June 26, 2017 Want to Learn to Code? Here’s a List of Our Favorite Resources

Learning to code is quickly becoming one of the most popular skills for people of all backgrounds. No longer limited to computer science majors in college, coding has useful benefits for nearly everyone. Whether you are in marketing, blogging, law (like me!), or many other fields, you can find learning to code a useful tool. Starting the coding process can be intimidating, so I’ve created a short list of some of my favorite resources to help you on your coding journey!

Free Online Resources:

Free Code Camp

Free Code Camp is my favorite online coding resource, and best of all it’s 100% free! They are a community built to help people learning to code with learning tracks that take you through many of the popular web development fundamentals. It would take roughly 2000 hours to complete every track, so you will be a full fledged web developer by the time you are finished. You can earn certifications and even build websites for nonprofits to feature in your own portfolio.

Code Academy

Code Academy is a great resource to get your feet wet with a variety of coding langauges. If you don’t know what language you want to focus on, you can run through the various options to see which one clicks with you the most. It is also very beginner friendly and you code directly in the website through their tutorials.

Udacity

Udacity is one of the oldest online learning platforms and they are constantly expanding into new areas. They have partnered with major technology companies, including Google and Amazon, to help create the course curriculums. The entire course catalog can be taken for free, or you can sign up for a “Nanodegree” program which includes reviews of your work and mentorship.

The Odin Project

The Odin Project is another large online learning platform similar to Free Code Camp. They are more focused on Ruby on Rails and take you through a step by step guided curriculum. You can work with other students online and they also offer job interview training to help you get a developer job once you are finished.

Free and Paid Online Courses:

Udemy

Udemy is one of the largest learning communities where anyone can post their courses online. You can learn virtually any skill and it is not just limited to programming. Some of the courses range in quality, so it is worth researching to find the highest rated ones with the most students. For web development, I have found the courses by Rob Percival and Colt Steele to be very good. Most of the best courses are paid, but they frequently go on sale for $10 so if you see a course you want to take be sure to do a quick Google search for “Udemy coupon” before signing up.

Lynda

Lynda offers courses in many skills, from beginner web development to Photoshop to digital marketing. Unlike Udemy, Lynda only publishes courses from their own instructors so the average quality is higher than those from Udemy. It does require a monthly fee, but a great trick I learned is many public libraries, including the Los Angeles Public Library, have an agreement where you can access the website for free using your library card.

Team Treehouse

Team Treehouse is focused on learning coding and technology skills. They offer video lessons and practice for whatever skills you want to learn. The lessons are  very streamlined and easy to follow step by step, and the quality of the instructors is high.

MIT Open Courseware

MIT Open Courseware lets you take real MIT courses from the MIT course catalog for free. MIT is one of the top schools in the United States so being able to take any of their courses without the expensive tuition is amazing. You don’t have your work reviewed by the teachers, but you do get access to all of the same lectures and materials as the students.

Code School

Code School is a monthly subscription learning platform with video tutorials, coding challenges, and badges to unlock when you complete each section. It is only $29/month so it is a very affordable option for those looking to take their coding education a little more seriously without having to invest too much into a formal course.

Bootcamps:

Le Wagon

Le Wagon is one of the top rated international bootcamps on CourseReport, with over 25 locations worldwide. It’s an intense 9 week full stack course primarily focused on Ruby and Rails. Le Wagon takes more of an entrepreneurial approach to coding, where the students spend the final 2 weeks building a live website from scratch and then present it. They are also much cheaper than many similar in person bootcamps, with courses typically costing around $7,000 depending on location.

General Assembly

General Assembly is one of the oldest and most respected coding bootcamps. They have locations all over the US in most major cities so they probably have a location near you. The immersive bootcamps are 12 weeks and $14,000+, so they are an intense option but could be very valuable to get you job ready by the end of it.

