Learn to Code for Free - Top 100 Places to Learn Programming Online
The moment when you first type the search query “how to learn to code for free” may be a starting point of a developer’s career. The Google search results are sprawling with the suggestions of online learning resources. Each adapts to different learning styles, so the most important thing is to find the one that best fits your own needs.
At Rioks, we have collected the top 100 places where you can learn how to code for free in 2019. From video tutorials to web magazines and blogs, here you can find everything you need to start your career as a programmer or a UI/UX designer.
To make things easier, we have broken the online learning resources by the following topics:
- General Resources About Coding
- Mobile App Development
- UI/UX Design
- AI and Machine Learning
- The Command Line
- HTML and CSS
- JavaScript
- Python
- Ruby
- Data Science/Analysis
- Cybersecurity
- WordPress
- Coding Blogs
- YouTube Channels About Coding
General Resources About Coding
“When you hear the term ‘coding,’ it might bring to mind a wall of artless 1’s and 0’s or a lonely labyrinth of servers somewhere in Silicon Valley. However, coding is so much more than that. Your code can be a starting point for a whole new reality and human-machine interactive experience. It can open up amazing opportunities for business, technology, and our lives in general.” — Ben Obear, Co-Founder of CognitiveClouds, a custom software development and consulting company.
1. Bento.io
Bento is a platform focused on educating and empowering the next generation of self-taught developers. There, you can find curated tutorials on over 200 web technologies that will help you learn how to code with languages like HTML, CSS, Javascript, Python, SQL, etc.
2. Code Avengers
Code Avengers platform is easy to use, and its built-in tools make it easy to check and correct your code, test your skills, and see how your code comes to life. This service offers helpful live chat support and a Slack channel. Code Avenger is a good starting point if you want to learn to code.
3. Codecademy
Codecademy is an online interactive platform that offers free coding classes in 12 different programming languages including Python, Java, JavaScript (jQuery, AngularJS, React.js), Ruby, SQL, C++, and Sass, as well as markup languages HTML and CSS.
4. Codeconquest
Code Conquest is a free coding guide for beginners, including everything from onsite tutorials to reviews of the premium site. Code Conquest is created for those who want to learn to develop programs step by step. It helps start coding on the right foot.
5. Coderbyte
Coderbyte is a web application that allows you to practice your programming skills and prepare for coding boot camps. Here you can access the best collection of coding challenges which you can solve online in 10 programming languages.
You can also brush up on your skills by reading tutorials on topics like advanced JavaScript features, data structures, and learn about the questions asked at the interview by companies like Google and Microsoft.
6. Code.org
Code.org is a non-profit platform aimed at providing free success to learning computer science and increasing participation of women and underrepresented minorities.
7. Codewars
Codewars is an educational community for computer programming. On the platform, software developers can train on the coding challenges known as kata. These exercises train a variety of skills in different programming languages, and they are completed within an online IDE.
8. Coursera
This platform helps to learn how to code from the courses created by the world’s most prestigious universities. Coursera is the biggest online library of coding courses covering virtually everything related to programming. If you want to learn the basics of Android app coding, this resource is your best option. Here you can also get a certificate indicating completion of a course which costs $30 — $100.
9. Edabit
It’s similar to Duolingo, but this platform is purely about the code. On Edabit you can learn to code by overcoming the interactive challenges such as to gain XP, unlock achievements, and climb the leaderboard. Edabit goes beyond basic syntax and teaches its users how to think like real programmers, so they can finally start making cool things.
10. edX
edX is a massive open online course provider. It hosts online university-level courses in a wide range of disciplines to a worldwide student body, including some courses at no charge. This resource, similarly to Coursera, allows getting a certificate which costs $30 to $100.
11. Evanto tuts +
Envato Tuts+ offers free video courses and written tutorials to help you get creative skills in code, design and illustration, photography, video, music, web design, game development, business, and more. These courses include step-by-step written instructions and screenshots that help practice and master the skills needed to create a practical outcome.
12. FreeCodeCamp
Joining this community, you can learn HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, and Databases. FreeCodeCamp is a non-profit organization, that consists of an interactive learning web platform, an online community forum, chat rooms, Medium publications, and local organizations. They intend to make learning web development accessible to anyone. Learn to code for free by watching free online courses and being engaged in programming projects.
