JavaScript is the most widely used programming language on the Web. Together with HTML and CSS, JavaScript is a programming language every front-end web developer needs to learn.
Whereas HTML and CSS only take care of the content and styling of websites, JavaScript makes them come alive.
Whenever the contents of a website updates dynamically or you see an animation, that’s most likely JavaScript working its magic.
What makes JavaScript even more interesting is that it can be used for both front-end as well as backend development on the server side.
For example, the popular Node.js environment allows JavaScript to be used for backend scripting, too.
JavaScript is relatively easy to learn and you can apply to it to the most diverse projects in web development.
To make things easier for you, here’s a list of the best online courses and other resources for learning JavaScript step by step.
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!
Team Treehouse
The JavaScript courses at Team Treehouse are perfect for anyone who’s just starting out with learning web development: the courses go nicely together with the other introductory courses like the HTML and CSS ones.
If you’re not familiar with Team Treehouse yet, here’s a little goodie for you: try their FREE 7-day trial right away and see if you like it!
The plans start at $25/month, which gives you access to all courses and content – not just JavaScript and jQuery.
Recommended courses with Team Treehouse
- JavaScript Basics Course:
This course is great for JavaScript beginners! You will learn the basics of how JavaScript works, how to use it to solve problems, and how to code your first JavaScript programs. - Beginner JavaScript Track:
If you’re serious about learning JavaScript, go for this complete track of beginner-level JS. You will not only learn how to bring your websites to life using JavaScript and jQuery, but also the fundamentals of programming.
Here are even more JavaScript courses with Treehouse.
Learn more about Team Treehouse and their pricing plans.
Udemy
What makes Udemy so great is their incredible variety of online courses for beginner programmers, including JavaScript and jQuery. If you’re interested in learning a wider variety of web development languages and tools, Udemy will help you reach your goals pretty quickly.
These courses are just a few of my favourites, which is why I can fully recommend them. You will learn everything you need to know about JavaScript and jQuery in order to start working on projects of your own.
Some courses at Udemy are free, while others come with a price tag. However, Udemy often does quite amazing campaigns with massive discounts of up to 95%!
Check out my complete Udemy review here.
Recommended JavaScript courses on Udemy
- The Complete JavaScript Course 2022:
Start from the very basics of JavaScript and advance to more challenging, real-life projects with this #1 best-selling JavaScript course at Udemy. You’ll build three apps that are actually useful, so you can put your new skills to the test right away! Highly recommended for beginners. - The Complete Web Developer Course 2.0:
This course not only includes great sections for JavaScript and jQuery, but you will also learn a bunch of other web development tools and technologies, like HTML, CSS, Bootstrap, WordPress, PHP, and Python. You will also get 1 year’s unlimited web hosting as a bonus! This is my all-time favourite web dev course, and it taught me everything I needed to start my own web design business in just a few months after taking the course. - JavaScript: Understanding the weird parts:
This is a more advanced-level course, but all you need to know are the basics of JS and you’re good to go. You will start to understand how JavaScript works under the hood and learn how to debug way more efficiently. Moreover, you will create your very own JS library during the course!
Udemy has a huge selection of further JavaScript and jQuery courses, but the ones above are my top recommendations. Feel free to browse through more courses right here at Udemy.
FreeCodeCamp.org
freeCodeCamp is an excellent place for beginners to start learning JavaScript step by step.
The front-end development modules also include jQuery and other useful tools. Simply create a profile and start learning right away.
What makes things even easier is that all courses and materials are 100% free at freeCodeCamp.
When you’re done with the JavaScript and jQuery modules, you can proceed to learning further web development tools right away.
FCC has quite an extensive curriculum for both front-end as well as back-end development, making it really easy to set learning targets for yourself.
Codecademy
Codecademy offers an excellent introduction to JavaScript with plenty of free content to get you started. In my opinion, it’s one of the best places to start learning web development as a beginner.
Most of the actual content is freely available, but getting the Pro membership unlocks cool projects and helpful quizzes to get more out of your learning.
Recommended courses on Codecademy
- Introduction to JavaScript – learn the basics of JavaScript in this introductory course for beginners. Highly recommended!
- Introduction to jQuery – learn how to use this popular JavaScript library to get more things done with less code.
- Introduction to AngularJS – AngularJS is one of the most popular JavaScript frameworks for building web applications.
Codecademy also offers courses for other popular JavaScript libraries and frameworks, making this platform an excellent place to start learning JS.
Book: JavaScript & jQuery – Interactive Front-End Web Development
Sometimes a physical book is a more practical way for learning JavaScript than an online course.
This beginner-level JavaScript and jQuery book by Jon Duckett is a great resource to start learning interactive front-end web development. I’ve had it on my shelf for a good while now and I still use it a lot for syntax reference and new ideas.
What I love the most about this book is that it’s actually written for beginners. You will learn the very basics first before you advance to more complex topics.
The book has a clear structure and a pleasant, easily readable design, too.
If you’re anything like me, you sometimes prefer to have a physical copy of a book in your hand instead of taking an online course. If that’s the case, this is the book I recommend adding to your shelf.
Psssst… the book goes nicely together with the HTML & CSS book from the same author (Get directly from Amazon).
More resources to learn JavaScript and jQuery
- What Is JavaScript? Beginners Guide to Learning JavaScript Fast
- 22 Fun JavaScript Projects You Can Build For Your Portfolio
Happy learning!
– Mikke