Learners can choose to stay online and learn at their own pace or join instructor led lessons. Of course, you always have the option to get certified by the platform.

Hackr.io

This platform is one of a kind in its function and application. If you would like to find multiple courses from different sources at the same place, look no further than Hackr.io.

The website’s algorithm allows anyone to post their course, but with votes from users, the best ones get upvoted to the top. You can use filters to drown out the irrelevant courses and tutorials and only pick from the ones that match your needs.

Conclusion: Learning to Code via free websites

When you learn online, you are empowered to move at your own pace, explore topics more deeply that you care about, and harness the power of virtual communities to accelerate your understanding of foundational topics.

Building a list of the top resources takes some digging and some guess work. You need to ask questions, poke around, and try the sites out. Use this list as your guide, but do your own digging as well.

I hope these sites help with whatever you are building, be it technology to stream videos, building a web app for yourself, or using technology to cultivate communities around shared interests.

You now have your stepping stones for learning coding, so start your journey and make a shift for 2021.

18 Ways to Learn to Code in 2022

You’ve heard rumours of Swift in late-night cafes, your friends are whispering about Node.js, and for weeks you’ve been wondering who Ruby is and how you can meet her. The only thing you’re sure of is that you’re missing out on something huge. So which way to learn to code is best for you?

Right now it seems everybody is getting in on programming—and you’re the only one who thinks CSS is a new American cop show. Luckily for you, there’s a growing list of schools and online tutorials out there to help you get in with the tech kids. They won’t provide you with the required tortoiseshell-framed specs or obligatory fixed-gear bike, but they will get you coding.

But how do you find out which way is the right way for you?

We’ll get onto that in a minute, but first why get into programming in the first place?

We’ve talked many times before about why learning to code is such a good idea right now; the huge tech skills gap facing every single industry worldwide and the opportunity that this gap presents to those with the right knowledge and tech skills.

If you choose to become a freelance web developer, you could pick and choose your own clients, handle exciting, creative projects, and work as and when you want to. Sounds pretty great, right?

How to become a web developer by learning to code

So, what are your options? It will come as no surprise that here at CareerFoundry we can highly recommend our own Full-Stack Web Development Program, which comes with a job guarantee.

Students on our program learn front and backend web development from an expert in the field, helping them kick-start a tech career upon completion. As a student you can have your daily assignments reviewed, ask as many questions as you want, and meet with mentors via video calls for a fully immersive experience.

Enrollment grants immediate access to our bespoke course materials, and you’ll be connected with your mentor within 24 hours. At only 10-15 hours a week, learning with us is very personalized, flexible and can fit around your other commitments—essentially, it brings together the benefits of offline taught programs and the online tutorials.

Questions to ask yourself

What other choices, both online and offline are out there for complete beginners, or experienced developers hoping to level up their skillset?

Before you start looking, you need to ask yourself some questions:

18 ways to learn to code

In this list we’ve put together the 18 best places you can learn to code and what each one of them can offer you, including price, availability, style of learning and skill level. Soon you’ll be joining in those conversations about Python without even mentioning Uncle Terry’s reptile collection. If you’d like to jump to one of the resources, simply select it from the list below. Happy reading, and happy learning!

1. Web Development for Beginners

This course was developed by one of CareerFoundry’s in-house developers over the period of a couple of months. It’s designed for beginners who are keen to see the results of their coding quickly—in just five days (or sooner if you apply yourself), you’ll build your very first webpage in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It’s completely free, and on successful completion, you get awarded credit towards the full career-change web development program. To get an idea of what the course entails, check out this video:

Web Development for Beginners at a Glance

2. FreeCodeCamp

Free Code Camp is a web development bootcamp that has helped tens of thousands of their graduates find a job at tech companies. They have comprehensive tracks for learning web design, web development including frontend and backend, data visualisation and more. They also have an entire program teaching algorithms and data structures with JavaScript, something graduates will need if they’re applying to companies like Google and Microsoft. They have an extensive alumni network and a very active forum where students can seek help and collaborate.

FreeCodeCamp at a Glance

3. Codecademy

Codecademy offers free coding classes in six different programming languages, Python, jQuery, PHP, Ruby, HTML, and CSS. With its students including the mayor of NYC, Michael Bloomberg, Codecademy made a name for itself with its Code Year that drew in a large portion of its one million users.

Codecademy at a Glance

4. PluralSight

PluralSight teaches both existing and aspiring developers by pairing instructors with high quality content. Coding classes are accessible through the use of screencasts and video tutorials, and cover Ruby, Javascript, iOS, HTML/CSS. User-friendly interfaces and interesting storylines abound. Although a lot of the content is aimed at more experienced coders, the plus for beginners is that a lot of the less-advanced materials are available for free.

PluralSight at a Glance

5. Coursera

Coursera provides users with a totally free database of MOOCS (massive open online courses) often from accredited universities. MOOCs are available to students, or interested parties, as video lectures on a variety of topics included all facets of programming. The benefits of these online courses are the availability and the variety: you can find a lecture on practically anything you want to learn and start your course whenever you want.

The disadvantage is the lack of one-to-one learning, and studies have shown that when the student is solely responsible for his or her own learning completion rates are significantly lower and students quickly become demotivated. However MOOCs can be a great way to “look around” a subject before investing in another more personalized form of learning.

Coursera at a Glance

General Assembly

General Assembly at a Glance

7. Bento

Created by a developer at StackOverflow, Bento is a guided tour through the best free web development tutorials on the web. Bento has many ways to learn to code including videos, interactive classes, and reading material. Using Bento is free, and it will only link you to free resources in a logical manner for beginners.

Bento at a Glance

8. Treehouse

Treehouse is an online interactive education platform that teaches students how to make websites or mobile applications using a variety of programming languages such as HTML, CSS, Java, PHP (WordPress), Objective-C, Javascript, and Ruby, among others. Video tutorials tend to work in the following formula: show, explain, do it yourself which can be very effective. Quizzes are also used to keep students engaged.

