Think that you have to pay for quality tutorials in the software development field? Think again!
I've collected seven FREE resources that are publicly available for anyone to use. Best of all, a huge range of topics are covered between them combined - pretty much any programming language and concept you could imagine.
Let's jump right in!
🏫 W3schools
The extent of free knowledge that W3schools provides is amazing. Their focus is mainly on web technologies like frameworks and databases, but some basic programming tutorials with popular languages like Python and Java are also provided.
Each free tutorial comes with a set of free exercises to assess your knowledge and an optional free test to earn a paid certification. Don't want to take the step-by-step tutorial? Extensive references are available.
One of the major benefits of this platform is a provided code editor and compiler for all languages that are discussed. W3Schools Spaces are also available to build and deploy your own secure website, though many involved features are only included in a paid plan.
I recommend creating an account to track your progress. It's totally free, and you can hook it up to your GitHub or Google account for easy sign-in.
👨💻 Programiz
Programiz offers a considerably smaller selection of tutorials than W3schools, but it makes up for the content with some unique features.
For one, it boasts one of the more programming-based curriculums out there. Learn more established languages like Python or try out a newer language like Kotlin. Their many code demos will be sure to please if you learn by example.
Though it offers a paid plan, this site seems to be more valuable as a tutorial and reference hub - or, as the added bonus of a free web code editor and compiler for some languages. If you're looking for full course plans, you might want to look at some different options.
💾 HackerRank
When you've gotten familiar with the language of your choice, HackerRank is the place to test your knowledge. A large draw of this platform is the huge selection of challenges to choose from.
Though these challenges don't necessarily walk you through how to get to the solution, it's easy enough to Google up anything you're not sure of and learn in the process as you complete problems.
It's super easy to create an account, and you can hook it up with a number of socials to make logging in easy. Once in your account, you can learn, solve challenges, and take certifications. The best part? With your newfound skills, you can get verified on the platform and get and noticed by companies. Score!
✏ MDN Web Docs
MDN is an oddball compared to some of these resources in the sense that it's more of a reference than a step-by-step tutorial. That being said, it contains a huge amount of information about the web and is able to answer pretty much any web-related question you might have.
A Firefox account is required to log in, but every important feature is available without doing so - so I'd recommend skipping it.
💻 Codecademy
Codecademy is what you'd think of when you imagine a traditional coding course. Unfortunately, all of the content isn't free - but they offer a ton of free courses that are worth your time.
Upgrading to Pro is pretty expensive, but it unlocks all content and skills paths, along with certifications when you complete courses. Whether or not you find enough value in the courses to upgrade is up to you and your situation.
🚀 Launch School
This resource isn't nearly as helpful as some of the others, but it's a good source of information and you might find something useful if you look hard enough.
The free portion consists of some textbooks that accompany their paid courses, which cover a few languages and concepts of computer programming. The content is pretty diverse, with books on Ruby, Object-Oriented Programming, Regular Expressions, and JavaScript basics among other things.
However, you might find that some of the content is hard to follow or seems to be out of context. This is because a lot of the content is meant to work with their courses, not be read on its own. If you're feeling adventurous, it might just be worth the effort.
🛠 freeCodeCamp
freeCodeCamp is one of the best resources for free learning out there. Between their free certifications in diverse topics and huge YouTube channel filled with interesting content, this entire organization is invaluable if you're looking to get a complete coding education for $0.
I highly recommend creating an account, as that's the way that certifications and challenge progress is stored. It's super easy to login, especially if you link through Google or Github.
🔥 BONUS: GeeksForGeeks
GeeksForGeeks is like a huge answer base. It's got in-depth tutorials for pretty much any tech content you could hope for. It's a super valuable resource for DSA in particular, because of its extensive prep and explanations.
Paying for courses is optional, and much of the content that is covered in the courses can be learned elsewhere for less or no cash.
I'd also recommend creating an account on here. The platform has a technical question base similar to LeetCode, and making an account saves your progress on the challenges. It's free to make an account, and pretty much all of the important features of the site are free.
Conclusion
What are your favorite free resources?
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