So you are ready to start learning web development this year? Congrats!
If you are new to coding and tech, finding the best web development courses for beginners can be tricky.
While there are more than enough courses to choose between, it’s difficult to know which course you should start with.
To help you find the best online web development course to start learning the right tools and programming languages today, I’ve put together this guide.
In this article, I will walk you through some of the best beginner-level courses out there.
All of them are tested and tried by yours truly – and I know you will find them as helpful as I have.
Let’s get started!
Please note: This post contains affiliate links to products I use and recommend. I may receive a small commission if you purchase through one of my links, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!
Best online web development courses (Free and paid)
To help you navigate through these best web development courses more easily, I broke them down by topic:
- Web development courses
- HTML and CSS courses
- JavaScript and jQuery courses
- WordPress courses
- Python courses
- UX/UI design courses
- YouTube web development channels
- Git/GitHub guides
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1: Web development courses for beginners
The Complete Web Developer Course 2.0
This course pretty much changed my life back when I started learning web development. The Complete Web Developer Course 2.0 is a great choice to anyone on a budget. Keep an eye out for Udemy’s promotions with discounts of up to 95%.
This course takes you from zero to knowing the basics of all fundamental, popular web development tools. You’ll learn:
- HTML and CSS
- JavaScript and jQuery
- Bootstrap
- WordPress
- PHP
- Python
- and much more…
What I loved about this course is that the modules don’t always build on top of each other. Surely, you need to understand HTML for most of them, yes. But you don’t necessarily have to follow the course curriculum from start to finish.
As a little bonus, the course comes with a 12-month free hosting plan, too. Use it to get your portfolio online as quickly as possible.
I used The Complete Web Developer Course 2.0 to build enough confidence in my web dev skills to start my own business.
Nope, I didn’t go to college to learn anything tech-related, nor did I have any work experience with coding. Yet, here I am, a few years later (and wiser), running my own web design business.
FreeCodeCamp
FreeCodeCamp is great for learning all the basics of web development from scratch for free.
You start with HTML and CSS to get the hang of front-end web dev fundamentals. Then, you start learning new tools and technologies to add to your toolkit, one by one.
What’s great about FreeCodeCamp is their global community of fellow students and alumni.
You can easily connect with others who are learning the same topics, regardless of where you’re located. If you want to, you can even organize a coding meet-up in your city.
Also, make sure you check out their YouTube channel if you prefer learning through videos.
The Complete 2023 Web Development Bootcamp
One of my most recent favorites, The Complete 2023 Web Development Bootcamp by Dr. Angela Yu is one of the best web development courses for beginners I’ve come across.
If you’re not quite sure what area or language to specialize in, this course is the perfect place to try a handful of tools and programming languages on a budget.
Moreover, you will craft enough real-world projects to create a small portfolio that can help you land your first junior-level web developer job or start a freelance web developer career from scratch.
Codecademy
Codecademy is by far the most popular platform for learning to code these days. With over 31 million users so far (and counting!), Codecademy can be a great site to learn web development from scratch.
If you are entirely new to web development, Codecademy has an entire course catalog to choose from the best web development courses for beginners.
The best way to achieve your goals is to start with the basic HTML and CSS course. Then, proceed to JavaScript and jQuery for more front-end web dev skills.
Or if you’re more interested in back-end tools, check out their courses in PHP, Python, Ruby, or Java, for example.
If you’re determined to become a professional web developer, Codecademy also offers an all-in-one learning path for you.
Team Treehouse
Team Treehouse is an excellent platform to learn web development from scratch using just a single resource.
They offer a more project-oriented approach to teaching than most other sites, which is great for building a portfolio step-by-step.
What I love about Treehouse is that they plan and create all their courses themselves. Therefore, the quality is more consistent and the individual course are extremely well-structured for beginners.
If you’re not familiar with Team Treehouse yet, you will love their free-7-day trial.
The Web Developer Bootcamp
Another Udemy favorite of mine (and of 842,609 others students), The Web Developer Bootcamp by Colt Steele is an all-in-one beginner-level web dev course.
It covers a lot of the same tools as The Complete Web Developer Course 2.0. However, the individual modules are more connected in this course. If you want to learn all of the tools from start to finish, this course is probably a better option.
2: HTML and CSS
Build Responsive Real World Websites with HTML5 and CSS3
Build Responsive Real World Websites with HTML5 and CSS3 was my first online web development course focused 100% on HTML and CSS. That was a couple years back already, and Jonas still updates the course regularly with fresh content.