Treehouse at a Glance

9. CareerFoundry Web Development Program

Yep, that’s us! Online, mentored, for between five and eight months.

Our students learn front and backend web development from an expert in the field, helping them kick-start a tech career upon completion. As a student you can have your daily assignments reviewed, ask as many questions as you want, and meet with mentors remotely for a fully immersive experience.

Enrollment grants immediate access to our bespoke course materials, and you’ll be connected with your mentor within 24 hours. At only 10-15 hours a week, learning with us is very personalized, flexible and can fit around your other commitments, it is a great combination of the offline taught programs and the online content tutorials.

CareerFoundry at a Glance

10. Udacity

Udacity started initially as an outgrowth of a computer science course run by Stanford University. Classes are taught with video lectures and integrated quizzes for the students, there is also regular homework that reinforces the ‘learning-by-doing’ model of education. Although the classes are free, the success rate for students is particularly low: A partnership with San Jose State University was suspended when back in the summer of 2013 over half of the students failed their final exams.

Udacity at a Glance

11. Thinkful

Bloc at a Glance

12. Web Fundamentals

Web Fundamentals are a Google-founded collection of free online tutorials to help solve coding problems. These videos are a great way for those with a bit of experience to build upon what they already know, but with titles like “Debugging Asynchronous JavaScript with Chrome DevTools” beginners might be put off. Videos are accompanied by written instructions and diagrams as well as comments from other users which can prove to be as helpful as the videos themselves.

Web Fundamentals at a Glance

13. The Code Player

A collection of free online videos that teach students how to perform specific tasks. The unique thing about The Code Player is that students can actually watch code being written live during the tutorials (hence the name, The Code Player). The people behind The Code Player utilize live working demos to teach ways to learn to code, with the speed of each tutorial adjustable to suit the skill level of the person learning.

14. Eloquent JavaScript

A book that gives readers a mixture of principles and pragmatics. It’s available online for free and great if you want a deeper understanding of how coding works. Some reviewers have remarked that as the latest edition of this book is from 2018 some of it is now a little bit out of date. However, for the fundamentals of ways to learn to code with JavaScript you can’t go too far wrong with this book.

Eloquent JavaScript at a Glance

15. Girls Who Code

Aimed specifically at girls aged between 13 and 17, Girls Who Code pairs students with a mentor who teaches them how to code, inspires and encourage them to get into tech. They have over 450,000 girls coding, with their graduates going on to study Computer Science at 15 times the US average, which is incredibly impressive.

Girls Who Code at a Glance

16. Khan Academy

A great place to start for people hoping to learn ways to code for art or games—though less for those wanting to learn business-orientated frontend development. A free learning platform, Khan Academy uses video tutorials taught by experts to cover a wide range of subjects.

Khan Academy at a Glance

17. Code Avengers

A highly stylized platform, Code Avengers certainly looks good but newbies will have to learn without the help of video tutorials. The languages it offers are JavaScript, Python, as well as HTML/CSS. The site has gained positive reviews for instilling good habits in its developers-in-training, a crucial element of the learning process particularly if students are hoping to break into a programming career.

Code Avengers at a Glance

18. Fullstack Academy Of Code

Fullstack Academy Of Code at a Glance

Final thoughts

So, now that you’ve seen all of the options it’s time to take action! Do you have any more questions about ways to learn to code in 2022? If so, talk to one of our program advisors or go to our web development program for all the details on what you would learn with us.

If you’d like to read more about the world of web development, check out these articles:

What You Should Do Now

Get a hands-on introduction to web development and build your first website from scratch with our free, self-paced Web Development Short Course.

Take part in one of our FREE live online web development events with industry experts.

Talk to a program advisor to discuss career change and how you can become a qualified web developer in 4-7 months—complete with a job guarantee.

113 of the Best Places to Learn to Code For Free

Updated on April 14th, 2022 | Sign up for learn to code tips

If you’re brand new to the world of coding and web development, it makes sense to start by teaching yourself using all the free learn-to-code resources online.

By taking advantage of these resources as you learn to code for free, you can discover what you like and don’t like before investing money into a certain coding language or set of courses. Once you’ve gone through enough free coding lessons to find that direction, you’ll be able to channel your passion to continue learning how to code online most efficiently.

However, there are so many free coding resources and classes and books to choose from. How do you know which are the best places to learn coding online?

Well, I did some research to save you the time! Here are 113 of the best websites to learn how to code for free–from simple programming tutorials to full online coding courses. To make things easier, I broke these learn-to-code resources down based on topic. Use the table of contents below to jump around.

Disclosure: I’m a proud affiliate for some of the resources mentioned in this article. If you buy a product through my links on this page, I may get a small commission for referring you. Thanks!

Table of Contents

Free Learning Platforms

Topic/Skills

Please note: all information, topics taught, etc., have been taken at time of updating (March 2022) and are definitely subject to change. Thanks!

Start coding now

Stop waiting and start learning! Get my 10 tips on teaching yourself how to code.

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.

⭐ Sponsored Resource ⭐

Udemy

Did you know there are thousands of free IT courses on Udemy?

They’ve got free courses in web development, programming languages, network & security, and more. So whether you want to learn WordPress, HTML, or game development, you can probably learn it for free on Udemy!

🖥️ General Free Coding Websites & Course Platforms

1. Codecademy

Codecademy is one of the most popular free coding websites for beginners. On their platform, you can learn how to program among other technical skills. Its reputation as one of the best free coding websites is well-deserved. Codecademy revolves around interactive learning; that is, you read a little, type your code right into the browser, and see results immediately.