13. GA Dash
Dash is a fun and free online course that teaches you the basics of web development on the projects which you can work on directly in your browser. Learn the right way to code HTML5, to create your first fully styled landing page on CSS3, and dynamic interfaces that handle user events.
14. GitHub
Sometimes, you need to recall a reference book when you’re stuck on a problem. GitHub allows to do it. There are over 31 million developers that collaborate to host and review code, manage projects, and build software together. This coding camp can also help you learn the basics of the most various coding languages.
15. Hackr.io
Hackr.io offers a list of the best tutorials, online courses, and books on programming languages that are recommended by the community of coders. All the tutorials are submitted and voted by the members of Hackr.io.
16. Hacker Rank
HackerRank provides challenges for several different domains, such as Algorithms, Mathematics, SQL, Functional Programming, AI, and more. They provide a discussion and a leaderboard for every challenge, and most of them come with an editorial that explains more about a challenge and suggests approaches that will help you come up with a solution.
17. Hack.pledge()
Hack.pledge() is a movement for programmers who assemble and mentor each other so that they can collectively improve their coding skills. Here you can level up your programming skills by learning from some of the leading developers in the world.
18. Khan Academy
Khan Academy offers exercises, instructional videos, and a personalized learning dashboard that empowers learners to study at their own pace in and outside of the classroom. There are also a few code courses for kids, so the whole family can learn to make code for free!
19. Launch School Open Book Shelf
It’s a heavily researched learning curriculum designed for a long-term career as a Software Engineer. These free books can help you learn the basics of the most popular programming languages.
20. Microsoft Virtual Academy
Microsoft Virtual Academy provides free online training by world-class experts to help you improve your technical skills. Here, you can enjoy free access to e-books, attend live events, and participate in live Q&A with instructors. You can test your knowledge with self-assessments and earn certificates of completion for the courses you’ve mastered.
21. MIT OpenCourseWare
MIT OpenCourseWare (MIT OCW) is an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to publish all of the educational materials on software engineering from its undergraduate and graduate-level courses online, freely and openly available to anyone, anywhere.
22. Scotch.io
Scotch Development is a web development blog discussing all things about programming, development, web, and life. Their tutorials are beyond incredible and written by skilled developers, mostly geared towards intermediate-to-advanced developers. Such approach means beginners may be pushed away from even attempting Scotch tutorials for a while.
23. SoloLearn
SoloLearn has the largest collection of free code learning content, from beginner to pro. Here, you can choose from thousands of programming topics to learn coding concepts, brush up your programming knowledge, or stay aligned with the latest coding trends.
On SoloLearn, you can write and run real code in a mobile code editor, get inspired through real-life code samples, and engage in interactive community conversations along the way.
24. Simpliv
Simpliv uses the best of technology and innovation to help learners and institutions drive success. They regularly run programming courses that are available for free for a limited period. You should sign up not to miss Simpliv’s new free online learning courses.
25. Team Treehouse
Treehouse or (Teamtreehouse) is an online technology school that offers courses about web design, web development, mobile development, and game development created by a team of expert teachers. These courses are focused on beginners who want to learn to code and get ready for a career in the tech industry. The Treehouse learning program includes videos combined with interactive quizzes and code challenges.
26. The Code Player
The Code Player is an online tutorial that helps to learn front-end technologies much more comfortable. It plays code like a video helping people to learn HTML5, CSS3, Javascript, and Jquery fast and interactively.
The Code Player offers a variety of playback speeds depending on how fast users want to run through the tutorial, and there is also a timeline scrubber for pausing and rewinding.
27. The Odin Project
The Odin Project is created to provide a complete path for students to go from zero to employed web developers.
Students start with a short Introduction to Web Development before moving on to Web Development 101 and more in-depth modules, including HTML, CSS, Javascript, Ruby, Rails, Git, databases, and more. The tutorials are completely flexible, allowing students to work through each lesson or jump to different lessons/projects.
28. Udacity
Udacity is a platform with online courses about programming, data science, artificial intelligence, digital marketing, and more. Udacity offers the individual free coding courses, as well as “nanodegrees” that train you for specific careers such as a front-end web developer or data analyst. Course materials are free, but nanodegrees require a tuition fee.