You don’t need any coding or web development experience for this course. But if you have watched some online tutorials but you’re still not sure how to create a full-scale website by yourself, you are going to love it.
Modern HTML & CSS From The Beginning (Including Sass)
I’m a big fan of Brad Traversy, and I really can’t recommend his Modern HTML & CSS From The Beginning course enough.
Even if you have never built a website with HTML and CSS before, this course will teach you all the basics you need to know.
Brad has also included a module for learning CSS Flexbox – a tool I use every day for my website projects.
Mozilla Developer Network
The Mozilla Developer Network is a free tutorial and documentation on how to get started with HTML and CSS.
The guide gives you enough detailed material to feel comfortable learning these basic web development building blocks without feeling overwhelmed.
CSS-Tricks
CSS-Tricks is a great resource for some in-depth guides for using CSS like a pro.
If you know some basics already, their resources can help you learn more advanced tricks and tips to build beautiful, responsive web pages faster.
CSS Grid
This free CSS Grid course by Web Bos is the perfect place to learn how to create dynamic, responsive, beautiful website layouts using CSS Grid.
You will get access to 25 videos (with English captions) and go from literally zero to hero with just this one course. If you want to build responsive websites that look great on all devices, sign up today!
3: JavaScript courses
The Complete JavaScript Course: Build Real Projects!
With over 700,000 students and counting, The Complete JavaScript Course is your best bet to learn JS without any coding experience.
If you’ve tried some JavaScript tutorials or courses and ended up feeling confused, this course can help you.
Jonas, your instructor, does a fantastic job at explaining and showing you how to use JavaScript for hands-on, real-world projects of your own.
JavaScript Web Projects: 20 Projects to Build Your Portfolio
If you already know some HTML and CSS, the JavaScript Web Projects course is your shortcut to building a portfolio that gets you hired.
If you are completely new to this, start learning the basics on freeCodeCamp. This way, you can get the hang of how these three tools work together.
The best thing about this course?
You get to build 20 practical portfolio projects while you’re learning. That’s a huge stepping stone for applying for your first junior-level positions or freelance gigs online.
Modern JavaScript From The Beginning
Modern JavaScript From The Beginning is one of the best-rated JavaScript courses on Udemy. All you need is a basic understanding of HTML and CSS and you’re good to go!
Whether you’re a beginner or an established JS developer already, this course has something for everyone.
You will build 10 portfolio projects throughout the course, ranging from a simple calculator to more demanding exercises.
For more project ideas, check out these 24 fun JavaScript projects for beginners.
JavaScript: Understanding the Weird Parts
If you already know some JavaScript and jQuery and you want to take your skills to the next level, JavaScript: Understanding the Weird Parts is for you.
This web development course helps you gain a deep understanding of:
- How JavaScript works under the hood
- How to avoid common JS pitfalls
- How to debug your programs faster
All in all, this course is a great choice if you want to learn more advanced JavaScript topics. Hence, make sure you understand the basics before starting!
To steal my proven learning strategy, check out the best way to learn JavaScript.
4: WordPress courses
The Complete WordPress Website Business Course
The Complete WordPress Website Business Course was my first all-WordPress course back in 2017.
This course taught me how to build different types of WordPress websites for myself and my freelance clients. It gave me the tools to start making money with my web development skills with no experience.
Throughout the course, you will learn how to create all types of commercial websites using WordPress. And I kid you not – you can sell these websites to clients for good money.
If you’re not familiar, WordPress is the most popular Content Management System (CMS) worldwide. Thus, the demand for skilled WordPress developers is increasing as we speak.
I use WordPress for almost all my website projects, and I’ve never been short of work as a freelance web developer.
If you want to launch a freelance web dev business, too, check out my guide on how to become a freelance web developer from scratch.
WordPress Theme Development with Bootstrap
So you want to become a WordPress theme developer and make money by selling beautiful, user-friendly WordPress themes online?
Then WordPress Theme Development with Bootstrap is the perfect course to get started.
Brad will teach you how to design professional WordPress themes for your website clients, yourself, or for the world.
You can easily set up an online shop with WordPress and WooCommerce, and sell your themes to a global audience. Or to make things even easier, you can sell them directly on Themeforest.
Needless to say, this course is great value for your money!
Make sure you have a basic understanding of HTML, CSS, and PHP before starting this course. Also, it doesn’t hurt to know some JavaScript and jQuery.