What free coding lessons they offer: HTML & CSS, JavaScript, PHP, Python, Ruby, Angularjs, The Command Line, and more

2. freeCodeCamp

This free online coding school, created by Quincy Larson, teaches coding first through an established curriculum (approx. 3,000 hours total), then by giving you hands-on experience working on various projects. It’s perfect for learners who want to learn how to code online by getting practical, hands-on experience that will do some good and look impressive on a tech resume. Their free coding projects include a cat photo app, a People Finder microservice, a budget app, and much more!

Free coding certifications on offer: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, data visualization, DevTools, QA testing, Node.js, React, jQuery, and more

3. Coursera

What free coding courses they offer: Many (far beyond your basic coding/computer science topics)

4. edX

EdX is an open-source higher education program governed by MIT and Harvard, making it another high-caliber resource where you can learn to code for free online. The site offers hundreds of great courses under the “computer science” category, teaching various coding languages. Because it features courses from world-class universities, like Harvard and MIT, it’s easily one of the best websites to learn coding for free.

Free programming courses offered: Java, C#, Python, AWS, cybersecurity, machine learning, and many more

5. Codewars

Codewars offers a fun and unique way to learn coding for free. With a martial-arts theme, the program is based on challenges called “kata.” Complete the coding lessons for beginners to earn honor and progress to higher ranks. This is a fun way to learn programming online if you’re motivated by a little gamification! After all, learning code for beginners is easier when you enjoy it.

Coding challenges they offer: CoffeeScript, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, Java, Clojure, SQL, and Haskell, and more

6. Code Conquest

Code Conquest is a free online guide to coding for beginners. The coding website is perfect for those who haven’t got a clue where to start learning code online. Learn how to learn to code, watch free tutorials, download cheat sheets, test your knowledge with quizzes, and more.

Topics taught: HTML/CSS, JavaScript, PHP, Ruby, jQuery, Swift, Python and more

7. GA Dash

This is General Assembly’s free coding for beginners platform. It’s entirely project-based–you build a “project” with each walkthrough–making it ideal for those who like to get hands-on while learning to code online.

They are one of the very few free learn-to-code resources that have a course on how to build a Tumblr theme from scratch. Read my review of it here.

What free coding projects they offer: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, responsive design

8. Khan Academy

Khan Academy offers tons of subjects (as their front page says, “You can learn anything”), including many on computer programming. A few free coding classes are offered for younger kids, too–so the whole family can learn to code for free!

Coding resources they offer: JS, HTML/CSS, SQL, much more

9. MIT OpenCourseware

Competition to get into MIT may be stiff, but accessing their course material online has no tuition or minimum SAT score. They maintain an online library of every subject they teach, with no account required for access; just browse for a course and start reviewing the material. Yep…you can learn programming for free at MIT. What a world.

Courses offered: Many. Here’s a list of all the computer science courses they offer.

10. The Odin Project

Modern-day warriors can set sail for learning to code with the Odin Project. It’s made by the creators of Thinkful—a premier online coding bootcamp—and the Odin Project is their free, open-source version. While you learn to code for free with their programming tutorials, you can check in for support from other students using the online chat group!

Tech topics available: HTML, CSS, JavaScript & jQuery, Ruby programming, Ruby on Rails

11. Udacity

Udacity offers nearly 200 free coding courses, as well as “Nanodegrees” that train you for specific careers like front-end web developer or data analyst. Course materials are free, but Nanodegrees require a tuition fee.

What free tech programs they offer: Many (not just coding)

12. SoloLearn

SoloLearn is a social platform where anyone can learn to code. It’s different from other free coding course providers because it’s mobile-based: learn coding on the go, on any device. With bite-sized lessons, achievements to unlock and interactive quizzes, it makes learning to code fun, and it’s free to download.

Coding lessons they offer: Java, Python, C++, data science, Go, coding for marketers, and much more

13. The Code Player

This free coding website features a compilation of video-based online coding tutorials to help you walk through a process from start to finish. Good for learning code online with “smaller” projects/tasks one at a time.

Free coding tutorials available: HTML5, CSS3, Javascript, Regex, JQuery

14. Bento.io

Their mission is to inspire people to become programmers by making learning to code accessible, affordable, and fun. Given that they offer over 200 technology topics, you can find just about anything you’ve been wanting to learn on this free coding-for-beginners website.

Web development tracks to choose from: Many, including HTML, Python, Postgres, front end, web fundamentals

15. Udemy

They offer both paid and free online coding classes. In fact, there are currently over 1,000 free courses in the web development category. Note that on Udemy, courses can be created by anyone, so make sure to read reviews. If you decide on a paid coding course, keep an eye out for Udemy sales and coupons. Check out their web development courses here.

Free coding courses they offer: Many

16. Upskill

Free project-based, web development bootcamp. You’ll learn to code for free by building a fictional startup called DevMatch, which will teach you how to code features found in sites like Facebook, Dropbox,and Salesforce.

Topics taught: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Ruby on Rails, Git, Bootstrap and more

17. Code.org

Code.org provides learning materials specifically dedicated to increasing the rates of female and minority students entering computer science careers. Their free coding courses are designed for K-12 students, but can be useful to all ages. Start out with their quick Hour of Code tutorials, or build projects in lab courses.

Coding courses offered: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, block programming

18. DigitalOcean

This free coding website has over 4,000 development and sysadmin tutorials. The programming learning platform features short courses, tutorials, guides, blog posts, and videos.

Free coding resources available: Angular, node.js, laravel, Sublime Text, and more.

19. Hackr.io

This isn’t a learn-to-code platform itself, but it’s a great list of community-curated programming resources from some of the best free coding websites. Simply search for the programming language you want to learn and you’ll get a list of the best online courses, tutorials, and books recommended by coders.

Free coding lessons they offer: None, but they recommend many

20. W3Schools

Perfect for beginner coders, W3Schools is the world’s largest web developer site, offering free coding tutorials and reference materials for learning just about every aspect of web programming. During your self-taught coding journey, you can also test your skills with quizzes and complete coding exercises using their online editor.