29. Udemy
Udemy offers excellent courses in every programming language, game development, web and graphic designing, and much more. Anyone can create Udemy courses, so make sure to check author reviews.
30. Web Fundamentals
Here, you can find tutorials on Chrome DevTools, Lighthouse, Workbox, and more tools to make your life easier and improve your development artistry. This course is about the fundamental technologies such as TCP/IP stack, HTTP, HTML/CSS, and PHP. The course principles include the structure of the web, small-world networks, web search, communities, and advertising.
31. W3Schools
W3Schools is an educational website for learning web technologies online. Content includes tutorials and references relating to HTML, CSS, JavaScript, JSON, PHP, Python, AngularJS, SQL, Bootstrap, Node.js, jQuery, XQuery, AJAX, XML, and recently they have also included Java courses.
Mobile App Development Courses
“Great mobile app developer is the one who adapts the current trends, technologies, and tools to the product idea and gives birth to the new intuitive user experience able to blow the market.” — Aldric Chang, CEO at Swag Soft, a mobile app development company in Singapore.
1. Android Developers
The resource carries a whole collection of guides for Android developers. The documents listed in the navigation pane can teach you how to build Android apps using APIs in the Android framework and other libraries. If you’re brand new to Android and want to jump into code, you can start with the Build Your First App tutorial.
2. Google Developers Training
Whether you’re an experienced developer or just getting started, this website can point you to training that can help you develop high-quality apps. Here, you can find end-to-end training created by the Google Developers Training team, materials, and tutorials for self-study, online courses, and more. When you’re ready, you can also take a Google Developers Certification exam to gain recognition for your development skills.
3. Start Developing iOS Apps (Swift)
Start Developing iOS Apps (Swift) is perfect if you want to start learning to develop mobile apps that run on iPhone and iPad. View this set of incremental lessons as a guided introduction to building your first app, including the tools, major concepts, and best practices that will ease your path.
4. Swift Playgrounds
Swift Playgrounds is a revolutionary app for iPad that makes learning Swift interactive and fun. You can solve puzzles to master the basics using Swift — a powerful programming language created by Apple and used by the pros to build today’s most popular apps.
UI/UX Design
“Designing a new user experience, you contribute to the future of natural and intuitive human-machine interaction. People are becoming even more “addicted” to technologies that are penetrating our lives. The designer’s primary mission is to make this communication between technology and its users as easy as possible. It is the power of UX Design.” — Dima Venglinski, CEO at Fireart Studio.
1. The Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction
These are free textbooks written by more than 100 leading designers, bestselling authors, and Ivy League professors. Textbooks are organized in a gigantic encyclopedia with 4,000+ pages. They cover the design of interactive products and services such as websites, household objects, smartphones, computer software, aircraft cockpits, and others.
2. UX Booth
The UX Booth is a publication by and for the UX designers’ community. Its readership consists mostly of beginning-to-intermediate user experience and interaction designers, but anyone interested in making the web a better place is welcome. If you’re interested, join it to discuss the best practices and trending topics, or share your experience.
3. UX Design Collective
When it comes to UX design blogs, UX Collective is the answer to the overwhelming amount of blogs and posts on the user experience design. They have curated stories on UX, usability, and product design.
4. UX Movement
UX Movement is a user experience design blog that publishes articles about the influence of design on the user’s behavior. Their audience consists of tech-savvy designers, developers, and researchers who work on user interfaces, websites, and applications.
5. Smashing Magazine UX
Smashing Magazine is a website and eBook publisher that offers editorial content and professional resources for web developers and web designers. It was founded in 2006 by Sven Lennartz and Vitaly Friedman as part of the German-based Smashing Media AG. This magazine features a hand-picked and organized selection of the most useful and popular articles related to Usability and User Experience.
6. Web Designer
Web Designer is a magazine for those looking to learn the latest HTML, CSS and JavaScript techniques. You can discover here the best tools and resources for web design. As the flagship publication for today’s web creatives, digital designers and web developers, a subscription to Web Designer magazine offers expert, project-based tutorials across modern disciplines such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, 3D and web app development.
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