Whether you want to learn for leisure, a hobby, or even for a career, programming can be a tough nut to crack. After all, it’s not like painting or writing where you can start with a blank page and do your best. Coding has its standards and methods that need to be taught before someone can create even the most basic of programs. Thankfully, with programming being vital in today’s computing world, free programming websites have appeared to help people get into this complex field.
Here are ten websites where you can hop in and study programming without paying a penny.
1. Codecademy
Codecademy does what it says in the name – teaches you all about the basics of how to code. It does this through specific courses that you can sign up for, supplying you the materials to learn the subject of your choice. Codecademy has topics ranging from learning a specific language (HTML, Java, Python) to learning how to build a website. If you really enjoy Codecademy, you can purchase the premium plan which unlocks additional learning support.
2. edX
While edX is a website that supplies all-purpose courses, it has a wide array of computer programming courses tucked away in its library. edX was founded by Harvard and MIT back in 2012, so you know you’ll be getting quality courses through here! Courses are either lead by an instructor or completed by yourself. Just search their library for “programming” to see their range, or use specific terms to find the courses you want.
3. MIT Open Courseware
Speaking of MIT, why not access their pre-made course material online? You can search their libraries or browse the computer science section for relevant courses. There’s plenty out there, such as an introduction to Computer Science and a C++ primer, and they’re all free to use. It’s a little different from other free programming websites, as it’s downloading raw university materials rather than videos or articles. If you enjoy printing off course material and chewing it over in your spare time, this is a great option.
4. Khan Academy
If you prefer a collection of videos you can peruse at your own pace, Khan Academy has what you’re looking for. Just browse their programming section and pick out what you like the looks of. The basic topics range from what programming is, through all the basic functions of programming, all the way to object-oriented programming.
5. Udemy
While Udemy charges for its courses, it also supplies free ones for you to try. These can be done by selecting “Free” under the “Price” filter option when performing a search. Each course has a rating and a counter of how many people have taken it already, meaning you can locate the ones worth your precious time.
6. Free Code Camp
Free Code Camp has an interesting twist to it: You study coding online with them, and then after a period of about a year, you are then entitled to work on open-source projects for non-profits. The idea is that you can use the time and experience at Free Code Camp to translate into a real-world portfolio to help you land a job. Free Code Camp requires a GitHub account to be created during the registration process, so if you already have one, keep it on hand.
7. GitHub
Perhaps a strange entry for those semi-familiar with the website, GitHub is loaded with programming tutorials. It’s maintained by Victor Felder (A.K.A vhf) who has created a huge database of free (and legal!) programming materials and opened it up so other people can contribute. The result is a fantastic collection of free material to use and learn from. Scroll down and select the language you’d like your books to be in, including English.
8. The Code Player
Out of all the free programming websites, The Code Player is a great choice for people who learn by example. Pick a course, and it will give you a line-by-line playback of someone constructing it out of code from scratch. Then, either code it yourself or copy the code for your own project. This makes for a great tool for people who learn by watching people perform, rather than being taught directly. Their HTML5 Snake game course is particularly impressive!
9. The Odin Project
The Odin Project is all about learning how to do web development. Its course gets you started with languages such as Ruby on Rails, HTML5, and Javascript, to name a few. What makes the Odin Project particularly interesting is that at the end it’ll give you some tips and pointers on how to land your first job as a web developer, making it an interesting choice for budding career developers.
10. Code Wars
Code Wars is a great option for when you’ve learnt the basics from the above free programming websites and want somewhere to put your skills to the test and learn at the same time. You can take on a community-set challenge (called a “kata”) relevant to your coding skill and language. Code up your solution and submit it, then when the challenge expires, everyone’s solutions are revealed. You can then browse how everyone else tackled it and learn how you can improve yourself.
Free to Code
With programming being a fantastic skill to learn in this current day, it’s also never been easier to start learning. You now have ten free programming websites you can learn from, without breaking the bank!
Do you want to learn to code? What languages are you learning? If you’re a veteran, how did you learn to code? Share your stories below!
Simon Batt is a Computer Science graduate with a passion for cybersecurity.
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