What free coding tutorials they offer: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, SQL, PHP, jQuery, and more

21. Coderbyte

Learn to code by doing it! Coderbyte teaches you the basics of popular programming languages and lets you build up your new skills using their library of 300+ coding challenges and solutions.

Free coding coding challenges: JavaScript, Ruby, Python, HTML, CSS, Node.js, and more

22. Microsoft Learn

Microsoft Learn’s Learning Paths are curated free coding courses designed to help you build valuable skills through video tutorials, demos, assessments, and more. You’ll also get access to free e-books, helpful downloads, and a community support forum.

Free coding learning paths available: MEAN stack, SQL, Azure, ASP.NET, HTML

23. Edabit

Edabit is “like Duolingo for learning to code,” offering bite-sized coding challenges that simulate what programming is like in the real world. It makes coding for newbies fun and easy to fit into your daily routine.

Topics their challenges cover: Java, JavaScript, PHP, Python, C#, C++, Ruby, Swift

24. Launch School Open Book Shelf

Written to supplement Launch School’s software engineering curriculum, these free coding books will help you learn the basic foundational building blocks of popular languages.

What free coding topics they cover: Git and GitHub, the Command Line, Ruby on Rails, SQL

25. Classpert

Classpert is a search engine that helps you find and compare online courses in computer science, data science, business, and more. It’s able to search through 235,000 free and paid courses from more than 25 of the best paid and free coding websites, so you’ll be spoiled for choice. You can even watch course previews and compare syllabuses side-by-side to find the best course for you. It’s a great way to sort through the noise to find coding classes that are perfect for your goals.

26. CodeGym

This learn-to-code resource focuses on online Java programming courses that are 80% based on practice. You’ll start writing code almost immediately once you begin the free coding classes, completing 1200+ programming tasks and getting immediate results for your solutions.

Learn on the go with CodeGym’s free Android app and build your own versions of classic games to keep learning fun.

27. Mammoth Interactive – Learn to code in 30 minutes!

When you first start learning to code, it can seem like a monumental task that requires months or years to make meaningful progress. This compact free course from Mammoth Interactive proves that to be a misconception! It covers HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in short, easy-to-digest lecture chunks. Learning to code for free has never been so simple!

28. Alison

Alison offers free coding classes online with certificates in a variety of subjects. Its technology/IT category includes hundreds of free online coding classes covering topics like network and security, software tools, software engineering, hardware, data science, game development, and more. Alison currently has over 2,000 free courses available.

▶️ YouTube Channels to Learn Code Online

29. LearnCode.academy

One of my personal favorite free coding programs on YouTube! This learn-to-code channel features web-development-focused videos made by Will Stern. There are a ton of free coding tutorials on JavaScript and other languages, plus videos about the various tools developers use.

What free coding videos they offer: Sublime Text, Responsive Design, Node.js, Angular.js, Backbone.js, Deployment Strategies, and more

Subscribers: 725K

30. thenewboston

Here you’ll find over 4,000 videos on a range of programming, game development, and design topics. It’s one of the more popular channels, with over two million subscribers learning to code with them. If you want to learn to code games free, this is a good option!

What free programming videos they offer: Android development, C programming, MySQL, Python, and more

Subscribers: 2.6M

31. Derek Banas

Banas’ specialty is condensing information about coding languages into a single video per language. Good for viewers who like longer but more thorough videos instead of bite-sized chunks, or want to watch overview videos of languages before diving into other free coding classes/curriculums.

Free coding videos available: Java, Ruby, PHP, C++, HTML, Android, Python, Assembly language, and more

Subscribers: 1.16M

32. ProgrammingKnowledge

A channel perfect for absolute beginners who want a foundation to teach yourself learn code. Step-by-step tutorial playlists cover various languages without assuming prior knowledge.

What free coding videos they offer: Java, Python, C, JavaFX, Android programming, Bootstrap, and more.

Subscribers: 1.5M

33. Programming with Mosh

On this YouTube channel, you can find free content from the creator of Code With Mosh (where he also offers paid courses). It’s amazing for beginners who want programming concepts explained in plain English, from algorithms to front-end, back-end, and mobile development. As a software engineer himself, Mosh also gives career advice for those looking to follow that path.

Free coding videos available: Python, JavaScript, C#

Subscribers: 2.25M

34. CS Dojo

This free coding website includes step-by-step coding tutorials, tech career advice, coding project walk-throughs, “day in the life” type videos, and more. Tutorials are taught by YK Sugi, a software engineer at Google.

Free coding videos available: Python, data structures and algorithms, JavaScript

Subscribers: 1.78M

35. Blondiebytes

Taught by Kathryn Hodge, blondiebytes videos cover coding basics, career advice, “day in the life” style video, and more. New tutorials are uploaded regularly.

Free coding videos available: Java, blockchain, CS basics, Angular, Xcode, and more!

Subscribers: 71K

📝 ​​Blogs to Help You Learn Programming

36. David Walsh

This coding blog is run by David Walsh (a senior developer at Mozilla), although there are others who write on the site, too. Dive into free coding tutorials, how-tos, demos, and more.

37. Softwarehow

All about learning how to use software tools to solve common problems you encounter in tech. Tips, guides, and specific software reviews.

38. SitePoint

They have lots of writers and publish often. Topics range from HTML and CSS to entrepreneurship. The coding website also offers paid books and courses on SitePoint Premium. Make sure to check out their newer “collections” – which include coding tutorials on topics like WordPress security, React.JS, and Swift. (And new ones are added daily!)

39. Envato Tuts+

Tons of free programming tutorials, as well as paid options like actual programming courses. Has over 1,290+ expertly-instructed video courses (on all topics, not just computer-related). Also publishes eBooks.

