Ali Spittel

Posted on Aug 13, 2018 • Updated on Feb 18, 2019 • Originally published at zen-of-programming.com

My Favorite Free Resources for New Programmers

#beginners #learntocode #javascript #python

Last week, I shared my tips for new developers and how to start coding. I also wanted to share my favorite free resources for learning how to code. I have used or gone through each of these personally, so I can vouch for them being good quality and beginner friendly!

For HTML and CSS

A game for learning CSS selectors: CSS Diner
A game for learning CSS Flexbox: Flexbox Froggy
A game for learning CSS Grid: CSS Grid Garden
A video I made for learning CSS from zero: Learning CSS Through Creating Art
An awesome CSS Grid series by Jen Simmons: Layout Land

For JavaScript

FreeCodeCamp
A video series introducing JavaScript: Khan Academy Computer Programming
An awesome more advanced written introduction to JavaScript: A re-introduction to JavaScript
30 days of JavaScript challenges with corresponding videos by Wes Bos: JS 30

For other Programming Languages and Concepts

This site has it all -- from HTML, CSS, and JS through frameworks and other programming languages. It has a unique REPL tutorial format: Code Academy - this would be my top recommendation for where to start.
Learn a web framework -- from the command line through Python and Django and through HTML and CSS -- all in roughly a day: Django Girls - their online tutorial was where web development clicked for me -- it was very pivotal in my career!
Try Ruby code directly in your browser: Try Ruby
Github has a series of tutorials for learning both Git and GitHub directly in the browser: Try Git
A full list of resources for learning Python

For Computer Science

A series of illustrated guides to computer science fundamentals: BaseCS - there are also podcast and video versions of some of these articles!
A bunch of cheat sheets I wrote when studying for interviews: Coding Cheat Sheets
Video versions of a lot of classes including computer science classes: MIT on YouTube

For Code Challenges

Tons of challenges with difficulties attached: CodeWars
Another code challenge site with more consistency: HackerRank
Mathematical coding problems: Project Euler

Awesome beginner Libraries

Build art with JavaScript: P5 JS
Build a customized map with JavaScript: Leaflet
Build virtual reality applications with HTML: A-Frame
Build a JavaScript game: Phaser

Communities

Ask questions with the #explainlikeimfive, #help, and #meta tags dev.to
Participate in Twitter chats, listen to awesome motivational podcasts, and read helpful blog posts: CodeNewbies - they also have a Slack group!

Your Favorites

Again, these are the resources that I have used myself or gone at least gone through, so I can definitely recommend them. Since I do mostly Python and JavaScript development, these lean pretty heavily in that direction! Tweet me your favorite resources! If you liked this article, subscribe to my weekly mailing list with my favorite links from the week and all of my writing from that week!

Top comments (52)

Debashis Dip • Aug 13 '18

Personally I felt like most of the resources we find online are great, However Harvards CS50 course teaches a student from the ground to the top. Great emphasis on algorithm, thinking and in some ways teaching how to learn and think in cs.

David Chase • Aug 13 '18

Thats a really good one :)

Charles Joseph • Aug 13 '18

Could you drop a link to this? Thank you

Debashis Dip • Aug 13 '18

edx.org/course/cs50s-introduction-...

here you go

Abdifatah Mo • May 3 '20

Do know where to find this course in youtube?

Debashis Dip • May 3 '20

youtube.com/watch?v=jjqgP9dpD1k

Comment marked as low quality/non-constructive by the community. View Code of Conduct

zarulyakuza • Aug 25 '18

freenode.net port 6666

ssharizal • Aug 13 '18

FreeCodeCamp should be here.

Ben Halpern • Aug 13 '18

I'll also toss in dev.to as a tool. Obviously I'm biased, but If you come actively seeking help, you will find it comes to you a lot of the time.

Check out @brendazam for an example of someone using the platform really well in this regard.

[Deleted User]

Brenda Limón • Aug 13 '18

Been a beginner learning online is hard, too many questions and a lot of information. Having a community as Dev.to allows me to ask without been judged and get the support that I need to stay focused. Ben and Ali you both are an inspiration, thanks for all your content. Hugs & Husky love 🐶👩🏻‍💻

Ali Spittel • Aug 13 '18

Totally agree! Going to add in a communities section right now!

JustinK • Aug 14 '18 • Edited

I added a Google custom search for devdocs.io, it's a really handy resource full of documentation for pretty much every language or framework. Plus it works offline!

Also, dev.tube/ is basically the Netflix of dev videos, very handy.

And once you're ready to start looking for a coding job, I recommend pramp.com, which pairs you up with other students to practice interview-style coding challenges.

Ogechi Ike • Aug 14 '18

I would add Practical Javascript and MongoDB University to the list. Gordon Zhu's course is one of the best introductions to Javascript that I've ever came across and MongoDB University is great source for intro to NoSQL databases.

university.mongodb.com/courses/cat...

watchandcode.com/courses

Doni • Aug 18 '18

I love watch and code! It helped me drastically!

ssharizal • Aug 14 '18

Free Programming books from StackOverflow
goalkicker.com/

Sereio-do-Brejo • Jul 2 '19

Wow !
I never heard about it before !
Thanks a lot!

Adrian B.G. • Aug 13 '18 • Edited

I have some folders of bookmarks for this purpose, as I don't have the time now to go trough them I would like to add:

Do not throw all these resources to a new starter, filter them based on on the developer experience and future, and share them when needed.

I have 2 main categories or mentees:

devs that have the time, resources and desire to want a career - spend at least a few months to learn CS and a strong typed language, before jumping in the web chaos ecosystem
devs that want to land a job and get a quick start: help them choose one language and crashcourse it, jump quickly to libraries and "real" projects.

The main idea is that, CS and other soft skills will add value on the long run, and they can build a strong foundation to build upon. The downside is that it will not bring much value at the beginning, unless you aim for a big tech company that build tools for other devs, and work at a more low level (instead of building products for end consumers).

Also some big categories are missing from here I think (not much just the big picture):

environment and tools (how linux and browsers works, bash, Git, linters, IDE's vs editors, etc)
security - unfortunately most courses and tutorials do not touch this subject so we have to supply the info as the newbie advances.
team work - how software teams and projects are organized

DeChamp • Aug 13 '18

Been coding for 24 years now, start at age 11 and now 35. Love that I still learn new things from new programmers. Really appreciate you sharing your resources!

I would love to suggest adding Udemy to the list. They always have "sales" where you can get their courses for less than $20 bucks. They are highly well done and an amazing resource.