Udemy Review: Learn Coding and Web Development Online

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updated Dec 10, 2022

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If you want to learn coding and web development, you can choose from dozens of learning platforms and online courses.

But how do you find the best ones from the bunch when you feel overwhelmed by the number of choices?

I remember being in your shoes just a few short years ago. I was entirely new to coding – I hadn’t even thought about learning programming by myself.

But I taught myself the tech skills I use daily as a self-employed web dev entrepreneur.

Now, I tried dozens of tutorials and online courses to get where I am now. Some of them were extremely helpful, but most resources I found weren’t easy to follow for a beginner like me back then.

If you are new to coding, the best way to find out is start with just one learning platform.

Udemy is one of the most popular websites for learning to code from scratch. It’s one of my top favorites, too!

But before you go and invest any money in a paid Udemy course, there are a few things you need to be aware of.

To help you get the best return on your money, I’ll share a few simple steps for making the most of your next course in this Udemy review.

Also, I’ll share with you my thoughts and experience about why you should or shouldn’t start learning with them.

Let’s get started!

Here are a couple of related articles you may find helpful, too:

Please note: I’m a proud affiliate partner with Udemy and this post contains affiliate links. If you choose to purchase a course using an affiliate link, I may receive a small commission for referring you. But please, only purchase a course if you feel like you need it and think that it will help you reach your goals with coding. Thanks for your support!

What is Udemy?

In case you’re not familiar yet, Udemy is an online learning platform for a myriad of subjects, where anyone can find, take, and even teach a class.

Founded in 2010, it now offers over 210,000 courses to choose from – more than 50 million students have used Udemy for learning.

The courses on Udemy are suited for both complete beginners as well as more advanced students.

Udemy - Learn coding and web development online

The most popular topics taught on Udemy are:

  • Development – Web, Mobile, Games, Databases
  • Business – Finance, Entrepreneurship, Communications, Management
  • IT and Software – Networks and Security, Hardware
  • Design – Web Design, Graphic Design, User Experience

If you are interested in learning to code to start freelancing or to get a developer job in the future, you can save heaps of time by learning everything in one place.

On Udemy, you can find a massive selection of courses to learn not just the skills to get a job, but also for managing your business and preparing for interviews, too.

Udemy 101: Can you learn coding on Udemy?

What characterizes Udemy the most is the number of courses available. You can learn literally anything on Udemy.

However, since anyone confident enough in their teaching skills can create and offer a course on Udemy, the quality can vary a lot.

Each instructor has their own approach to the course topic and teaching in general. Therefore, every coding course you take on Udemy has a slightly different feel to it.

Unless, of course, you find an instructor that offers several courses in the topic of your interest.

On the other hand, the large selection of courses also gives you the opportunity to choose courses from instructors you like the most.

When you find an interesting course, you can visit its homepage on Udemy to watch an introductory video from the instructor.

Usually, there are a couple of videos available to you to help you decide whether to purchase that course or not.

At the same time, you can “meet” the course instructor and see if you like their teaching style. Also, you can browse through feedback from previous students to see what they are saying:

Udemy review: learn web development and coding for beginners on Udemy

Course contents and material

Each course has a unique curriculum that consists mostly of video lectures. Some instructors also use quizzes or other interactive learning methods after each lesson.

Also, depending on the course, you often receive helpful PDFs, PowerPoint presentations, or ZIP packages with useful files like exercise sets.

Most teachers share their recommended resources for further reference as links after each video lecture, too.

You can easily track your progress in the course curriculum. If you have any questions, you can send them to your teacher or head over to the course discussion forum for help.

From what I’ve experienced, most instructors respond to questions and feedback promptly and thoroughly.

Depth of course content – choose what you prefer

If you want to learn coding and web development, you can choose a course that introduces you to either several tools and programming languages or just a single one.

Of course, learning several tools in one course only gives an introduction to all of them. That is, you will not go into too much depth with those topics.

Nevertheless, you’ll have the advantage of being taught by just one instructor, who will tell you more about how the different tools compare to each other.

And once you’re done with the course, you’ll know which tool you’d like to learn more about.

Therefore, if you’re not quite sure what you wish to focus on in the future, go for a course with a broader selection of tools. 