40. A List Apart

Lots of authors participate in A List Apart. They write books, have events, and run a great development/design blog. In addition to programming blog content, they have categories on other professional topics like design, UX, and business. See all code topics here.

41. CSS-Tricks

This free coding website goes very thoroughly into CSS with their big, bad CSS almanac. However, the blog now goes beyond just CSS and talks about other things like Sass, JavaScript, PHP, and more. Explore tons of programming resources and check out their code snippets.

42. Hacker Noon

A community-run tech blog with 15k+ contributors that write on topics for software developers. Topics range from programming to entrepreneurship to marketing to career paths to coding tutorials and more.

43. Live Code Stream

High-quality coding articles, videos, books, and courses. Also has Python and JavaScript coding challenges and more.

44. SheCanCode

A women in tech blog that has evolved to become a women-in-tech support hub, with tools and resources for women who want to break into tech. Blog articles cover various programming languages, career advice, interview advice, and more.

👩‍🏫 Free Coding Bootcamps

Aside from paid coding bootcamps that often cost thousands of dollars, there are also a few free coding bootcamps to check out.

45. School of Code

School of Code offers free, 16-week intensive coding bootcamps around the UK. They have achieved 85% employment into tech across all of their bootcamps so far, including during COVID-19.

46. Resilient Coders

A free 20-week coding bootcamp for people of color who come from low-income backgrounds, Resilient Coders teaches you everything you need to become a full stack JavaScript developer.

47. Ada Developers Academy

Open to all women and gender-expansive adults that meet certain eligibilty requirements, Ada Developers Academy is a free coding bootcamp that teaches full-stack web development. Students are in the Ada classroom for six core hours a day, five days a week for six months.

48. Founders and Coders

A UK-based nonprofit that develops and runs 100% free, peer-led training programs in web development for London residents only. 12-week part-time.

⌨️ Learn The Command Line Online

49. Learn Enough Command Line to Be Dangerous

Free command line tutorial for complete beginners. Walks you through the basics of the Unix command line—no technical prerequisites required.

50. Command Line Power User

Free video series created by Wes Bos. More at an intermediate level, so not for total newbies.

51. Conquering the Command Line

Free online book by Mark Bates that goes very in-depth. You can purchase hard copy or screencasts.

🔃 Learn Git and Github for Free

52. Git Immersion

A guided tour to teach you the basics of Git. Set preferences and create your own projects.

53. Github Docs

An interactive series of challenges to learn about and experiment with Git.

📑 Learn to Code HTML and CSS For Free

54. HTML5 Dog

Start learning to code with one of the simplest languages. You can find an HTML beginner tutorial here. (They also offer intermediate and advanced HTML tutorials.) CSS tutorials are here.

Want to get better with HTML?

Download my free HTML5 cheat sheet below.

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.

55. Marksheet

An online coding resource for beginners. Broken down into four chapters: the web, HTML5, CSS3, and Sass. It’s like an online ebook, but under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, so you can adapt it for your needs.

56. MDN Web Docs

Free documentation on HTML and CSS (also JavaScript). Has tutorials for people of different levels, introductory to advanced.

57. Learn to Code HTML & CSS (via Shay Howe)

Online coding tutorials to help you build beautiful and intuitive websites. Covers a variety of web design and development topics, ranging from beginner to advanced.

58. Code College – CSS3 in 30 Days

This course by Brad Hussey is designed to have students building their own CSS3 projects in just one month. You’ll follow along building one new project every day to put programming concepts into action and cement your new skills.

💻 Learn to Code Javascript for Free

59. JavaScript for Cats

It’s like a book on a single webpage, broken down into sections about learning to code JavaScript…with cats. Created by programmer Max Ogden. Filled with non-cat gifs but has cat pics at the end. Just because. Lol.

60. NodeSchool

Has in-person workshops and events all over the world, as well as an active web presence. See their online coding tutorials here.

61. Learn JS

Another hands-on way to learn code online! As you go through lessons, you can type in the window at the bottom. Created by the same folks who make learnpython.org.

62. Eloquent JavaScript

Another online coding book, but longer than most. It has big-tech financial backers like Mozilla and Hack Reactor (“the Harvard of coding bootcamps”).

63. JavaScript.com

9 mini-lessons created by Pluralsight. Quick and perfect online coding tutorial for absolute beginners. (Warning: JS in real life is a lot tougher.) At the end, it points you to more in-depth JS learning materials.

64. Watch & Code

Straightforward, no-nonsense free video tutorials teaching JavaScript coding for beginners. Designed to take you from zero to advanced level. Plus, participate in weekly live study sessions for community support as you learn to code.

🔗 Learn WordPress for Free

65. WordPress.tv

Recordings of live WordCamp lectures around the world. Created by Automattic.

66. WPBeginner

Website for beginner WP users. Great WP glossary of terms, plus coupon deals, video tutorials, and a blog which publishes useful articles by different authors.

Bonus resource: WordPress is a great content management system for blogging. If you’re interested in creating your own blog, I highly recommend checking out my friend Ryan Robinson’s detailed guide on starting a blog.

67. Joy of WP

Over 50 free WordPress training videos in 6 modules, all designed to help you build your website. One of the best places to learn how to code your own WordPress website. Note: New version of the site is launching in Spring 2022!

🐍 Learn To Code Python Free Online

68. A Byte of Python

Free online book for beginners learning to code. You can choose to download it for free as a PDF or spend money for a hard copy.

69. LearnPython.org

Learn to code Python for free in a hands-on way with this interactive online coding tutorial. It has a little window at the bottom where you can write your code as you go through the lessons.

70. Learn Python The Hard Way (Website)

The book costs money, but the coding website is free. Written by Zed Shaw. (I used the book when I first started learning.)

Want to master Python?

Then download my list of favorite Python learning resources.

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.

💎 Learn To Code Ruby for Free

71. Learn Ruby the Hard Way

Another book written by Zed Shaw. A free HTML version of the book is available online. Buying the hard copy also gets you access to videos.

