If you are new to the world of programming and web development, it makes sense to start by teaching yourself using all the free resources of learning to code online.
By taking advantage of these resources while learning to code for free, you can find out what you like and don’t like before investing money in a certain programming language or set of courses.
Once you’ve gone through enough free programming lessons to find that direction, you’ll be able to channel your passion into continuing to learn to code online in the most efficient way.
However, there are plenty of free programming resources, classes, and books to choose from.
How do you know which are the best places to learn to program online ??
Well, I’ve done some research to save you time! Here are 71 of the best websites to learn programming for free, from simple programming tutorials to complete online programming courses.
To make things easier, I’ve broken these learning code resources down by topic.
Use the table of contents below to jump ahead.
Tutorials and courses to learn online programming in general
Are you a computer geek who likes the technical side of web development?
Do you like to take control of things, while turning your app idea or website idea into reality?
Are you a blogger who likes to reach people through quality content and create a user-friendly site interface?
If your answer is “yes” to any of the questions above, then you probably need to learn to write code on your own.
Gone are the days when programming was thought to be only for absolute computer geeks.
Now anyone can participate in the process of writing code for their creations, such as websites, mobile apps, and software.
However, you may still be wondering why you need to learn to program when you can hire programmers or developers to do the work for you.
Well, for starters, it reduces your reliance on full-time programmers.
And, if you become an expert in programming or programming, you can stop hiring programmers or do without a programmer to help you save costs.
Also, even if you only learn the basics of programming, your web development team won’t be able to fool you at all.
But, the most important reason to learn to program is that it will allow you to work on your vision, instead of explaining your vision to someone else (a programmer) who can’t always do justice to your creative ideas.
Therefore, it is clear that you should take advantage of any extremely simple programming tool that helps you learn to program for free.
In this article, we take a closer look at 20 awesome resources to learn to program for free, all you need is access to an internet connection and a good laptop.
The goal is to reveal the features offered by each of the 20 open source learning resources to encourage you to start coding on your own.
1. Code Academy
The Codeacademy is where most people who are new to programming get their start.
On their platform, you can learn programming among other technical skills.
His reputation is well deserved.
The Codeacademy revolves around interactive learning; that is, you read a bit, type your code directly into the browser, and see the results immediately.
As the name implies, this programming resource teaches you programming and technical skills through a wide range of courses.
The course covers the following topics:
- Website development (including interactive programming)
- HTML, CSS, PHP, Python and more
- Ruby and Ruby on Rails
- AngularJS, Java, JavaScript, jQuery and so on
- SQL and Git
- command line
More than 25 million people have learned or are learning to code using this great platform.
The good thing about Codecademy is that the platform allows you to learn and understand the code from scratch.
Codecademy is an online learning platform that offers free programming classes in programming languages such as Python, Java, JavaScript, Ruby, SQL, C++, HTML, and CSS.
This education company also aims to provide you with a great online learning experience and has been quite successful in far.
What free code lessons offer: HTML and CSS, JavaScript, PHP, Python, Ruby, Angularjs, The Command Line, and more
2.freeCodeCamp
freeCodeCamp is a non-profit organization that advertises itself as “dedicated to teaching the world how to code for free”
This free online programming school teaches coding first through a set curriculum (approx.
800 hours total), and then gives you hands-on experience working on projects for non-profit organizations.
It’s perfect for students who want to learn programming online by getting hands-on experience that will serve them well and will look impressive on a resume.
Open source certifications offered: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Data Visualization, DevTools, QA Testing, Node.js, React, jQuery, and more
3. Coursera
This is a huge online library for various types of programming-based courses that are taught by an assortment of professors from different universities.
Coursera gives you access to some of the best online courses in the world (about 1,773 courses) by partnering with different universities and organizations (138 partners).
Thus, there is an endless list of computer science topics taught on Coursera, including big data SQL, robotics, and Python.
Although all courses are offered free of charge, if you want to get certified in a particular subject, you must pay the fee for that subject.
The price to earn a certificate ranges from $30 to $100, depending on your course choice.
Coursera is one of the best places to learn programming for free, with its professional and versatile course options.
The site is a huge library of online courses where classes are taught by real university professors.
All courses are free, but you have the option to pay for a “Coursera Verified Certificate” (prices range from $30 to $100) to prove course completion.
Sometimes paying for a certificate also allows access to content that is not available in the free versions.
Coursera also offers “Specializations,” which are collections of courses on a specific topic, typically with a capstone project at the end.
Coursera is an online learning platform that hosts content from top universities, including over 100 programming classes.
If you’re ready to learn to program, you could do worse than start here.
Coursera classes are free.
What open source courses do they offer: Many (well beyond your basic programming/computer science topics)
4. edX
This open-source platform for higher education is fast becoming a world-renowned learning resource with over 5 million learners.
In the “computer science” category, edX.org offers around 166 different courses.
Several of these courses, such as the XSeries course, are paid.
However, edX.org also offers several verified courses for free, allowing you to learn different programming languages at your own pace.
You will only have to pay for the free courses if you require a certificate as proof that you have completed the course and the experience gained.
Through this learning platform, you can be exposed to C#, Java, jQuery, C++, Python, machine learning, R programming, SQL, mobile app design or development, etc.
EdX is an open-source higher education program governed by MIT and Harvard, making it another high-calibre resource where you can learn to code for free online.
The site offers 107 great courses under the “computer science” category, teaching various programming languages.
EdX is another university-backed online learning platform with content from schools like Harvard and MIT.
Like Coursera, many of EdX’s classes are free, including classes on different programming languages, as well as some basic HTML, CSS, and JavaScript options.
Free programming courses offered: Java, C#, Python, and many more
5. Code wars
This code learning website allows you to learn your preferred programming language by challenging yourself.
In this fun code learning platform, you can solve one challenge at a time (known as “kata”) and hone your existing skills.
You can learn more about your favourite programming language or expose yourself to a new language that you know very little about.
Some of the typical programming languages taught by Codewars are JavaScript, CoffeeScript, Java, Ruby, Python, C#, and Clojure.
The idea behind this platform is to encourage students to keep improving with every “kata” (challenge) they encounter.
As the challenges become more difficult, the higher ranking “kata” is resolved.
You earn the honour of completing each kata and moving on to the next level.
At the end of each challenge, you can also compare your solution to others and discuss various innovative ways of dealing with similar programming techniques in the relevant developer community.
Codewars even allows you to create your own “kata” and challenge other developers to add more fun to the challenges.
Its ultimate goal is to enable developers to reach their full potential.
Codewars offers a fun and unique way to learn to program.
With a martial arts theme, the show is based on challenges called “kata” Complete them to earn honour and progress to higher ranks.
Codewars adds a twist to the proceedings by offering free programming classes with a martial arts theme.
Solving specific programming “kata” (a term for karate training exercises) will earn you ranks and honours as you progress on your path to becoming a bona fide scrambler.
Who said learning to code online couldn’t be fun? Codewars also offers one of the most diverse lists of programming languages.
In addition to much more stuff, which means you get to decide what to prioritize when learning to code.
This is a fun way to learn to program online if a little gaming motivates you!
The programming challenges they offer: CoffeeScript, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, Java, Clojure and Haskell