Hack Reactor

Hack Reactor is another intense bootcamp focused on learning Javascript. They have on-site courses in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Austin and New York, and take place over 12 intense weeks. They also offer remote immersive and part time programs.

App Academy

App Academy, based in San Francisco and New York, is a bootcamp focused on turning you into a web app developer. Like the other options, App Academy is 12 weeks and you learn Ruby on Rails, SQL, Javascript, and other important coding languages.

Coding Dojo

Coding Dojo is a 14 week bootcamp based in Los Angeles where you learn a variety of coding languages. They offer highly trained instructors and a job support system to help you land your first professional coding job once you are done with the bootcamp.

Books:

Learn the Hard Way

Despite the intimidating name, the “Learn the Hard Way” books (and accompanying website) are really one of the best ways to learn. It started as Learn Python the Hard Way and has quickly expanded into several other languages, including Ruby, SQL and Javascript. You can either buy the books or read the same material on the website for free.

Cracking the Coding Interview

Primarily aimed at those looking to land a coding job with a company, Cracking the Coding Interview gives over 150 questions and answers to common challenges faced in coding interviews. The answers include walkthroughs to help you understanding the logic behind getting to the correct solution, which is the skill most interviewers are really testing for.

HTML and CSS: Design and Build Websites

The HTML and CSS: Design and Build Websites books, and the accompanying Javascript series, are a great introduction to coding. The books simply lay out the concepts for visual learners and are well regarded as one of the best starting points to learn coding for beginners. It is laid out in a way that builds on each topic, and makes it easy to glance back at specific sections later on if you need a reminder.

Don’t Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability

The “Don’t Make Me Think” books have been around since year 2,000, but have been recently updated for the modern web. More focused on web design, the books outline common principles and best practices to help guide users in an efficient way. Even the best coders should know some basic web design concepts, and this book is a great jumping off point that can apply to any type of website.

Learning Web Design: A Beginner’s Guide to HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Web Graphics

The Learning Web Design book is a beginner focused series for those with no prior experience. It explains web techniques and best practices, and is another good way to get your feet wet with common HTML, CSS and Javascript best practices.

Blogs:

Medium

You have already probably heard of Medium, which is one of the largest websites for blog articles on the internet today. However, you might not know that there are some great Medium groups dedicated to coding, including the blogs by codeburst.io, Free Code Camp and Javascript Scene. You can search medium for any topic, such as “What coding language should I learn” and instantly get very high quality articles. Once you find a specific author or group you like, you can follow them to easily find new posts in the future.

Hacker News

Hackernews might be a more advanced resource, but it contains a lot of great content from some of the best coders and programmers in the world. It is essentially a tech focused version of Reddit, and browsing the site is a great way to stay up to speed on coding news and learn about the newest developments. They cover everything from programming languages to digital currency to AI, so if you want to brush up on your tech-speak this is a perfect place to visit.

Learn To Code With Me

Learn to Code with Me is a great beginner website started by someone who was documenting their own journey learning to code. Over time the website developed into a hub for commonly asked questions and tips for other aspiring coders. There’s a ton of great, beginner friendly information as well as a informative podcast with interviews from other people in the coding industry.

WP Beginner

WP Beginner is a perfect resource for those interested in working with WordPress. The site is one of the best for those new and experienced with WordPress, and is constantly updated. WordPress is always evolving so having a resource like WP Beginner is essential if you’re looking to build sites in the WordPress world.

CSS Tricks

CSS Tricks is, you guessed it, a site focused on known and lesser known tricks with CSS. CSS is an essential tool to learn for anyone interested in web development, so learning as much as possible is always recommended. Be sure to search the site for specific information if you get stuck on a CSS problem because the solution is probably hiding somewhere in the archives.

That wraps up my post on some of my favorite coding resources. I hope you found this post useful and I will keep it updated in the future as I come across new websites and books that can help on your coding journey. Feel feel to drop me an email at ryan@saltycollective.com with any thoughts or leave a comment below!