72. Rails For Zombies

A quick, interactive way to learn software coding with Ruby on Rails right in your browser. Learn Rails basics like models, views, and controllers in just 1 hour. Created by Code School.

73. Ruby on Rails Tutorial

The 14-chapter book by Michael Hartl. You can purchase ebooks, screencasts from the author, and more. Or just read it for free online.

74. Ruby Koans

The Koans walk you along the path to enlightenment in order to learn Ruby. With this method, you’ll learn Ruby syntax and some of the language quirks quickly.

75. RubyMonk

Entirely free resource, though you have the option to donate. Based on interactive online coding tutorials, where you read a lesson and type in code. Lastly, “run” it.

RubyMonk has one beginner course option, two intermediate, and one advanced.

76. Ruby In 20 Minutes

Created by the official Ruby website, this is a great option for beginners learning to code Ruby. You’ll learn the basics of the language in 20 minutes or less, giving you a solid starting point.

📊 Learn Data Science / Analysis for Free

77. Dataquest

Hands-on free coding courses that teach you the skills you need to become a data scientist, data analyst, or data engineer. Build projects in your browser and work on real-life data science problems.

78. Springboard

A short but intensive intro to data analysis. Learn how to manipulate and analyze data with a carefully planned out curriculum made up of free online lectures, homework assignments, projects, and more. (Plus, no background in data analysis or programming needed!)

79. EliteDataScience

No-nonsense data science and machine learning guides, mini-courses, and tutorials for busy people learning programming online. You can also download code cheat sheets, checklists, and worksheets to shorten the data science learning curve.

80. Ben Collins’ Advanced Formulas 30 Day Challenge

Want to level up your spreadsheet skills from intermediate to advanced? This course by Ben Collins teaches you one new high-level spreadsheet formula or technique every day for 30 days, using Google Sheets. These bite-sized tutorials will get you comfortable with manipulating data in spreadsheets in more complex ways.

🧠 Learn Machine Learning / AI for Free

81. Machine Learning Mastery

Created by professional developer and machine learning practitioner Jason Brownlee, PhD. Offers free tutorials, an ebook, and other resources, for getting started in machine learning and beyond.

82. Google AI

Learn machine learning and AI from ML experts at Google. Offers resources—including tutorials, courses, videos, and exercises—to help you develop AI skills. Perfect for beginners all the way up to seasoned machine learning engineers.

🛡️ Learn Cybersecurity for Free

83. Cybrary

Free crowd-sourced cybersecurity and IT learning videos. Covers topics like computer and forensics, cryptography, and cyber threat intelligence.

84. Cyber Aces

Free online courses that teach the core concepts needed to assess and protect information security systems. Tutorials cover operating systems, networking, systems admin, and more.

📱 Learn Mobile App Development for Free

85. Android Developers

Official site for Android app developers. Learn how to build your first Android app with detailed online coding tutorials and training courses.

86. Google Developers Training

Free, self-paced online coding courses for both Android beginners and experienced developers. Created by experts at Google and Udacity.

87. Start Developing iOS Apps (Swift)

Part of Apple’s documentation archive, this is a perfect starting point for learning to code real-world iOS apps that run on iPhone and iPad.

88. Swift Playgrounds

iPad app that lets you experiment with Swift through interactive mini-puzzles. Plus, you’ll get to see your code run in a beautiful 3D world.

🎨 Learn UI/UX Design for Free

89. The Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction

An in-depth, 52-chapter look at UI/UX and interaction design. Covers everything you need to know about designing interactive products, like websites, software, smartphones, and even household objects.

90. UXPin

Tons of free UX e-books and guides covering mobile and web prototyping, wireframing, mockups, usability testing, and much more.

91. UX Beginner

Subscribe to free weekly design training and dive into the world of UI/UX with free resources, blog articles, and curated lists of the best UX courses, podcasts, and books.

✅ Learn DevOps for Free

92. DevOps.com

Covers all aspects of DevOps, including its underlying philosophy, tools used in DevOps, its business impact, best practices, and more. Here, you’ll find blog posts, in-depth features, the latest DevOps news, on-demand webinars, a library of DevOps resources, etc. — all for free.

93. DevOps School

Offers various courses, training, and certifications in DevOps, including topics like build & release, Chef, Puppet, Jenkins, Ansible, and tons of other DevOps topics. There are free video courses, blog articles, slides, and more.

94. Effective DevOps

This ebook covers a wide range of DevOps skills and theory, mostly focusing on how to develop a culture of DevOps at your company, and how to fit that culture to various types of personalities. Keep in mind that this ebook is not about DevOps tools; it’s more about the people and the culture behind DevOps.

🔍 Learn QA / Unit Testing for Free

95. ToolsQA

Free tutorials on QA automation tools including Selenium, Cucumber, TestNG, mobile testing automation, cross-browser testing, and more.

96. Software Testing Material

Free software testing tutorials, including manual and automation testing topics. STM has helped more than 10 million people with its free tutorials.

🎮 Learn Game Development for Free

97. GameDev Academy

Free game development ebooks and courses, covering topics like 3D game dev, augmented reality, Unity, Unreal Engine, and more. Courses come with source code and PDF notes.

98. Unity Learn

Free tutorials, courses, guided pathways, and follow-along project builds for learning real-time 3D development skills to make video games, VR, AR, and more.

99. GameDev.net

GameDev.net is a free resource for game development with forums, tutorials, blogs, projects, portfolios, news, and more.

⚙️ Learn PHP for Free

100. Learn-php.org

Interactive PHP tutorial that walks you through writing PHP code through a code editor. The free coding website uses short and effective exercises within your browser to help you learn the language.

101. PHP Pandas

An ebook that aims to teach everyone how to be a web developer. No existing web development or PHP experience required.