One good example I can recommend is The Complete Web Developer Course 2.0. Throughout the course, you will learn the basics of a number of different web development tools by building practical projects for your portfolio:

The Complete Web Developer Course 2.0 on Udemy

On the other hand, if you know you want to learn just one programming language really well, you can easily find a course for the language of your choice.

Pricing on Udemy

Unlike a few other popular learning platforms, Udemy is based on fixed pricing on a course basis.

In other words, you purchase each course separately and get lifetime access to the entire course curriculum.

In general, learning coding on Udemy is very affordable.

The usual price span for most courses varies from free to $200, but you can often find promotions to buy any course for $10–15:

Udemy review: learn coding for beginners online on Udemy

That said, you can start learning coding using a free, beginner-level course at first.

Then, if you feel intrigued to find out more, you can easily catch a promotion and invest a few bucks.

What I can say from my own experience is that those $15 paid themselves back much sooner than I had expected.

Before you purchase a Udemy course

Remember that you can watch the first introductory videos for each course before purchasing.

If you feel like the course contents are useful and you like the instructor, just go ahead and purchase the course.

But before you do, you should read through the comments and feedback from other students on the course homepage.

Also, check out the “About the instructor” section right next to the student feedback area. It gives you more details on what sort of experience and expertise your teacher has.

Pros and cons of Udemy

Let’s sum up the pros and cons of Udemy for a quick overview:

Pros:

  • Wide selection: You can learn anything on Udemy
  • Learn at your own pace: Access the content anytime, anywhere
  • Very affordable: Frequent promos with all courses for $10-15
  • Lifetime access to courses: Many instructors update their courses regularly
  • Money-back guarantee: Get a full refund if you’re not happy with your course.

Cons:

  • Some courses are somewhat “shallow”: If you pick a narrow niche, you can still learn a lot from just one course
  • Inconsistent quality: Anyone can create a course, so check out the reviews and watch a couple of intro videos
  • Lack of support from instructors: Especially with more popular courses, but therefore there’s usually a more active discussion board where you can find answers

How to learn to code on Udemy?

In general, Udemy is a great way to learn web development and coding skills. There are more than enough beginner-level courses available if you’re just starting out.

Also, if you’re looking for a more in-depth course in a specific programming language, there’s enough to choose from.

When I started learning coding, I only knew I wanted to focus on web development. But there were dozens of tools I would have to choose from, and I had no idea what I was doing.

So, the very first course I took on Udemy was The Complete Web Developer Course 2.0. I learned the basics of a number of tools and programming languages for the Web.

By the time I finished the course I had a good overview of a bunch of useful tools I’d use in the future. Also, I knew exactly which ones I liked the most, i.e. which courses I would start next.

Moreover, I was able to get my first freelancing gigs during the course and found the best resources to work with while freelancing. Nothing too big, of course – just some basic HTML, CSS, and JavaScript adjustments. But they were my first paid web developer jobs.

Needless to say, the course paid itself back right there and then.

What to keep in mind when choosing a Udemy course

If you’re looking to start learning coding to become a freelancer, Udemy is a great place to start. 

Once you feel confident enough, you can easily start looking for your first freelance jobs and make some money on the side while you’re still learning.

However, to make the most out of each course, there are a few points to keep in mind:

  1. Understand what you’re learning first. Make sure you know the key concepts of programming before you start a coding course.
  2. Build your own projects on the side. Finishing tutorials isn’t going to teach you how to apply your skills. Therefore, build something useful after each lesson or module you go through.
  3. Complement Udemy with other resources. Combine a Udemy course with a suitable book, for example. It’s good to have a book in your hand for future reference, too.
  4. Read course reviews and watch intro videos before purchasing. Are the students struggling with specific problems? Read the course discussion forum and go through reviews. Also, meet the instructor by watching the intro video for a course you find interesting.

If you’re just starting out with learning how to code, here’s a helpful post you may want to read:

The best coding courses on Udemy in 2022

As I mentioned, there are literally thousands of coding courses available on Udemy. There’s a suitable course for everyone there, but the trick is to find the best ones that will help you reach your goals.

If you’re just starting out with coding, the number of courses on Udemy might feel a bit daunting and overwhelming. It can take some time to find one you like, but the best courses are great value for your money and easy to follow.

