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Taking a coding course offers numerous valuable benefits in today’s technology-driven world. Coding skills are in high demand, opening up diverse career opportunities across a variety of industries — jobs that often come with high earning potential.
If you learn how to code, you’ll enhance your problem-solving and critical-thinking abilities as you grasp methodical approaches to complex problems. Coding also encourages creativity, allowing you to build everything from websites to apps and games, which adds value to your portfolio and attracts employers.
Coding skills will help you prepare for the future. As technology continues to advance, having a basic understanding of how software works is becoming crucial.
Additionally, coding courses often provide a community of like-minded individuals, which can be a great source of support and inspiration.
If you want to learn coding, there are various courses you can take, including free coding classes and online coding courses with certificates and without them. Computing programming courses also teach you about coding.
In this article, we’ve gathered four of the best free and paid coding courses you can take.
Key Takeaways
- Taking coding courses offers several benefits, from enhancing your problem-solving skills to opening up a wide range of career opportunities.
- Coding skills are in high demand, opening up diverse career opportunities across a variety of industries.
- You can take a variety of coding courses, including free coding classes and online coding courses with certificates.
- Taking coding courses can help you advance in your current field, switch careers, or gain a new skill.
Four of the Best Coding Courses to Elevate Your Skills
CS50’s Introduction to Computer Science
CS50’s Introduction to Computer Science, offered by Harvard University on the edX platform, is an entry-level course that aims to teach you the fundamentals of computer science and enable you to learn programming.
Developed by Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the course covers a wide variety of topics, including data structures, software engineering, algorithms, and web development.
In this course, you’ll learn to write code in several programming languages, including C, Python, and SQL. You’ll also work with web technologies, including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
This course includes programming assignments, problem sets, and projects that allow you to apply the concepts you’ve learned and develop your coding skills.
Additionally, the course provides ample opportunities for you to practice coding through hands-on exercises and projects.
This course enables you to learn to code for free; however, if you complete and pass the course, you have the option to obtain a certificate for a fee.
In part because of its active online community, CS50 has become a popular choice for individuals seeking to learn programming or explore the field of computer science.
- Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites, although a basic understanding of mathematics and logic can be beneficial
- Duration: Four months, five-14 hours per week (self-paced)
- Cost: Free; optional certificate, $219
Python for Everybody (Getting Started With Python)
Python for Everybody (Getting Started With Python), offered by the University of Michigan on the Coursera platform, is designed to introduce beginners to the fundamentals of programming. The primary goal of the course is to make programming accessible to everyone, regardless of their prior experience with coding.
This beginner-level course, which is part of the larger Python for Everybody Specialization, covers essential programming concepts, such as variables, expressions, conditional statements, loops, and functions.
You’ll learn how to write basic Python programs and understand the logic behind them. In addition to learning how to write Python code, you’ll also develop problem-solving and debugging skills.
This course will introduce you to the broader context of programming, including how it fits into the world of data and technology. By the end of the course, you’ll be able to tackle more advanced programming challenges and pursue further studies or careers in the tech field.
This course prepares you for more advanced studies in computer science and various applications in such fields as data analysis, web development, and automation. You’ll receive a certificate if you complete the course successfully.
- Prerequisites: No prior experience required
- Duration: Approximately 18 hours (learn at your own pace)
- Cost: $49 per month
W3Cx: HTML5 Coding Essentials and Best Practices
HTML5 Coding Essentials and Best Practices, an intermediate course offered by W3Cx on the edX platform, aims to provide a comprehensive foundation in HTML5 for web development. This course is developed in collaboration with industry experts and professionals from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
The course will guide you through the fundamental aspects of HTML5, emphasizing practical coding skills and adherence to best practices. By mastering HTML5 coding techniques, you’ll learn how to create high-performing websites and applications.
By the end of the course, you’ll have a solid understanding of HTML5 and be able to create high-quality web applications. This course will provide you with the essential tools and knowledge to thrive and succeed in the field of web development.
In this course, you will:
- Learn the simplified HTML5 elements
- Play with the audio and video elements
- Draw and animate fun Web graphics
- Discover the HTML5 forms features
- Test the basic APIs, such as web storage and geolocation
- Practice coding techniques thanks to multiple interactive examples
Prerequisites:
- HTML: Be comfortable putting together an HTML document
- CSS: Minimal familiarity with cascading style sheets
- JavaScript and DOM APIs: Basic knowledge is sufficient (this course will include a recap of the basics)
Duration: Six weeks, six-eight hours per week (self-paced)
Cost: Free; Certificate, $249
HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for Web Developers
HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for Web Developers, offered by John Hopkins University on Coursera, is designed to provide you with the essential skills you’ll need to become a proficient web developer. Throughout the course, you’ll delve into HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to learn how to create dynamic and visually appealing websites.
The course features hands-on coding exercises and projects, enabling you to apply theoretical knowledge in practical scenarios. In this course, you’ll learn the basic tools that a web page coder needs to know.
You’ll learn how to implement modern web pages with HTML and CSS. You’ll also learn how to code your pages so that components rearrange and resize themselves automatically based on the size of the user’s screen. As such, you’ll be able to code up a web page that will be useful on mobile phones as well as desktop computers.
In this course, you’ll also receive a thorough introduction to JavaScript. Using JavaScript, you’ll learn how to build a fully functional web application that uses Ajax to expose server-side functionality and data to the end user.
- Prerequisites: None
- Duration: Approximately 40 hours to complete, three weeks at 13 hours a week (learn at your own pace)
- Cost: Free to audit. $79 to purchase the course (includes certificate)
The Bottom Line
Coding courses offer a number of benefits from enhancing your problem-solving skills to opening up a wide range of career opportunities.
Whether you’re looking to advance in your current field, switch jobs, or simply gain a new skill, coding courses provide a solid foundation for your tech career.