102. PHP: The Right Way

A quick reference resource where you can find PHP best practices, accepted coding standards, and links to authoritative PHP tutorials around the web.

️🕹️ Learn C# for Free

103. Learncs.org

Interactive, text-based C# coding lessons for beginners with simple exercises to reinforce your learning.

104. Codeasy

A C# tutorial for people who know nothing at all about programming. Travel through an exciting adventure story set in the far future while learning C#. Note: Only the C# Elementary course is free.

105. Learn C#

➕ Learn C++ for Free

106. LearnCpp.com

A free coding website devoted to teaching you how to program in C++. The free coding classes are made for programmers of all levels (but especially those with no prior experience). The tutorials walk you through all the steps to write, compile, and debug C++ programs — with plenty of examples.

107. learn-cpp.org

Interactive, bite-sized tutorials with examples and exercises. Learn to code free online with both basic and advanced C++ topics.

💨 Learn Go for Free

108. go.dev/learn

The official Go website has tons of free resources for learning Go, including tutorials, documentation, a Go playground, and more.

109. Go by Example

A free hands-on introduction to Go using annotated example programs.

110. Gophercises

A free course that helps you become more familiar with Go while developing your skills as a programmer. In the course, you’ll build

20 mini applications, packages, and tools that are each designed to teach you something different.

🤓 Learn Computer Science for Free

111. Harvard University Online

Currently offers 60 free CS courses, including topics like math, CS theory, technology 101, and more.

112. Teach Yourself Computer Science

A free guide that breaks down exactly what computer science topic to learn and in what order. There are nine subjects (e.g., programming, math for CS, databases) and a suggested textbook or video lecture series for each.

113. Learn Computer Science

A free, comprehensive online tutorial that helps you learn computer science, starting from the basics and going all the way to computer organization and architecture.

😅 Conclusion: There are so many free learn-to-code resources!

You’ve just learned about a ton of the best places to learn how to code for free! Taking advantage of all the free online coding resources out there is definitely the way to go when you’re just starting out.

However, sometimes even the best free coding courses will only get you so far. So once you have the basics down, you’ll want to start exploring paid options for more of the best ways to learn coding on an intermediate and advanced level. Check out some of my favorite paid platforms, tools, and resources here. If you’re a bookworm, try learning to code with these top programming books.

Then, explore these in-depth platform reviews to learn about more of the best resources for learning to code:

Start coding now

Stop waiting and start learning! Get my 10 tips on teaching yourself how to code.

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.

Still deciding what skills you want to pursue? Check out some of the top tech skills in demand right now.

Note: there are affiliate links in this post.

About Laurence Bradford

Hey! I’m the creator of Learn to Code With Me, a blog for beginners teaching themselves how to code. Once upon a time, I was digitally unsavvy. But not anymore. Find out how I changed my life by teaching myself digital skills here.

Learn How to Code

Are you a new developer just getting started? Or are you a seasoned developer looking to expand your skill set?

Either way, the freeCodeCamp community’s got you covered.

A lot of the time, learning how to program is not so much a straight line as it is a vast flowchart, with lots of repeated sections and loops:

A flowchart for system calls in Windows Server Edition (source)

But it doesn’t have to be that complicated.

I’ve gone through our vast catalog of tutorials and created a list of some of the best resources on how to learn pretty much everything you’d need to know as a developer.

The list is loosely organized into different sections and subsections. Feel free to browse the table of contents below and skip around to look for an article on whatever you’re trying to learn.

Also, many things on this list require some prerequisite knowledge of another technology. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself opening articles from multiple sections.

Finally, this is a living document, and will grow as we publish more helpful articles. Be sure to check back often, and share this with your friends if you find it helpful.

Table of Contents

How to Build a Website

To build a basic website, all you really need are HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). HTML provides the content and structure of the site, and CSS is used to style it.

Here are some of the best resources on HTML and CSS. Once you’re familiar with these technologies, move on to the next section and learn JavaScript to make your web sites more interactive.

How to Learn Programming

In essence, programming is how humans tell computers what to do. Whether it’s a laptop, a smartphone, or a browser, programming and programming languages give us a way to interact with those devices.

In this section, you’ll learn the fundamentals of programming and the basics of some of the most popular programming languages today.

If you want to learn frontend and backend development, definitely learn JavaScript and Node.js. And once you’re familiar with those, look into TypeScript.

If you’re more interested in data science and machine learning, learn Python. For mobile apps, it helps to know Java. Game development? C++, C#, or even Java.

We’ve got a bit of everything, including newer programming languages like Go.

JavaScript

Node.js

TypeScript

Python

Go (Golang)

How to Learn Linux

Whether you know it or not, you probably use Linux every day. Android is based on Linux, and macOS, which is based on Unix just like Linux, is a close cousin. And an estimated 74.2% (as of March, 2021) of all web servers run on Unix, the vast majority of which are probably Linux.

In short, if you work on the web, you should get comfortable with Linux and its default shell, Bash. And here are some of our best tutorials to get started:

How to Learn Git and Version Control

Once your programs start growing in size and complexity, you’ll want a way to track your changes in case you need to roll back to an earlier version.

Git lets you do just that, and is the most popular version control software in use today. If you want to collaborate with other developers and get a job in the industry, it’s important to know how Git works.

Some of our best articles on Git are listed below. Also, when you use Git it’ll probably be through the command line, so make sure you know some basic Linux / Bash before diving in.

How to Learn a Frontend Framework / Library

Once you know how to build basic websites with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, level up your skills by learning a frontend framework / library. Of these, the three most popular are React, Vue, and Angular.

Angular is considered a framework because it includes a lot of things like routing out of the box.

React, on the other hand, is usually referred to as a library because it doesn’t come with a lot by default. Instead, you’ll need to add some extra packages to handle routing and other things.

Vue falls somewhere in the middle in terms of functionality and weight.

