I found a Gist on my github account from 9 years ago. I was trying to help my Nephew learn to code at the time. In fact I had a lot of people who wanted to learn how to code. I decided it was time to delete that list so its not 9 years outdated.
Learning Resources Link to heading
I recommend you start with the free courses. I hate to see people waste money before they even know if they will enjoy it.
In my humble opinion you should only move on to paid courses under the following conditions.
- You love coding and want to learn more
- You have exhausted all the free resources.
- You are lost in the free courses and need better instruction.
I realize that some colleges have their content for free, but for someone just wanting to get started I feel the following resources are more realistic.
Free Link to heading
While its possible I missed something Free Code Camp really seems to be the only quality free course out there. However, W3Schools is a great reference guide.
- Free Code Camp - They have courses you can take for both front and backend Javascript as well as Databases.
- MDN Course - I just found this and it looks interesting and promising
- W3Schools
- MDN
- Learning Go With Tests
- Go 10 Week Backend Eng Onboarding
Paid Link to heading
- Front End Masters - When I got sick of building my own lesson plans with Udemy I switched over to FrontEnd Masters. Their content is excellent. I can be a bit strange and obsessive and even though I have more than 2 decades of experience I started with their entry level courses. I actually learned some stuff and found some stuff I had forgotten.
- Udemy - Great content but it can be hard to come up with a good learning plan that advances at a steady pace.
- Boot.dev - I have never used them but have heard good things
Libraries and Frameworks Link to heading
Below are some common libraries and frameworks that new developers may encounter. Understanding these categories will help you choose tools suitable for your projects.
Libraries Link to heading
- JQuery - Viewed as outdated by many. However, a large part of the web still runs on this. Not every site needs to be a SPA.
Frameworks Link to heading
I prefer backend development, I like react more than angular but have used both.
Server Side Link to heading
Server Side Frameworks Link to heading
So much more Link to heading
There is so much more, but these resources are plenty to get you started. I strongly recommend beginning with Free Code Camp, completing their certification courses, and tackling the 15 associated projects afterward. While the certificate itself might not directly land you a job, it provides clear goals and structured learning milestones.
From there, consider Front End Masters if you’re ready for more structured paid learning.
Take your time, aiming for consistency over intensity—one hour per day will yield far better results than sporadic long sessions. Yes, this journey will take months, even a year or more, but real learning is a marathon, not a sprint.