WPBeginner
WPBeginner is perfect for learning how to use WordPress to build and manage website projects more easily and quickly. You will find tons of free guides and video tutorials that are great for beginners.
My tip: WordPress is my go-to tool for building websites and blogs for myself and my clients.
If you’re interested in creating your own blog, I recommend checking out my step-by-step guide on how to start a blog.
5: Python courses
Learn Python 2
Learn Python 2 is one of the best Python course for absolute beginners.
Although it’s not exactly a web development course, it’s a great place to learn Python basics from scratch for free.
Python and Django Full Stack Web Developer Bootcamp
If you want to use Python for web development, I suggest you learn Python and Django together. Django is a web framework you can use to build complex web applications with Python more efficiently and quickly.
Python and Django Full Stack Web Developer Bootcamp helps you learn both Python and Django from scratch.
You don’t need any coding experience to get started, so this is definitely one of the best web development courses if you want to learn Python using a single, hands-on resource.
The Complete Python Bootcamp: From Zero to Hero in Python
With over 1.6 million students, The Complete Python Bootcamp: From Zero to Hero in Python is the most popular Python course for beginners on Udemy.
If you are completely new to Python and coding in general, this course will teach you how the language works from the ground up.
You will also build three major projects for your portfolio, and learn a handful of practical real-life tasks to use Python for.
Django 3 – Full Stack Websites with Python Web Development
If learning by doing is your thing, Django 3 – Full Stack Websites with Python Web Development is probably the best course out there for you.
Nick shows you how to build three full-scale website projects with Python and Django, all of them great for your portfolio.
I would suggest you learn some Python fundamentals before starting this course. However, it’s not 100% necessary, but you will see progress a bit faster.
6: UX/UI Design courses
Web Design for Web Developers: Build Beautiful Websites!
If you are new to web design, make sure to check out this free Web Design for Web Developers course by Jonas Schmedtmann.
In just 1 hour, he will walk you through some of the most important fundamentals you should keep in mind while building websites and web apps.
My tip: Make sure you take notes of the 25 simple and actionable points discussed throughout this quick course. They’re great for creating a checklist for your future projects.
7: YouTube channels
Derek Banas
Derek Banas’ YouTube channel is one of my favorites for beginner-level tutorials where you can learn all the basics in one session.
Thus, you can learn as much as possible in a short amount of time – just by watching a single video.
If you’re not familiar, start by watching Learn JavaScript in one video or Learn PHP in 30 minutes, for example.
thenewboston
thenewboston is a massive YouTube channel to learn web development and coding – with over 2 million subscribers.
Whether you want to learn front-end or back-end web development, this channel is packed with helpful step-by-step tutorials.
Check out their playlists to learn HTML, JavaScript, PHP, or Python, for example. If you’re into JavaScript, they have full beginner-level guides to learn Angular, Node.js, and React, too.
Traversy Media
Traversy Media is another one of my go-to YouTube channels to learn web development.
Just like with his courses on Udemy, Brad has created a bunch of free videos that are easy to follow and packed with helpful nuggets for beginners.
If you are new to web development, watch his complete web development 2022 guide on YouTube. This video walks you through just about every tool and technology used for web development right now.
8: Git and GitHub
GitHub Guides: Git Handbook
GitHub Guides helps you learn how version control systems work and how to use GitHub. You will go through some basic commands, the GitHub workflow, and a few practical examples.
Final thoughts: The best online web development courses in 2023
There ya go! Now that you have an overview of the best web development courses out there, it’s time to get to work!
Did you find a course you’d like to take? Which tools and programming language will you focus on first?
Please share your thoughts in the comments below!
For even more resources, head over to my master list of 120+ free places to learn how to code from scratch.
To get started, make sure to check out my guide on the best way to learn web development when you have no experience at all.
Also, I think you want to read my article on how to become a web developer with some helpful FAQs and hands-on tips!
And to see progress even quicker, use these 10 practical tips to learn web development fast.
Happy coding!
– Mikke
P.S. If you liked this guide with the best web development courses, share this post with others! Thanks!
I really want to thank you for all the information. You really have given us the load down on web development. I was skeptical about taking this course. I am definitely going with Udemy.
Hi Esther,
I’m happy to hear you found a web development course to start learning with 🙂
Happy learning!
Hi,
Great blog!
I am interested in learning web development this year. I believe this course is trending these days and it excites me to know that there are various options available online.
Will start my hunting now!
Thanks
Buddy