Whatever you call them, each has its own strengths and weaknesses. There is no best framework / library – just choose one that seems the most interesting, or that companies in your area are hiring for, and go from there.

React

Angular

How to Learn Web Basics and Web Security

When you get familiar with building web sites and web applications in the framework / library of your choice, you’ll want to deploy them. But before you put your work online, it helps to know how the web works and the basics of web security.

Web Basics

HTTPS

Cookies

How to Learn Databases

By this point you’ve probably built a bunch of websites and applications. You’ve likely used an API to get data on things like the weather, or to grab a random quote to display on the page.

But if you’ve ever wanted to create your own API, or store information from your users, you’ll need to learn how to use a database.

Generally speaking, databases fall into two categories: relational, or SQL, and non-relational, or NoSQL. SQL stands for «structured query language», and is a broad term to refer to relational databases. NoSQL, or «not only SQL» refer to non-relational databases.

Neither type of database is better or worse than the other – it mostly comes down to the project you’re working on, and the sort of data you’ll be working with.

Here’s a list of some of the best articles we have on databases. I’ll make a note about whether the database system is relational (SQL) or non-relational (NoSQL) if it isn’t clear:

SQL / MySQL

MongoDB / Mongoose (NoSQL)

Note: Mongoose is a tool for MongoDB that lets you do things like object data modeling (ODM) to create models or schemas for your data. A lot of people use Mongoose to interact with a MongoDB database, so I’ve combined them here.

Redis (NoSQL)

Postgres / PostgreSQL

How to Learn Backend Development

Similar to how frontend development is a broad subject, backend development can refer to many things, and encompasses a lot of different technologies.

Usually when you start working on the backend, which controls how sites and web apps work behind the scenes, you’ll use a framework like Express, Flask, or Django.

Express

Flask

Django

How to Learn Static Site Generators

Static Site Generators were created to make development easy, and they represent the «M» in JAMstack (JavaScript, APIs, and Markup). With a static site generator, it’s much easier to create a quick, scaleable website, blog, or web app with modern benefits like server-side rendering.

Gatsby

Next.js

Nuxt.js

Vuepress

How to Learn Bundlers, Compilers, Dependency Managers, Task Runners, Formatters, and Linters

Once you start working with frontend frameworks / libraries, or your projects start to grow in size and complexity, things can quickly get out of hand.

To keep things organized and tidy, it helps to learn linting, especially if you work on large teams. With linting, you can catch errors before they happen, and with a formatter like prettier, you can enforce a code style guide for your entire team.

And though a lot of Angular, Vue, and React projects already include a bundler like Webpack, it’s helpful to learn more about how it works in case you need to adjust its behavior later.

Webpack and Babel

ESLint and Prettier

Parcel

npm Scripts

How to Learn Mobile Application Development

These days, a lot of mobile app development is done with a framework like React Native.

While in the past you had to know a specific language like Java to develop a mobile app, with a framework, a lot of your frontend framework / library knowledge can be used to develop a mobile app.

Also, if you use a framework, you can just build the app once, and create both iOS and Android versions from the same code base.

React Native

Ionic

Flutter

How to Learn Desktop Application Development

Similar to modern mobile app development, a lot of desktop apps these days are developed using a framework. This has a lot of the same advantages, and means that you can write your desktop app just once, and create Windows, macOS, and even Linux versions from the same code base.

Electron

Proton Native

How to Learn Data Science and Machine Learning

Data science and machine learning are all the rage, and the number of jobs in each field is growing every year.

Put simply, data science refers to a broad range of techniques used to analyze and make sense of vast amounts of data.

Machine learning falls under the umbrella of data science, and it employs techniques that data scientists use to enable computers to learn from all this data.

It’s a lot to take in, but no worries – here are some of the best articles and courses we have on machine learning, and the different libraries and frameworks you’ll use on the job.

General Machine Learning

Pandas

Numpy

Scikit-Learn

Seaborn

Matplotlib

TensorFlow

PyTorch

Keras

How to Learn Virtualization and Containerization

Once you learn the basics of Linux, you’ll want to learn about virtual machines / virtualization, and containerization.

The main difference between the two is that virtualization is an abstraction on the hardware level, and allows multiple emulated machines to run on a single machine.

For example, with virtualization, you can split up a single machine’s resources (CPU, SSD, RAM, and so on) into two smaller machines, with one running Windows server and another running Ubuntu.

On the other hand, containerization is emulation on the software level. This allows you to package applications and all their dependencies into a small, portable container that runs pretty much anywhere.

With containerization, you have a Node.js app that runs on Ubuntu. You can include your app, all its node_module files, and even the entire Ubuntu OS, in a small

But both are useful, and serve different purposes. Check out our tutorials below to learn more about both virtualization and containerization.

Virtual Machines

Docker

Kubernetes

How to Learn Cloud Computing

Once you learn the basics about virtual machines, you’ll want to learn about cloud computing.

Not too long ago, if a company wanted to run a server to host a website, they would have to build and maintain the server themselves.

With cloud computing, you can spin up virtual machine running your OS of choice in a few minutes. Better yet, the company hosting your VM will take care of the general maintenance for you, and ensure that the server is online and highly available.

And with cloud computing, you don’t even have to have a server running 24/7 – with certain services, you can run a function and just pay for the milliseconds of time it took to complete.

Check out our tutorials below to learn more about cloud computing on the three big players in this space: Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, and Microsoft Azure.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Google Cloud Platform (GCP)

Microsoft Azure

How to Learn DevOps

Now that you know virtualization, containerization, and cloud computing, it’s time to take things to the next level.

DevOps is equal parts software development and IT operations. If you’re involved in DevOps, not only can you build an application, but you can spin up the VMs, deploy the app, monitor the servers, and scale the app and resources as more people start using it.

There’s a lot to cover, and these articles should get you started on your DevOps path.