Recently, I took a look at the top web development languages to know in 2018. But if you’re going to capitalize on that information and learn one of those languages, what resources are at your disposal? As with many things in life, the best way to learn to code is to practice coding. Here are the 10 best web development tutorials for beginners in 2018.
1. Coursera
Coursera is currently the largest MOOC (massive open online course) on the market, with more than 25 million learners, 149 university partners, and 2000+ courses (at the time of this writing).
Founded by two Stanford computer science professors, a large portion of those courses are in computer science, covering languages from front-end fundamentals like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to back-end classics like PHP, Node.js, and Python.
Most courses are free, unless you want to upgrade your online university experience with perks like certificates and extra help from instructors. Coursera offers its own certificate programs called “specializations” for around $40 to $150, and fully online Masters degrees, like this Master of Computer Science in Data Science program from University of Illinois Urbana Champaign.
2. edX
Founded by Harvard University and MIT in 2012, edX is a non-profit open-source MOOC where you can find a wide variety of courses from top universities and industry leaders like the University of Pennsylvania or Microsoft.
Courses are free, and upon completion you have the option to pay for an official certificate. You can learn front-end fundamentals from the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) itself, the international organization responsible for managing global web standards like HTML5. Or get a professional certificate in Agile development using Rails from Berkeley.
3. Udacity
There must have been something in the water at Stanford University, because the fourth largest MOOC on the web holds humble origins as an experiment by Sebastian Thrun, best known as the brain behind Google’s Self Driving Car, and his Stanford CS221 co-professor. They launched a free “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence” course online, received more than 100,000 enrollments, and helped kickstart the MOOC sensation.
Udacity offers an opportunity to learn computer science from industry professionals from tech companies like Google, GitHub, and Amazon. Udacity’s paid certificates are called “nanodegrees,” which allow you to gain credentials for industry-specific skillsets such as machine learning engineer, full-stack web developer, or mobile web specialist. You can always skip the project and take the courses individually for free — it just depends on how much you want to gain from the experience.
4. Codecademy
The tried-and-true Codecademy remains one of the most popular web development course websites around. Free courses walk you through the basics of languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
What makes Codecademy unique is that you complete these lessons and tutorials entirely in their browser-based Integrated Development Environment (IDE), which allows you to practice what they teach in real time. Their catalog also includes projects and quizzes for Pro members so you can put your knowledge to work.
5. Khan Academy
Khan Academy’s pitch is tough to beat: “You can learn anything. For free. For everyone. Forever.” You’ll find high-quality educational videos that cover everything from organic chemistry to music theory. Of course, it’s included on this list for its excellent introductory courses on HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Khan Academy takes a university-style deep dive into the fundamentals and also covers broader computer science concepts such as information theory. Videos are hosted on YouTube, so if you’d rather just search for a particular language or tutorial you can head on over to their channel and avoid the course navigation altogether.
6. Scotch.io
Whenever I’m looking for the latest and greatest tutorials for a new JavaScript framework like Vue.js, I often find myself on Scotch.io. They have full in-depth courses on Node.js, AngularJS, Angular, React, and Vue. They also have a full course for Laravel, a Model-View-Controller (MVC) framework for PHP.
Beyond these courses, there are many blog posts and tutorials for a wide range of languages, including GoLang, Sass, and ASP.NET—just to give you an idea of the variety of technologies you might find on this site. Need a tutorial that will walk you through both theory and practice? Scotch.io is the site for you.
7. Odin Project
Coding boot camps are all the rage these days, especially for those with little or no programming experience who want to make a career change. Unfortunately, factors like price and location can prove to be obstacles to a lot of people.
The Odin Project is a free coding bootcamp that can be attended entirely online. They teach you everything you need to know to become a functioning full stack web developer, with a focus on JavaScript, HTML, CSS, and Ruby on Rails. Better still, you can complete real projects that can be uploaded to GitHub to help fill out your resume—just like a conventional boot camp.
Everything from the website to the curriculum that it hosts is open source, meaning you may one day help contribute to the Odin Project as an accomplished alumnus.
8. freeCodeCamp
Looking for a way to learn to code while helping the world become a better place? freeCodeCamp gives you all the usual perks of a coding camp—tutorials, challenges, projects, connections, and certificates—but at no cost to you.
Even better, later projects give you an opportunity to gain real experience building web apps for nonprofits. Learn the ins and outs of front-end web development, including JavaScript, HTML5, CSS, Bootstrap, and jQuery. Or get a certificate in back-end web development learning Node.js, Express, and MongoDB. Like any active open-source community, freeCodeCamp is constantly evolving with new projects, challenges, and certificates on the horizon.
9. HackerRank
If you already have some coding experience under your belt, HackerRank gives you an opportunity to pit your web development skills against programmers across the globe. Some people learn best in competitive environments and the thrill of climbing the leaderboard might be just the thing you need to motivate your continued growth as a developer. Earn points by completing coding challenges. Win prizes at hackathons and other competitions.
A wide variety of languages are supported on the site, including Java, C++, Ruby, Python, and SQL. As an added bonus, HackerRank challenges are currently trending as a filter for hiring managers in the tech sector.
10. Codewars
Looking for a coding “dojo” to sharpen your skills? Codewars is a martial arts themed coding practice site where you complete challenges called “kata” to gain “honor” to rank up and ascend the leaderboards.
Codewars places an emphasis on test-driven development (TDD) allowing you to use test cases to check the performance of your code in the browser to complete katas. The site supports the usual suspects like JavaScript, Ruby, Python, and PHP, but also covers newer languages like Go and Swift.
Bonus: Coding communities and events
Beyond tutorial sites and online courses, there are online communities that are integral to one’s growth as a web developer.
- Struggling with a piece of code? Stack Overflow is the most trusted place to ask questions and receive detailed answers from other developers over the web.
- Looking for someplace outside of the official channels of a given language or framework to have an open forum for discussion? There’s usually a Reddit thread for every language or framework you can think of, and more general resources like r/WebdevTutorials.
- Eager to give back to the world and encourage underrepresented groups to go into coding? Consider joining a community like Rails Girls, which encourages girls to learn to programme through Ruby on Rails—Upwork product architect, Aurel Canciu volunteers for them during his free time. There are many groups and communities out there to not only continue your own growth but to help others excel as well.
Curate your own curriculum
This list is by no means comprehensive, and could easily have been a list of the top MOOCs of 2017 or a roundup of the best coding camps on the market. Instead, I wanted to give a sampling of the different types of educational resources that are out there, from simple tutorial sites to competitive challenges and free coding camps. It’s never been easier to learn to code. Pick the platform that best suits your learning style.
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