10 Places That Teach You How to Code
Someone building a website today is lucky that it’s much easier to put together something that looks good and professional than it was in the early days of the web.
In addition to the simplicity of registering a domain and selecting website hosting, you no longer have to become fluent in html or CSS in order to launch a website. Instead, you can lean on website builders and templates.
But while becoming a coding expert is no longer required, learning to code –at least the basics– is still a useful skill for any website owner to have.
Why You Should Learn to Code
Even if you hire a programmer for the heavy lifting or use a website builder, understanding the basics of how to code can make you better at maintaining your website and doing a lot of the smaller tasks that will come up over time.
In particular, learning to code will:
- Make you better at hiring people for positions that require coding because you’ll know the right questions to ask and be able to understand their answers.
- Ensure you understand the backend of your website so you’ll know how to add code for things like Google Analytics tracking or schema markup.
- Teach you how to recognize and update the different parts of the web page that are most important for on-site SEO.
In short, it can help you do a lot of things on your website better and save you from having to call in (and pay) a programmer for smaller tasks you can manage yourself.
The good news is that basic coding isn’t even all that hard. It definitely looks intimidating at first, but as with any new skill, learning it is just a matter of taking some time and finding the right resources.
We can’t help you with time, but we can point you in the right direction for coding resources.
10 Places Where You Can Learn To Code
1. Code Academy
Price: Free
Code Academy offers free online courses that cover the basics of HTML, CSS, Javascript, Python, CMD Line, and SQL. Most of their classes take less than 11 hours and include quizzes that help you test out your knowledge as you go.
If you’re good at self-directed education, then their free courses will probably be a good fit. If you could use more direct help, they also offer a paid option that includes a personalized learning plan and live help from advisors.
2. W3 Schools
Price: Free
W3 Schools bills itself as the “world’s largest web developer site.” They offer comprehensive, well-organized text tutorials on how to do all the main things you’d need to know when using html, CSS, Javascript, SQP, PHP, and Bootstrap.
They’re a good resource for learning the basics if you learn well by reading, and they’re a good go-to resource to bookmark for when you need examples or a refresher on how to do something down the line.
3. FreeCodeCamp
Price: Free (it’s right there in the name!)
FreeCodeCamp has thousands of free lessons that cover html, CSS, Javascript, Github, and more. You can choose to follow individual lessons based on the specific knowledge you need, or take all the lessons in a particular course in order to earn a free certification.
In addition to the lessons themselves, FreeCodeCamp also has an active forum with millions of community members who help each other out, so you can ask questions as you go and learn from others’ experiences.
4. GA Dash
Price: Free
GA Dash offers a course that covers html, CSS, and Javascript training. The course is project-based, giving you specific assignments that offer hands-on experience that allows you to put learning to action.
It’s good for beginners that learn better by doing rather than reading or watching.
5. The Odin Project
Price: Free
The Odin Project provides free courses that cover html, CSS, Javascript, Git, databases, Ruby, and Ruby on Rails. The courses include a mix of learning by reading and by doing by having you complete several hands-on projects along the way.
The Odin Project also offers a forum with an active community of people who can help each other through the learning process.
6. Code Conquest
Price: Free
The Code Conquest website offers free coding tutorials, programming language cheat sheets, and quizzes to help you test your knowledge.
In addition to all of the education resources they offer, they also provide reviews on other coding training resources (including some on this list) and coding-related deals.
7. Lynda
Price: Free trial, then $9.99 a month
Lynda is a subscription service that provides access to a large number of online courses on various subjects, including coding and web design.
In addition to courses on coding and specific programming languages, you can also find courses that get into topics like UX design and SEO.
8. Udemy
Price: Varies per course
Udemy’s another site that offers web courses in a wide variety of topics. Unlike Lynda though, you pay by the course rather than a flat subscription rate.
The site has many courses on coding and programming languages, most of which cost around $10 a piece.
9. Envato Tuts +
Price: $19 a month
Envato Tuts+ provides a number of how-to tutorials, courses, and ebooks that cover an array of coding subjects, as well as other web design topics.
Their pricing covers both all the courses and a number of resources like templates and fonts you can use in your web design projects as well.
10. Local Coding Bootcamps
Price: Varies
Some people are simply better at learning from a teacher who will work with them in person. If you’re worried online courses and resources won’t match your learning style, do some research into local coding bootcamps being offered in your area.
Most cities will have one or more option and you can get the in-person treatment that works best for you
