Websites are absolutely ubiquitous now, and having at least some basic coding skills is incredibly useful. Even if you aren’t planning on making website development your full-time job, the skills are often requested in a variety of positions where website creation and updates are called for: from marketing to being an entrepreneur to freelancing.

It is also valuable to show a diversity of skills. Or, perhaps you have a specific website project you wish to work on, and you want to take control and get into the coding yourself?

The great thing about the internet is that there are now a huge amount of online resources which you can use to start your coding journey. In fact, there are so many, it is difficult to even know where to start. Here we will point out some of the best places you can go to learn HTML, CSS and other web programming languages online.

The first step in anyone’s coding and web development education is to learn HTML. As a beginner is it also good to learn CSS as well. More complex websites use more advanced coding languages and you’ll need to add such languages as jQuery, JavaScript, and PHP.

If you are working with WordPress, then you might find PHP very handy, as it is a more complex website builder than many basic builders where HTML and CSS will suffice.

Free Versus Paid Resources.

You will quickly discover that there are two types of learning resources you can access – free and paid.

If you are just starting out, it makes complete sense to utilize the free resources available to start teaching yourself. Once you know what you like you can be considering diving in deeper with some specialized paid courses. Many of the places listed below offer some free resources to get you started, as well as premium paid courses or certification options.

Codecademy

Codecademy is a fantastic place for aspiring coders to start learning. It has great interactive projects and quizzes to give you the hands-on experience you need to practice and really integrate the concepts being taught. There are many different courses you a can pick from covering specific topics, including HTML & CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, PHP, Python, and Ruby. All of the beginner courses are free, but you can sign up to a monthly plan to get access to the premium courses.

Codeacademy uses an interactive approach to teaching code – which is very good for complete beginners to the world of code, as it can make the learning more fun. The screen is split down the middle, and whilst your code on the side, it shows the effects of your coding as a visual display on the other half. Great to get instant feedback on what you are doing.

There is no certification available, but Codecademy does provide forums for discussion, programming language glossaries, and blog posts and articles to support your learning. It is probably best for beginners only, to get your head around the basic concepts, but you’ll probably want to take courses elsewhere to move onto more real-world and advanced concepts.

Coursera

Coursera is an amazing online learning resource where you can learn almost anything you can imagine. It was founded in 2012 and all courses are delivered by recognized universities and institutions from across the globe. It is a great place for learning to code.

All of the courses are available for free, however, you can pay to have a certificate of verified completion. There can be additional content available when you opt into doing the verified course completion. Coursera also offers collections of courses on specific topics, called ‘Specializations’, and which often have a capstone project to complete at the end.

edX

EdX is a well-known and reputable online-learning platform, which was founded by Harvard University and MIT in 2012. It is the open source instead of for-profit, and now includes courses from about 60 schools. Like Coursera you can pay to have a verified completion certificate.

Try the free Introduction to Computer Science from Harvard University. If you really enjoy it and starting to get serious, they also offer unique “MicroMasters” programs consisting of a series of graduate-level courses that will certainly look impressive on your resume.

FreeCodeCamp

This free online coding school teaches initially by the established curriculum, then through real-world projects. It is an open source community that has about 800 hours of tutorials on many coding topics, to get you started, like- HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, data visualization, Databases, DevTools, Node.js, Angular.js and Agile and more.

Then you can move on and tackle at your own pace. A massive variety of coding challenges and projects for non -profits. It’s perfect for aspiring coders who want to learn code online through practical, hands-on experience that will do some good, and also look great on a resume. You can even connect with other coding learners in your city.

GA Dash

General Assembly Dash is a free online learning platform, which is completely project based. From the very start, you are learning HTML through goal-based programs with real-world applications – rather than the more theoretical approach of some other places, like code academy. You can complete a certified course in HTML, which is suitable for beginners.

CSS-Tricks

CSS-Tricks has expanded from just being about CSS, to cover all things web design and development. But, it still remains a great resource for CSS, as it contains hundreds of tutorials which you can easily search to locate an answer to a specific problem. If you have already gained a basic understanding of CSS codes, then this is an excellent resource when you need quick solutions to coding problems. There’s also an active community there to help if you cannot find just what you are after.

Codewars

Codewars is completely unique – it is something like coding crossed with martial arts. The program is based on challenges called ‘kata, which you complete to earn honor and progress to higher ranks. This is a fun way to learn to programme online if a little gamification motivates you!

You also have the chance to discuss your solutions with others in the Codewars community, and eventually, you will be able to create your own data to challenge others.

Codewars is not for absolute beginners, but great for improving your skills in such languages as- JavaScript, PHP, Python, Ruby, Java, Clojure, and Haskell and many others.

Lynda.com

Lynda.com offers thousands of courses across a huge variety of topics. They have several free HTML video lessons to get you started, but if you want to access more, then you need to sign up.

If you already have a paid membership, then definitely jump in and access the HTML tutorials. You also get access to the project files if you have the membership. Unfortunately, there isn’t much in the way of feedback on your code, and you would need to look elsewhere for additional help.

Khan Academy

Khan Academy was created in 2006 by educator Salman Khan and is one of the original free online-learning platforms. You can complete step-by-step video tutorials to learn how to create web pages with HTML and CSS or learn how to program drawings, animations, and games using JavaScript and ProcessingJS.