To help you out, I’ve put together a few topics that you might find interesting – here are the top courses on Udemy to get you started:

Recommended Beginner-Level Web Development Courses on Udemy

If you’re looking to start a specific coding course for beginners, below are a few of the best Udemy courses I’ve taken myself. All of them are suitable for absolute beginners looking for the best online coding courses to learn web development and coding:

  1. The Complete Web Developer Course 2.0 – Build 25 websites and mobile apps:
    An introduction to several web development tools and languages. Excellent choice if you’re not sure which one to specialize in yet. I took this course to learn the very basics of web development a couple of years back. It was the perfect way to build a bunch of small projects of my own and find out which tools I liked the most. About halfway through the course I started with my first small freelance gigs.
  2. The Complete WordPress Website Business Course
    Learn how to create and manage WordPress websites to start your own WordPress-based business. In fact, that’s exactly what I did after taking this course. (And I’ve never been short of work!) If you wish to start freelancing and want to take on bigger projects, this course is for you.
  3. 30 Days of Python – Unlock Your Python Potential:
    This is one of the most popular and best online Python courses on Udemy. Justin, the course instructor, takes good care of you while you learn Python step-by-step by building real projects with him by your side. You will feel like a pro sooner than you think, building your own web applications from scratch during the course.
  4. The Complete Ruby on Rails Developer Course:
    If you want to learn coding to build web applications, Ruby on Rails is an excellent tool to learn. This course teaches you everything from the ground up all the way to building a production-ready web application from scratch.
  5. PHP for Beginners – Become a PHP Master – CMS Project:
    Throughout this beginner-level PHP course, you will learn everything you need to know to build your own Content Management System (like WordPress) from scratch. You’ll learn how to create programs using PHP and how to use and manage databases to store your web app data. This is a great course to start learning PHP from scratch – the 111,000 students can’t be wrong!
Development courses on Udemy

Summing it up: Udemy review – Is Udemy a good place to learn how to code?

All in all, Udemy is the perfect place to start learning coding and web development as a total beginner.

You can choose from a huge variety of beginner-level courses. You’ll save time when you can learn everything in the same place. Also, you can easily find the perfect course for your needs based on student reviews and ratings. Moreover, you can access your course anywhere, anytime.

Despite the long list of pros, Udemy is very affordable. If you want to learn new skills on a budget, you’ll often find big promotions with discounts of up to 95%.

Needless to say, Udemy is a great choice if you want to learn at your own pace. You can start a new video lecture whenever you have time for it. Most videos are short enough to maintain your focus. I’m a huge fan of bite-sized lectures – makes me feel like I’m making progress.

When it comes to the cons, the list is quite short… If you wish to learn a specific tool or programming language in depth, Udemy may not be the best choice. Some courses are simply too short to get to the more advanced topics.

Depending on the course you choose, Udemy may not always deliver consistent quality. However, don’t let that scare you off. It is rather easy to find the best courses available simply by reading student feedback before purchasing.

In short: Udemy has something for everyone, including great courses for learning coding and web development.

If Udemy isn’t the right platform for you, check out my full guide for the best Udemy alternatives.

I still don’t know where to start – what should I do?

If you’re a complete beginner, just take a look at the web development courses I listed above.

They are all safe choices for learning the basics and getting a better idea of what coding and web development are all about. You’ll learn a number of tools and programming languages and see which ones you like the most.

Pick your favorite and start an in-depth course when you’re done with the first one!

To get you started, here are a couple of related posts you might want to read:

If you enjoyed this Udemy review article, just drop me a line in the comments below! Have you taken coding or web development courses on Udemy? How was your experience? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

P.S. Please feel free to share this post with others so that they can find it, too! Thanks!

Happy coding!
– Mikke

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About Mikke

Hi, I’m Mikke! I’m a blogger, freelance web developer, and online business nerd. Join me here on MikkeGoes.com to learn how to code for free, build a professional portfolio website, launch a tech side hustle, and make money coding. When I’m not blogging, you will find me sipping strong coffee and biking around town in Berlin. Learn how I taught myself tech skills and became a web dev entrepreneur here. And come say hi on Twitter!

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