If you’re a newbie hoping to learn web development, these web developer courses below will be powerful tools in your journey to greater knowledge.
As you embark on this journey, remember that Google and websites like StackOverflow are your best friends. You will encounter many frustrating problems along the way, but they are all problems that have been solved by someone else before. You just need to find the answer.
Learn Web Development Basics
Getting Started with the Web (Mozilla)
If you’re not sure what HTML even is, this is where you should start. This collection of articles called Getting Started with the Web is designed to get complete novices familiar with the basic functionality of websites. And the Mozilla Development Network (MDN) is an amazing resource for web development documentation, so bookmark them.
HTML/CSS
HTML and CSS are the backbone of every website in existence. They’re used to create the structure, content and visual design of web pages, and expert-level knowledge is essential for any web developer.
HTML Dog
HTML Dog is an excellent, informal portal for those looking to learn HTML, CSS and Javascript rom scratch. It starts with extremely basic tutorials to get you up and running. But the best way to learn web development is to see real solutions to real problems. So once you’ve mastered that, you can move on to the interactive examples to explore how real web code works, and review the techniques section to see how common web development problems are solved.
Learn HTML & CSS (Codecademy)
Codecademy is an invaluable resource for folks looking to learn web development or learn to code. Instead of watching video lectures, you’ll learn to code in your browser, typing real HTML and CSS to accomplish real goals. Like many of their courses, the Codecademy’s HTML & CSS introduction is one of the best available.
Intro to HTML/CSS (Khan Academy)
Khan Academy’s HTML and CSS course will introduce you to the broad basics, with video lectures and coding challenges.
HTML5 Game Development (Udacity)
If you already known HTML but you want to expand your skills, we’ve got something for you too. You can use HTML5 to build in-browser games and high-performance web apps in this Google-sponsored course from Udacity. This intermediate-level course will be most useful to folks with a solid grounding in basic HTML.
JavaScript
JavaScript is the language used to create much of the user interaction you’ll find on web pages. As a scripting language, it’s more closely related to programming languages than markup languages like HTML. Nevertheless, it’s just as essential for a career in web development.
JavaScript 30
Learn JavaScript in thirty days with thirty real-world coding challenges based on 30 tutorials. Great crash course!
Learn JavaScript (Codecademy)
Like their HTML course, Codecademy’s JavaScript course is one of the best available. You’ll learn the ins and outs of the language while building projects in your browser.
Modern JavaScript Tutorial
This detailed course covers everything about JavaScript, from the very basics to advanced concepts. Thorough, impressive and crucial for web developers at all skill levels.
Learn Javascript (Mozilla)
Mozilla’s dry but informative JavaScript course is an excellent resource for those that do best with book learning. It’s also an amazing resource for JavaScript documentation that you’ll be sure to return to time and again.
Modern JavaScript (Angular Class)
This intermediate JavaScript course from Angular Class covers the newest features of JavaScript, covering Node.js, NPM, ES2015, asynchronous JS and more. Come to this course with a decent understanding of JavaScript.
jQuery (Codecademy)
jQuery is a modified version of JavaScript designed to focus on user-friendly code and animation frameworks. While some of its functionality has been replaced by HTML5’s canvas
, it’s still a valuable resource for developers. Codecademy’s jQuery course is a great way to get introduced to the basics of the language.
Learn Node
Node.JS is a JavaScript library use to build server-side web applications and APIs. It’s based on JavaScript, so you’ll need basic JavaScript language to make sense of it. It’s a bit on-trend right now, but still extremely popular. The Learn Node course is taught by the talented Wes Bos, a full stack web developer and JavaScript expert.
PHP
PHP is a hugely popular server-side scripting language for the web. It expands the capabilities of HTML with new features like collecting user input through forms, interacting with MySQL databases and editing cookies. It’s often derided as insecure, but it’s still a massively popular, in-demand language.
Learn PHP (Codecademy)
Codecademy offers an excellent introduction into PHP, covering the basics of the language and its capabilities for new users.
Learn PHP Programming From Scratch (Udemy)
Udemy’s excellent PHP course will help you learn PHP from the very beginning, or brush up on your rusty PHP skills.
Getting Started with PHP (PHP.net)
PHP.net is the website for PHP, housing all the official documentation. It’s an invaluable resource for you to have as you learn PHP, but they also include a brief getting started guide to help get your feet wet.
Computer Science
Computer science covers a lot of ground. We’re referring to courses that don’t strictly cover web development, but are nevertheless useful for aspiring web devs.
CS50 (Harvard/edX)
Harvard’s CS50 course, taught by the charismatic David J. Malan, is considered a challenging but essential introduction to computer science. Using the C programming language, you’ll learn about sorting, functions, application design and more. An excellent resource for anyone without a straight computer science background, including experienced self-taught developers that missed introductory comp sci.
Intro to Computer Science (Udacity)
Udacity’s Intro to Computer Science uses Python to introduce many of the same concepts covered in CS50. Python is typically considered a simpler language to pick up for beginners, so if using C has you in fits, check out this course.
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