learn to code

4 ways you can learn to code for free

/in /by

Technology becomes more important and pervasive with each passing day. And the more familiar you are with technology, the more opportunities you will have — whether for you as an individual or for your company as a whole.

However, technology also makes it easier to learn technology.

As an example, take coding. Millions of people all over the world now have the opportunity to learn to code for free. But it’s not just free; it’s also incredibly easy to access.

Here are four ways you can learn to code for free.

Codecademy

Codecademy is the place future coders go when they know exactly what they want to do. From responsive design and JavaScript to Sass and Python, Codecademy develops intensive, hands-on, and topic-specific courses to align perfectly with a coder’s skill level.

Equipped with a detailed overview and syllabus, each course involves a handful of interactive lessons, project builds, and quizzes.

And of course, it’s all free.

Khan Academy

Geared more towards children and teenagers, this learning platform is not code-specific. Instead, Khan Academy covers subjects such as science, engineering, math, finance, and arts. However, it does offer free coding lessons, also known as the Hour of Code.

Try your hand at an hour of drawing, web pages, or databases and become a well-versed coder in the process. But of course, you can always go beyond the Hour of Code.

Dive deeper into drawing or web pages and review detailed lessons and tutorials on how to create animations, build interactive programs, and play with CSS.  

FreeCodeCamp

FreeCodeCamp is not like any of the other free coding platforms on this list.

Instead of endless videos and tutorials, you join a community of coders. From there, you learn how to code, build projects for practice, and earn certificates along the way. Whether it’s HTML, CSS, or JavaScript, FreeCodeCamp teaches it all.

In fact, FreeCodeCamp even partners with educators to help them integrate its community-based platform into their coursework. Currently, FreeCodeCamp is in the process of developing tools to make this integration even simpler.

After a coder is fully versed, that person is encouraged to volunteer their time and expertise into the Open Source for Good program. This program provides the platform for coders to develop innovative tools for nonprofits (which the coders can then turn around and use as resume-building material).

In 1,050 days, FreeCodeCamp has successfully completed 30 projects for nonprofit organizations and helped over 6,000 coders land their first developer jobs.

YouTube

While there are platforms specifically designed for education and coding and things of that nature, there are also platforms like YouTube that stand to do just as much good.

Find and subscribe to the right YouTube channels and you can take your knowledge of coding to that next level. Depending on which coding channels you subscribe to, you can learn facets of coding in chunks — all taught by real-world experts in the industry.

If you want to jump into the coding world of YouTube, then check out Dev Tips for Designers, PHPAcademy, or Coder’s Guide.